No Shrinking Violets Podcast for Women
No Shrinking Violets is all about what it truly means for women to take up their space in the world – mind, body and spirit. Mary Rothwell, licensed therapist and certified integrative mental health practitioner, has seen women “stay small” and fit into the space in life that they have been conditioned to believe they deserve. Drawing on 35 years in the mental health field and from her perspective as a woman who was often told to "stay in your lane," Mary discusses how early experiences, society and sometimes our own limiting beliefs can convince us that living inside guardrails is the best -- or only -- option. She'll explore how to recognize our unique essential nature and how to use that to empower a new narrative.Through topics that span psychology, friendships, nature and even gut-brain health, Mary creates a space that is inspiring and authentic - where she celebrates the intuition and power of women who want to chart their own course and program their own GPS.
Mary's topics will include sleep and supplements and nutrition and how to live like a plant. (Yes, you read that right - the example of plants is often the most insightful path to knowing what we truly need to feel fulfilled). She’ll talk about setting boundaries, communicating, and relationships, and explore mental health and wellness: trauma and resilience, how our food impacts our mood and the power of simple daily habits. And so much more!
As a gardener, Mary knows that violets have been misjudged for centuries and are actually one of the most resilient and ecologically important plants in her native garden. Like violets, women are often underestimated, and they can even mistake their unique gifts for weaknesses. Join Mary to explore all the ways the vibrant and strong violet is an example for finding fulfillment in our own lives.
No Shrinking Violets Podcast for Women
The Hormonal Rollercoaster of Perimenopause
Thoughts or comments? Send us a text!
The mysterious journey of perimenopause remains largely undiscussed, despite affecting every woman transitioning toward menopause. We dive deep into this critical phase that typically begins in a woman's early 40s, exploring how hormonal fluctuations create a cascade of changes long before menopause officially arrives.
Discover the surprising truth about perimenopause's complex hormonal orchestra. While many women expect estrogen to simply decline, what actually happens is far more intricate. Progesterone typically drops first, affecting sleep and mood, while follicle-stimulating hormone increases, creating periods of estrogen dominance. This hormonal volatility explains the sleep disruptions, hot flashes, emotional changes, and energy fluctuations that characterize this transition. Understanding these normal physiological processes helps reframe symptoms not as malfunctions but as expected shifts that can be managed with the right approach.
The good news? Small, targeted lifestyle changes can significantly improve your perimenopause experience. Modifications to diet—particularly around sugar, caffeine, and alcohol—can reduce symptom severity, while sleep-supporting practices create a foundation for overall wellbeing. Rather than viewing perimenopause as simply an ending, we explore how this transition can become a "second spring"—a new beginning filled with wisdom and vibrance. Whether you're currently navigating perimenopause or preparing for what's ahead, this episode offers practical insights and hope for this important life transition. Ready to transform your relationship with this misunderstood phase of life? Let us know what resonated most by sharing your thoughts or questions!
RESTored sleep and lifestyle program for women in peri- to post-menopause
Follow me on Facebook and Instagram, and check out my website!
Hi and welcome to a mini episode of no Shrinking Violets, where I give you some random topic and some thoughts on it and hopefully a few takeaways for your day. So I want to talk a little bit today about menopause and actually we're going to focus on the journey into menopause perimenopause because for a long time there was not a lot known about it, or if there was, we didn't know about it. So I think perimenopause is really one of the key times in a woman's life. Because we focus so much on what happens in menopause the hot flashes and the brain fog these things actually start before we are fully in menopause. So quickly, menopause is official when you have gone 12 months without a period. Now I can't tell you how many women I have heard from who say, well, I went eight months or 10 months and I got a period. Now I can't tell you how many women I have heard from who say, well, I went eight months or 10 months and I got a period. What is happening with our hormones during this time leading up to, I'm going to say, full menopause is crazy and it helps explain, I think, a lot of what we're feeling. So let me give you a quick snapshot. So we are.
Speaker 1:Obviously our cycle is driven by our hormones, and it's not only what we tend to think of like estrogen and progesterone. We have testosterone in the mix and we have FSH, which is follicle-stimulating hormone, and we have luteinizing hormone. All of those things wax and wane during a typical menstrual cycle, like the 28-ish days that are part of our cycle. So when we start towards menopause, what is happening is those sex hormones are becoming very unstable. Our body wants us to procreate, which is why we get a period in the first place, but what starts to happen as our eggs age and our body ages is that those hormones start to shift. So the first thing that happens is progesterone starts to drop, and progesterone has to do with a lot of things, but in a typical cycle it's a hormone that helps us sleep. It is connected more to relaxation. It has a specific job in our cycle as far as ovulation, but when we're talking about perimenopause, that starts to drop off first. The other thing that happens is that, as our eggs are aging, we don't ovulate all the time. We can get a period, and that doesn't mean that we've ovulated, but what happens is FSH, the follicle stimulating hormone, tries to get the estrogen up because it wants that egg to be released. So what happens then is estrogen dominance, and if you've heard that term and been confused about it, it can cause a wide range of things. And it's funny because we think, well, I thought estrogen was dropping and that's why all these things happen. Well, it is.
Speaker 1:It's unpredictable. So you can see how, as the progesterone drops and then the other hormones, like FSH, get involved, they can try to up the estrogen, but we're not producing as much estrogen. So there's a lot of things happening. And then those things, like an orchestra, interact with melatonin for sleep, cortisol, which helps us deal with stress, and different hormones that have to do with feeling hungry or feeling satiated. So it's a huge thing. And that's why sleep is really a barometer, because we start to have the hot flashes, because our brain, and specifically our hypothalamus and pituitary gland, they're like what is happening, they're trying to stabilize us. So when that heat starts, they send out the sweat and they wake us up and everything feels unstable. Our emotions can feel unstable. All of these things are happening in the way they're kind of supposed to.
Speaker 1:But the key, I think, to navigating perimenopause is really two parts. One is understanding the volatility of how those hormones are interacting, and the other part is understanding that there are things that you can adjust. So think about too and I talk about nature all the time we have. By the time we are in our early 40s, which is typically when these things can start, we've had a lifetime of accumulation of losses, difficult, challenging, traumatic events. We're also carrying these around and maybe we haven't had time to process them because maybe we moved into a career and a family.
Speaker 1:So when I think about perimenopause to me in all my work with women and even for myself, I feel like it's one of the most unstable times, but it doesn't have to be as frustrating. It doesn't have to feel like, oh, all that's going to happen now are things that aren't good or that are difficult. Some of it can be difficult to navigate, but what I'm gonna say is just getting knowledge and I know that can be frustrating because there's so much out there. There's no quick fix. But diet is important and I'm not saying you have to change everything, but paying attention to sugar, for one thing, hugely important. Caffeine and alcohol another thing, for one thing, hugely important. Caffeine and alcohol, another thing that's really really important. All of these things make a difference because our body, our mind, our emotions, our spirit they all work together. So we can't focus on one thing. There's no one pill that's going to just make us skate through menopause and perimenopause easily.
Speaker 1:One of the most impactful things that I know for myself worked and I know for my clients works is focusing on the lifestyle changes that lead to better sleep. Everywhere I turn in, all the things I read and learn, all the people I learn from, everything is ramped up around sleep being essential. So you might be saying, well, mary, I want to sleep, I can't. I have some help for that. So If you want to dig in farther and really start to focus on lifestyle with the outcome of improving your sleep, I have a program called Restored. It's a four-module online program that whisks you through all these different things but gives you a chance to really key in on the things that work for you, because there is no one formula for every woman. Everyone is different. So I'm going to put a link in the show notes so you can read more about it.
Speaker 1:Like I said, the four modules are online. You don't have to be tech savvy. I have videos with them. And the best part, I think, is that you get two months of group coaching. So you get me for an hour every other week for two months to help you with questions, and the content is something where you can revisit it. You get lifetime access to it.
Speaker 1:So check out the link in the show notes. You can always text me here through the show at the link in the show notes, or you can always shoot me an email, and that information is on my website too. So you'll go to maryrothwellnet forward slash restored that's the name of my program specifically tailored for women in peri to postmenopause. So I hope you check it out. But overall, just know there's hope. Just start to focus on small changes movement relaxation, trying to focus on healthy choices as much as you can in your diet. Understand that this is a phase and when you get through it things can be really, really wonderful, because a lot shifts and there are a lot of things that change and I think that this stage of life can really be like a second spring, like a new beginning. So thanks for listening and until next time, go out into the world and you know what I'm going to say. Be the amazing, resilient, vibrant violet that you are.
