Perimenopause, puberty and survival
What is wrong with mother nature? Why oh, why would she put these 2 together? Not always but definitely often! It’s like setting a hair trigger bomb inside the house and not telling anyone. But here we are. Hormonal woman and hormonal kids all cohabitating!
From a hormonal perspective kids in puberty are seeing a rise in their sex hormones that can take a while to level out. That instability can manifest as acne, irritability, moodiness and forgetfulness in both males and females. And girls get to deal with settling menstrual cycles that flare these symptoms and bring extra with them every month.
In perimenopause we see the dwindling of sex hormones that take their sweet time disappearing in seemingly random amounts. This results in acne, irritability, moodiness and forgetfulness plus all the fun of the menstrual cycle as well-yay for us!
Acne- just when you thought your skin was safe the acne returns in perimenopause. It’s not usually as bad as at puberty, but it can be. And it is definitely just as annoying and inconvenient. Always before a big event!
Moods- this one is particularly unfair in my opinion because your level of patience in perimenopause can vary from nil to moderate but adolescents can make even a saint turn demon! You need to be stable and understanding and loving to help them through this period. Yet…it’s often not something we can offer easily in perimenopause. And that can lead to guilt.
Unpredictable periods- you thought the embarrassment of getting your period unannounced at school was bad? It’s got nothing on the flooding that can happen without warning at work in perimenopause. This can leave you needing a complete change-not just asking a friend for a tampon. The stain on the seat will remind you of this occasion until you change jobs.
Irritability- oh again teenagers challenge every fibre of our being BUT in perimenopause you may find yourself joining in! Your ability to cope with rudeness, nastiness, childishness, irrational behaviour, or even a minor annoyance, has you seeing white rage. Which is like pouring petrol over the situation. Not much fun. Not very demure.
Forgetfulness- ever wondered how your teenagers remember their heads without you reminding them? They may be thinking the same about you as they watch you look for random items like your sunglasses that are on your head or the car keys in your hand. They may look on in wonder as you find random items you put away in the fridge but the butter in the linen cupboard.
If all of this has you wondering what kind of fresh hell is this, then know that it’s not a done deal. There is an enormous amount that can be done naturally as a stand alone treatment, or in combination with conventional medications like HRT. While it is natural to have hormones rising in the teenage years and dwindling at peri menopause the signs and symptoms do not need to be debilitating or impact on the whole family.
It is 100% possible to smooth the way for you and your teenager. Create a harmonious household instead of an explosive one.
You can book both or one of you in just by clicking the Puberty or Peri HELP button below.