{"id":2792,"date":"2026-09-18T10:28:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T08:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/is-it-your-hormones\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T13:46:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T11:46:47","slug":"is-it-your-hormones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/is-it-your-hormones\/","title":{"rendered":"So, Is It Your Hormones?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>\n\/* The accent is a light-background device. 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The grid\n   places the notes under their statements; the markup keeps her sentence. *\/\n.hm-pair .cell{min-width:0;padding:0 28px}\n.hm-pair .qa{grid-area:qa;padding-top:26px}.hm-pair .qb{grid-area:qb;padding-top:26px}\n.hm-pair .na{grid-area:na;padding-bottom:24px}.hm-pair .nb{grid-area:nb;padding-bottom:24px}\n.hm-pair.nonotes .qa,.hm-pair.nonotes .qb{padding-bottom:26px}\n.hm-pair .mist{background:#f2f5f7}\n.hm-pair .cream{background:#fbf4e6}\n.hm-pair .plain{background:#fff}\n.hm-pair .q{font-size:18.5px;line-height:1.5;color:#2a2622;margin:0}\n.hm-pair .nt{font-size:15px;line-height:1.55;color:#8f300a;margin:16px 0 0;\n  padding-top:13px;border-top:1px solid rgba(143,48,10,.16);font-weight:600}\n.hm-pair .mid{grid-area:mid;position:relative;background:#e8e1d5}\n.hm-pair .mid span{position:absolute;left:50%;top:50%;transform:translate(-50%,-50%);\n  background:#fff;border:1px solid #e8e1d5;border-radius:999px;padding:4px 10px;\n  font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#6b6259;\n  white-space:nowrap}\n@media(max-width:720px){\n  .hm-pair{grid-template-columns:1fr;grid-template-areas:\"qa\" \"na\" \"mid\" \"qb\" \"nb\"}\n  .hm-pair.nonotes{grid-template-areas:\"qa\" \"mid\" \"qb\"}\n  .hm-pair .mid{height:1px}\n  .hm-pair .cell{padding-left:22px;padding-right:22px}\n}\n\n\/* ---- the reframe ----\n   She makes the same move twice, in her own connectives: \"the question\n   changes from: ... to: ...\" in part two, and \"the most useful question is\n   not: ... Try: ...\" near the end. The first question is set quietly and the\n   second in the accent, stacked, so the direction of travel reads top to\n   bottom without an arrow being added to her sentence. *\/\n.hm-re{margin:0;border:1.5px solid #e8e1d5;border-radius:18px;overflow:hidden;background:#fff}\n.hm-re .a,.hm-re .b{margin:0;padding:22px 28px}\n.hm-re .a{background:#fbf4e6;font-size:19px;line-height:1.5;color:#6b6259}\n.hm-re .b{background:#fdede5;font-size:21px;line-height:1.45;color:#8f300a;font-weight:600}\n.hm-re .j{margin:0;padding:9px 28px;border-top:1px solid #e8e1d5;border-bottom:1px solid #e8e1d5;\n  font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#6b6259;\n  background:#fff}\n@media(max-width:560px){.hm-re .a,.hm-re .b{padding:18px 20px}.hm-re .j{padding:8px 20px}\n  .hm-re .b{font-size:19px}}\n\n\/* ---- the chain ----\n   Her arrows, drawn. In part four she sets a two-link explanation beside a\n   five-link one, and the point is visible as length before a word is read. *\/\n.hm-chain{margin:0}\n.hm-chain .row+.row{margin-top:26px}\n.hm-chain .lab{font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase;\n  color:#6b6259;margin:0 0 11px}\n.hm-chain ol{list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0;display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;align-items:center;gap:10px 0}\n.hm-chain li{display:flex;align-items:center;margin:0}\n.hm-chain .nd{display:block;font-size:16.5px;line-height:1.35;padding:9px 15px;border-radius:11px;\n  background:#fff;border:1.5px solid #e8e1d5;color:#2a2622}\n.hm-chain .row.long .nd{border-color:#f3d5c6;background:#fdede5;color:#8f300a}\n.hm-chain .ar{display:block;width:26px;height:12px;flex:0 0 auto;margin:0 6px}\n.hm-chain .ar path{fill:none;stroke:#e0a17c;stroke-width:1.8;stroke-linecap:round;stroke-linejoin:round}\n.hm-chain li:last-child .ar{display:none}\n@media(max-width:640px){\n  .hm-chain ol{flex-direction:column;align-items:flex-start;gap:0}\n  .hm-chain li{flex-direction:column;align-items:flex-start}\n  .hm-chain .ar{transform:rotate(90deg);margin:7px 0 7px 12px;width:20px}\n}\n\n\/* ---- figures, shared chrome ---- *\/\n.hm-fig{margin:0}\n.hm-fig .hd{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:baseline;gap:16px;margin:0 0 14px}\n.hm-fig .ti{font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase;\n  color:#8f300a;margin:0}\n.hm-fig .un{font-size:12px;color:#6b6259;margin:0}\n.hm-fig svg{display:block;width:100%;height:auto}\n.hm-fig figcaption{font-size:15.5px;line-height:1.6;color:#6b6259;margin:16px 0 0}\n.hm-fig .key{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:8px 20px;margin:12px 0 0;font-size:13px;color:#2a2622}\n.hm-fig .key span{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:7px}\n.hm-fig .key i{width:16px;height:3px;border-radius:2px;display:block;font-style:normal}\n.hm-fig .tabs{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:8px;margin:0 0 14px}\n.hm-fig button{font:600 15px\/1 \"Work Sans\",sans-serif;border-radius:9px;cursor:pointer;\n  padding:11px 16px;border:1.5px solid #dde4ea;background:#fff;color:#b23c0c;\n  transition:background .16s ease,border-color .16s ease}\n.hm-fig button:hover{background:#f2f5f7}\n.hm-fig button[aria-pressed=\"true\"]{background:#b23c0c;border-color:#b23c0c;color:#fff}\n.hm-fig button:focus-visible{outline:2px solid #b23c0c;outline-offset:2px}\n.hm-fig .say{font-size:17.5px;line-height:1.5;color:#2a2622;margin:0 0 12px;min-height:1.5em}\n.hm-fig .say b{color:#8f300a;font-weight:700}\n\/* the sensitivity chart: two stretched bands, words in HTML *\/\n.hm-sens .plot{position:relative}\n.hm-sens .ph{position:relative;height:20px}\n.hm-sens .ph span{position:absolute;top:0;font-size:12.5px;color:#6b6259;white-space:nowrap}\n.hm-sens svg.hb{height:clamp(120px,17vw,176px)}\n.hm-sens .hbw,.hm-sens .rbw{position:relative}\n.hm-sens .same{margin:7px 0 0 2px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:600;\n  color:#6b6259;letter-spacing:.02em;z-index:1}\n.hm-sens .pk{position:absolute;transform:translate(calc(-100% - 9px),-50%);font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;\n  white-space:nowrap;pointer-events:none}\n.hm-sens .pk.e2{color:#b23c0c}\n.hm-sens .pk.p4{color:#4d6f93}\n@media(max-width:480px){.hm-sens .pk.p4{transform:translate(calc(-100% - 9px),40%)}}\n.hm-sens .tag{position:absolute;transform:translate(calc(-100% - 10px),-50%);font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;\n  color:#1d5957;background:#e9f4f3;padding:1px 6px;border-radius:5px;white-space:nowrap;pointer-events:none}\n.hm-sens svg.rb{height:clamp(54px,7vw,72px)}\n.hm-sens .rl{margin:16px 0 7px;font-size:13px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.06em;color:#1d5957}\n.hm-sens .tk{position:relative;height:22px;margin-top:6px}\n.hm-sens .tk b{position:absolute;top:4px;transform:translateX(-50%);font-size:12.5px;font-weight:400;\n  color:#6b6259;white-space:nowrap;font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums}\n.hm-sens .tk b:first-child{transform:none}\n.hm-sens .tk b:last-child{transform:translateX(-100%)}\n@media(max-width:480px){.hm-sens .tk b:nth-child(2),.hm-sens .tk b:nth-child(4){display:none}}\n\n\/* ---- the loop ----\n   Four of her lines, each causing the next, and the fourth returning to the\n   first. Laid out as a square with the arrows running clockwise, so the eye\n   goes round rather than down. Under 640px it becomes a column with the\n   closed bracket Sleep uses for its loops. *\/\n.hm-loop .ring{position:relative;display:grid;grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr;grid-auto-rows:1fr;\n  gap:68px;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}\n.hm-loop .ring li{margin:0}\n\/* clockwise placement, desktop only: inline styles would pin the phone column\n   to two tracks, so the positions live here behind the breakpoint *\/\n@media(min-width:641px){\n  .hm-loop .c0{grid-column:1;grid-row:1}.hm-loop .c1{grid-column:2;grid-row:1}\n  .hm-loop .c2{grid-column:2;grid-row:2}.hm-loop .c3{grid-column:1;grid-row:2}\n}\n.hm-loop .node{display:flex;gap:12px;align-items:flex-start;width:100%;height:100%;text-align:left;\n  font:400 18px\/1.5 \"Work Sans\",sans-serif;color:#2a2622;background:#fff;\n  border:1.5px solid #e8e1d5;border-radius:14px;padding:20px 22px;cursor:pointer;\n  transition:border-color .16s ease,background .16s ease}\n.hm-loop .node:hover{border-color:#dde4ea;background:#f2f5f7}\n.hm-loop .node .k{flex:0 0 auto;font:800 17px\/1.3 \"Playfair Display\",Georgia,serif;color:#e0a17c;\n  font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums;min-width:1.1em}\n.hm-loop .node.on{border-color:#b23c0c;background:#f2f5f7}\n.hm-loop .node.on .k{color:#b23c0c}\n.hm-loop .node:focus-visible{outline:2px solid #b23c0c;outline-offset:2px}\n.hm-loop .arr{position:absolute;width:22px;height:22px;margin:-11px 0 0 -11px;pointer-events:none}\n.hm-loop .arr path{fill:none;stroke:#e0a17c;stroke-width:2;stroke-linecap:round;stroke-linejoin:round}\n.hm-loop .a1{left:50%;top:calc(25% - 17px)}\n.hm-loop .a2{left:calc(75% + 17px);top:50%;transform:rotate(90deg)}\n.hm-loop .a3{left:50%;top:calc(75% + 17px);transform:rotate(180deg)}\n.hm-loop .a4{left:calc(25% - 17px);top:50%;transform:rotate(270deg)}\n.hm-loop .ask{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;align-items:baseline;gap:6px 14px;margin:18px 0 0}\n.hm-loop .ask p{margin:0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.5;color:#6b6259}\n.hm-loop .ask b{color:#8f300a}\n@media(max-width:640px){\n  .hm-loop .ring{grid-template-columns:1fr;grid-auto-rows:auto;gap:12px;padding-left:30px}\n  .hm-loop .ring::before{content:\"\";position:absolute;left:0;top:18px;bottom:18px;width:14px;\n    border:1.5px solid #e0a17c;border-right:0;border-radius:10px 0 0 10px}\n  .hm-loop .ring::after{content:\"\";position:absolute;left:14px;top:18px;width:8px;height:8px;\n    border-top:1.5px solid #e0a17c;border-right:1.5px solid #e0a17c;\n    transform:translate(-50%,-50%) rotate(45deg)}\n  .hm-loop .arr{display:none}\n  \/* the square is read clockwise, so the bottom row is read right to left.\n     As a column, source order already is the loop order. *\/\n}\n\n\/* ---- the temperature ---- *\/\n.hm-temp .scale{position:relative;height:74px;margin:8px 10px 0}\n.hm-temp .track{position:absolute;left:0;right:0;top:30px;height:10px;border-radius:6px;\n  background:linear-gradient(90deg,#dfe8f1 0%,#f3f1ec 57%,#f7e7d1 100%);border:1px solid #e8e1d5}\n.hm-temp .span{position:absolute;top:30px;height:10px;border-radius:6px}\n.hm-temp .mk{position:absolute;top:22px;width:2px;height:26px;margin-left:-1px;border-radius:1px}\n.hm-temp .mk b{position:absolute;top:-21px;left:50%;transform:translateX(-50%);white-space:nowrap;\n  font:700 13px\/1 \"Work Sans\",sans-serif;font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums}\n.hm-temp .mk.end{background:#b23c0c}\n.hm-temp .mk.end b{color:#b23c0c}\n.hm-temp .mk.st{background:#2a2622}\n.hm-temp .mk.st b{color:#2a2622}\n.hm-temp .ticks{position:absolute;left:0;right:0;top:50px;height:16px}\n.hm-temp .ticks b{position:absolute;transform:translateX(-50%);font:400 12px\/1 \"Work Sans\",sans-serif;\n  color:#6b6259;font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums}\n.hm-temp input[type=range]{width:100%;margin:14px 0 0;accent-color:#b23c0c}\n.hm-temp .ctl{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;align-items:center;gap:8px 12px;margin:6px 0 0}\n.hm-temp .ctl label{font-size:14px;font-weight:600;color:#6b6259;margin-right:4px}\n.hm-temp .out{display:grid;grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr;gap:12px;margin:16px 0 0}\n.hm-temp .out div{border:1.5px solid #e8e1d5;border-radius:12px;padding:13px 16px;background:#fff}\n.hm-temp .out .l{display:block;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.13em;\n  text-transform:uppercase;color:#6b6259;margin:0 0 6px}\n.hm-temp .out .v{display:block;font-size:19px;font-weight:700;line-height:1.3;color:#2a2622;\n  font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums}\n.hm-temp .out .same .v{color:#b23c0c}\n@media(max-width:520px){.hm-temp .out{grid-template-columns:1fr}}\n\n\/* the hormone row under the thermometer *\/\n.hm-temp .cyc{margin:26px 0 0;padding:20px 0 0;border-top:1px solid #e8e1d5}\n.hm-temp .pl{position:relative;height:clamp(96px,12vw,124px);margin:4px 0 0}\n.hm-temp .pl svg{position:absolute;inset:0;width:100%;height:100%}\n.hm-temp .x{position:absolute;width:0;height:0}\n.hm-temp .x i{position:absolute;left:-8px;top:-8px;width:16px;height:16px;border-radius:50%;\n  background:#fff;border:2.5px solid #e0a17c;box-sizing:border-box;transition:background .2s ease,border-color .2s ease,transform .2s ease}\n.hm-temp .x span{position:absolute;left:0;top:-32px;transform:translateX(-50%);font-size:12px;font-weight:700;\n  letter-spacing:.08em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#6b6259;white-space:nowrap;transition:color .2s ease}\n.hm-temp .cyc[data-dir=\"up\"] .x.up i,.hm-temp .cyc[data-dir=\"down\"] .x.down i{background:#b23c0c;border-color:#b23c0c;transform:scale(1.25)}\n.hm-temp .cyc[data-dir=\"up\"] .x.up span,.hm-temp .cyc[data-dir=\"down\"] .x.down span{color:#b23c0c}\n.hm-temp .cyc .tk{position:relative;height:22px;margin-top:6px}\n.hm-temp .cyc .tk b{position:absolute;top:4px;transform:translateX(-50%);font-size:12.5px;font-weight:400;\n  color:#6b6259;white-space:nowrap}\n.hm-temp .cyc .tk b:first-child{transform:none}\n.hm-temp .cyc .tk b:last-child{transform:translateX(-100%)}\n.hm-temp .cs{margin:10px 0 0;font-size:17px;line-height:1.5;color:#2a2622;font-weight:600}\n\n\/* the loop's ring: an ellipse through the card centres, drawn behind the\n   cards, and a dot that runs once round it from the card you press *\/\n.hm-loop .ring li{position:relative;z-index:1}\n.hm-loop .orb .dot{z-index:3}\n.hm-loop .ring{margin:34px 26px}\n.hm-loop .ring li.orb{position:absolute;inset:0;z-index:0;pointer-events:none}\n.hm-loop .orb svg{position:absolute;inset:0;width:100%;height:100%;overflow:visible}\n.hm-loop .orb rect{fill:none;stroke:#e0a17c;stroke-width:2;stroke-dasharray:2 7;stroke-linecap:round}\n.hm-loop .orb .dot{position:absolute;left:-8px;top:-8px;width:16px;height:16px;border-radius:50%;\n  background:#b23c0c;box-shadow:0 0 0 5px rgba(178,60,12,.16)}\n.hm-loop .arr{z-index:2}\n.hm-loop .node.pass{border-color:#b23c0c;background:#f2f5f7}\n@media(max-width:640px){.hm-loop .ring li.orb{display:none}.hm-loop .ring{margin:0}}\n@media(prefers-reduced-motion:reduce){\n  .hm-next,.hm-fig button,.hm-loop .node,.hm-temp .x i,.hm-temp .x span{transition:none!important}\n}\n@media print{\n  .hm-fig .tabs,.hm-temp input,.hm-temp .ctl,.hm-loop .ask{display:none!important}\n}\n\n\/* small phones (360-375): long reference words and the list column must be able to break *\/\n@media(max-width:480px){.eqp ol.wp-block-list{padding-left:18px}.eqp ol.wp-block-list li{overflow-wrap:anywhere}}\n<\/style><style>\n\/* ---- glossary popups ---- *\/\n\n\/* THE PAGE MUST NOT SCROLL SIDEWAYS BECAUSE OF A CARD NOBODY CAN SEE. A hidden\n   absolutely positioned box still extends the scrollable width, and a card\n   centred on a word near the right edge hangs off it until the script nudges it\n   back. The script does that on load, but \"on load\" is a moving target: web\n   fonts reflow the line after it, and the sleep article was still scrolling\n   41px sideways at 720px on some loads and not others.\n\n   overflow-x:clip settles it without depending on timing at all. Not hidden:\n   clip does not make this a scroll container, so anything sticky inside keeps\n   sticking and overflow-y stays visible. The clip edge is the page box, and a\n   320px card centred on a word inside the measure column has a couple of\n   hundred pixels of slack before it can reach that edge, so on a desktop it\n   never clips anything; on a narrow screen the clip edge is the viewport, which\n   is where the script is putting the card anyway. *\/\n.eqp{overflow-x:clip}\n\n\/* A dotted underline under a term that is usually already italic: quiet enough\n   to ignore, and different enough from a link to never be mistaken for one. *\/\n.eqp .gl{position:relative;display:inline;border-bottom:1.5px dotted #e0a17c;\n  cursor:help;outline:none}\n.eqp .gl:focus-visible{outline:2px solid var(--eqp-accent);outline-offset:3px;\n  border-radius:3px}\n\n.eqp .gd{position:absolute;left:50%;bottom:calc(100% + 12px);z-index:40;\n  width:min(320px,78vw);box-sizing:border-box;\n  \/* THE NUDGE IS A MARGIN, NOT PART OF THE TRANSFORM. It used to ride inside\n     translateX as calc(-50% + var(--sx)), and the variable never took effect:\n     the script set --sx correctly, the sheet shipped correctly, and the\n     computed transform stayed at a flat -50% regardless. Measured on the live\n     page with the compositor running and a control element proving transform\n     itself worked, cards still sat 54 to 61px off the left edge of a 390px\n     screen. margin-left is a layout property, it resolves the variable, and it\n     put every card exactly where the script had calculated. *\/\n  transform:translateX(-50%) translateY(4px);margin-left:var(--sx,0px);\n  opacity:0;visibility:hidden;pointer-events:none;\n  background:#fff;border:1.5px solid var(--eqp-line2);border-radius:12px;\n  box-shadow:0 10px 30px rgba(20,30,40,.14);padding:14px 16px;\n  font-family:\"Work Sans\",sans-serif;font-size:14.5px;line-height:1.55;\n  font-style:normal;font-weight:400;color:var(--eqp-body);text-align:left;\n  transition:opacity .16s ease,transform .16s ease}\n.eqp .gd b{display:block;font-family:\"Work Sans\",sans-serif;font-size:11px;\n  font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.13em;text-transform:uppercase;\n  color:var(--eqp-muted);margin:0 0 6px}\n\/* The pointer, a rotated square sitting half outside the card. It carries the\n   nudge in reverse so it stays under the term when the card has moved. *\/\n.eqp .gd::after{content:\"\";position:absolute;left:calc(50% - 6px - var(--sx,0px));\n  bottom:-7px;width:12px;height:12px;background:#fff;\n  border-right:1.5px solid var(--eqp-line2);border-bottom:1.5px solid var(--eqp-line2);\n  transform:rotate(45deg)}\n.eqp .gl:hover .gd,.eqp .gl:focus .gd,.eqp .gl:focus-within .gd{\n  opacity:1;visibility:visible;pointer-events:auto;\n  transform:translateX(-50%) translateY(0)}\n@media(prefers-reduced-motion:reduce){\n  .eqp .gd{transition:none;transform:translateX(-50%)}\n}\n\/* A popup means nothing on paper, and nothing is lost: every glossed term keeps\n   the author's own sentence around it. *\/\n@media print{.eqp .gd{display:none}.eqp .gl{border-bottom:0}}\n<\/style><style>\n.eqp .gl{color:#b23c0c}\n.eqp .gl:hover{background:#fdede5}\n.eqp .eqb .gl{color:inherit}\n.eqp .gd{border-left:3px solid #b23c0c}\n.eqp .gd b{color:#b23c0c;background:#fdede5;\n  margin:-14px -16px 12px;padding:10px 16px 9px;\n  border-bottom:1px solid #f3d5c6}\n.eqp .gd::after{border-right-color:#f3d5c6;border-bottom-color:#f3d5c6}\n<\/style><script>\n(function(){\n  \/* The sheet is the first block on the page, so at parse time not one .gl\n     exists yet and binding straight away binds to nothing. It did, silently:\n     the cards still opened, because opening is pure CSS, and only the nudge was\n     missing. Wait for the document instead. *\/\n  function bind(){\n    var gl=document.querySelectorAll('.eqp .gl');\n    if(!gl.length){return;}\n    \/* MEASURE THE TERM, NOT THE CARD. Reading the card's own rect looks like\n       the obvious thing to do and is wrong: the card is mid transition when the\n       pointer arrives, so its rect is wherever the animation has got to, and a\n       nudge computed from it was correct on a first hover and zero on a second.\n       The term does not move and offsetWidth ignores transforms.\n\n       getClientRects()[0] rather than getBoundingClientRect, because a term\n       that wraps across two lines is anchored by CSS to its first line box. *\/\n    function place(el){\n      var card=el.querySelector('.gd');\n      if(!card){return;}\n      var rects=el.getClientRects();\n      var a=rects.length?rects[0]:el.getBoundingClientRect();\n      var mid=a.left+a.width\/2, half=card.offsetWidth\/2, m=14, dx=0;\n      if(mid-half<m){dx=m-(mid-half);}\n      else if(mid+half>window.innerWidth-m){dx=(window.innerWidth-m)-(mid+half);}\n      card.style.setProperty('--sx',dx.toFixed(1)+'px');\n    }\n    for(var i=0;i<gl.length;i++){\n      (function(el){\n        el.addEventListener('mouseenter',function(){place(el);});\n        el.addEventListener('focus',function(){place(el);});\n        el.addEventListener('keydown',function(e){\n          if(e.key==='Escape'){el.blur();}\n        });\n      })(gl[i]);\n    }\n    function placeAll(){for(var j=0;j<gl.length;j++){place(gl[j]);}}\n    placeAll();\n    \/* Again once the web fonts have swapped, which moves every line on the\n       page, and again at load for anything else that reflowed. *\/\n    if(document.fonts){document.fonts.ready.then(placeAll);}\n    if(document.readyState!=='complete'){window.addEventListener('load',placeAll);}\n    var t=null;\n    window.addEventListener('resize',function(){\n      if(t){clearTimeout(t);}\n      t=setTimeout(placeAll,120);\n    });\n  }\n  if(document.readyState==='loading'){\n    document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',bind);\n  }else{bind();}\n})();\n<\/script><div id=\"eqp-rail\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i><\/i><\/div><nav id=\"eqp-parts\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><a href=\"#part-1\" data-i=\"1\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">Your hormones are already talking to your brain<\/span><\/a><a href=\"#part-2\" data-i=\"2\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">The same hormone can feel completely different<\/span><\/a><a href=\"#part-3\" data-i=\"3\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">Your menstrual cycle is not a personality cycle<\/span><\/a><a href=\"#part-4\" data-i=\"4\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">The surprisingly busy life of progesterone<\/span><\/a><a href=\"#part-5\" data-i=\"5\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">When hormones and stress meet<\/span><\/a><a href=\"#part-6\" data-i=\"6\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">When the hormonal landscape changes<\/span><\/a><\/nav><button id=\"eqp-top\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Back to the top of the article\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M6 10.5V2M2 5.5 6 1.5l4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg>Top<\/button><script>(function(){document.documentElement.setAttribute(\"data-eqp\",\"on\");function init(){var RM=false;if(window.matchMedia){RM=window.matchMedia(\"(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)\").matches;}var bar=document.querySelector(\"#eqp-rail i\");var hasST=false;if(window.CSS){if(CSS.supports){hasST=CSS.supports(\"animation-timeline\",\"scroll()\");}}if(bar){if(!hasST){  var tick=function(){    var h=document.documentElement.scrollHeight-window.innerHeight; 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 for(var i=0;i<tops.length;i++){ if(tops[i]){ if(tops[i].offsetTop<=y) cur=i; } }  if(cur!==last){    links.forEach(function(a,i){a.classList.toggle(\"on\",i===cur);});    last=cur;  }  if(btn){    var h=document.documentElement.scrollHeight-window.innerHeight;    var far=false; if(h>0){far=window.scrollY\/h>0.35;}    btn.classList.toggle(\"on\",far);  }};addEventListener(\"scroll\",sync,{passive:true});addEventListener(\"resize\",sync);sync();if(btn)btn.addEventListener(\"click\",function(){  window.scrollTo({top:0,behavior:RM?\"auto\":\"smooth\"});});}if(document.readyState===\"loading\"){document.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",init);}else{init();}})();<\/script>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull eqp has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-69fa9525 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding:0px 22px\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<div style=\"color:#6b6259;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.455), 18px);font-style:normal;font-weight:400;margin-top:54px;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"has-link-color wp-elements-1 wp-block-post-date has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\"><time datetime=\"2026-09-18T10:28:49+02:00\">18 rujna, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"color:#6b6259;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.455), 18px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;text-transform:uppercase;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"taxonomy-category has-link-color wp-elements-2 wp-block-post-terms has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\"><a href=\"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/category\/body-and-mind\/\" rel=\"tag\">Body and Mind<\/a><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__separator\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/category\/deep-dive\/\" rel=\"tag\">Deep Dive<\/a><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__separator\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/category\/womens-health\/\" rel=\"tag\">Women's Health<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-playfair-display-font-family\" id=\"top\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:16px;font-size:clamp(24.034px, 1.502rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 1.814), 40px);font-style:normal;font-weight:800;line-height:1.15\">So, Is It Your Hormones?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#524a42;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:22px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.55\">How hormones affect your brain and mood, why hormonal changes can feel surprisingly psychological, and what the science actually tells us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#6b6259;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.114), 15px);line-height:1.5\"><strong style=\"color:#b23c0c\">19 minute read<\/strong> &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; 4,324 words<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family eq-drop wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#35302a;margin-top:46px;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.642px, 0.915rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.836), 22px);line-height:1.62\">There are days when you seem to have considerably less patience for everyone. Or concentrating feels strangely difficult. Or you are unusually tearful, irritable, anxious, hungry, tired, restless, flat, or somehow all of these things at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sometimes there is an obvious reason. You slept badly. Something happened at work. You have been under pressure for weeks. You are ill. Your relationship is difficult at the moment. Life is, occasionally, just being life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And sometimes someone says the sentence that is supposed to explain everything:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-66cb9a2b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-left-color:#dde4ea;border-left-width:4px;border-left-style:solid;border-radius:0px;margin-top:30px;margin-bottom:30px;padding:2px 0px 2px 26px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.625), 19.5px);font-weight:600;line-height:1.5\">It\u2019s probably your hormones.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Which raises a rather inconvenient question. What does that actually mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Hormones are often talked about as if they are tiny messengers carrying simple instructions around the body. Estrogen makes you feel good. Progesterone makes you sleepy. Cortisol makes you stressed. Testosterone makes you confident. Everything becomes very tidy, very quickly. The actual biology is considerably less tidy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Hormones can influence the brain, including systems involved in mood, attention, memory, motivation, stress and sleep. But they do this through complicated interactions with receptors, neurotransmitters, other hormones, brain circuits, previous experience and the environment the brain happens to be operating in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And the same hormonal change can be <strong class=\"eqb\">barely noticeable in one person and profoundly important in another<\/strong>. That last part turns out to be one of the most interesting things about hormones.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\"><div class=\"eq-short\"><p class=\"eyebrow\">The short version<\/p><ol><li><span class=\"n\">01<\/span><div><p class=\"c\">Hormones are brain-active chemicals, not just reproductive signals.<\/p><p class=\"s\">Estrogen and progesterone are often introduced in the context of reproduction, but their receptors and effects extend into the brain. That does not mean estrogen directly determines whether you feel happy or sad.<\/p><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">02<\/span><div><p class=\"c\">Hormone levels are only part of the story.<\/p><p class=\"s\">Two people can experience broadly similar hormonal changes and have very different responses. PMDD is an especially useful example. The problem is not simply that the person has \u201ctoo many\u201d or \u201ctoo few\u201d hormones.<\/p><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">03<\/span><div><p class=\"c\">The menstrual cycle does not switch your brain between different modes.<\/p><p class=\"s\">There are plenty of claims online about being more intelligent, creative, emotionally unstable, productive or physically capable at particular points in the cycle. When researchers have looked across objective cognitive tests, the evidence does not support a universal pattern of dramatic cognitive changes across menstrual phases. That does not mean nobody notices changes.<\/p><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">04<\/span><div><p class=\"c\">Hormones and stress are having a conversation.<\/p><p class=\"s\">The reproductive hormone system and the stress system are connected. So the question is often less \u201cIs this hormonal or psychological?\u201d and more \u201cHow are these systems interacting?\u201d<\/p><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">05<\/span><div><p class=\"c\">Hormonal transitions can be particularly noticeable.<\/p><p class=\"s\">Puberty, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum changes, perimenopause and menopause all involve changes in the hormonal environment of the brain. During perimenopause, for example, complaints of brain fog, sleep disruption and mood changes are common.<\/p><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">06<\/span><div><p class=\"c\">\u201cIt\u2019s your hormones\u201d can be both true and completely unhelpful.<\/p><p class=\"s\">Hormones can be part of why you feel different. They are rarely the whole explanation. Your brain is not receiving a hormonal memo that says please become anxious now.<\/p><\/div><\/li><\/ol><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4ccedd2e wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-color:#e8e1d5;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:22px;background-color:#faf8f3;margin-top:56px;margin-bottom:20px;padding:30px 34px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#6b6259;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:22px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">WHAT THIS ARTICLE COVERS &middot; SIX PARTS<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\">\n<div class=\"eq-toc\"><div class=\"flat\"><svg class=\"chev hide\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 1<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-1\">Your hormones are already talking to your brain<\/a><span class=\"cnt\">2 min<\/span><\/div><div class=\"flat\"><svg class=\"chev hide\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 2<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-2\">The same hormone can feel completely different<\/a><span class=\"cnt\">2 min<\/span><\/div><details><summary><svg class=\"chev\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 3<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-3\">Your menstrual cycle is not a personality cycle<\/a><span class=\"cnt\"><span class=\"sec\">1 section<\/span><span class=\"sep\"> &middot; <\/span>2 min<\/span><\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"#the-experience-of-brain-fog-is-more-complicated-than-a-cog\">The experience of \u201cbrain fog\u201d is more complicated than a cognitive test<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><details><summary><svg class=\"chev\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 4<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-4\">The surprisingly busy life of progesterone<\/a><span class=\"cnt\"><span class=\"sec\">1 section<\/span><span class=\"sep\"> &middot; <\/span>2 min<\/span><\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"#the-brain-is-responding-to-change-not-simply-to-a-number\">The brain is responding to change, not simply to a number<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><details><summary><svg class=\"chev\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 5<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-5\">When hormones and stress meet<\/a><span class=\"cnt\"><span class=\"sec\">1 section<\/span><span class=\"sep\"> &middot; <\/span>2 min<\/span><\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"#this-is-also-why-context-matters\">This is also why context matters<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><details><summary><svg class=\"chev\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 6<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-6\">When the hormonal landscape changes<\/a><span class=\"cnt\"><span class=\"sec\">2 sections<\/span><span class=\"sep\"> &middot; <\/span>3 min<\/span><\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"#after-pregnancy-the-biological-environment-changes-very-qu\">After pregnancy, the biological environment changes very quickly<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#then-there-is-perimenopause\">Then there is perimenopause<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><details><summary><svg class=\"chev\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">CLOSING<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#closing\">Sometimes, and rarely on their own<\/a><span class=\"cnt\"><span class=\"sec\">2 sections<\/span><span class=\"sep\"> &middot; <\/span>3 min<\/span><\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"#there-is-another-reason-to-be-careful-with-hormonal-explan\">There is another reason to be careful with hormonal explanations<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#what-this-means-for-you\">What this means for you<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"hm-part\"><div class=\"no\">01<\/div><div class=\"tx\"><p class=\"lb\">Part one of six<\/p><h2 id=\"part-1\">Your hormones are already talking to your brain<\/h2><p class=\"sb\">What hormones actually do in the nervous system<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#35302a;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px;font-size:clamp(14.642px, 0.915rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.836), 22px);line-height:1.55\">The brain is not separate from the rest of the endocrine system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Imagine someone telling you that a particular chemical in your body has changed. You might reasonably expect something fairly obvious to happen. A chemical changes, therefore something changes. The difficulty is that <strong class=\"eqb\">the brain does not work like a row of light switches<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Hormones influence the brain by interacting with receptors and signalling systems that are distributed across different regions and circuits. <span class=\"gl\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-1\"><em class=\"eqi\">Estradiol<\/em><span class=\"gd\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-1\"><b>Estradiol<\/b>The main form of estrogen in the body during the reproductive years. When people say estrogen, estradiol is usually the hormone they mean.<\/span><\/span>, for example, interacts with estrogen receptors in the nervous system and can influence neurotransmitter systems including serotonin, <a href=\"\/dopamine-addiction-everyday-habits\/\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1.5px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">dopamine<\/a> and glutamate. These systems are involved in an enormous range of functions, including mood, motivation, learning, memory and reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This is one reason the phrase \u201chormones affect your mood\u201d is technically true but scientifically rather unsatisfying. It is a little like saying that electricity affects your house. Yes. But which room? Through which circuit? Doing what? And under what circumstances?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">The effects of hormones are not simply about whether a hormone is present or absent. They depend on the hormone, the receptor it interacts with, the tissues involved, the timing and pattern of exposure, and <strong class=\"eqb\">what else is happening in the system<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Estradiol is particularly interesting because it is not simply something the reproductive system sends to the brain from a distance. It acts as a <span class=\"gl\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-2\"><em class=\"eqi\">neuroactive steroid<\/em><span class=\"gd\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-2\"><b>neuroactive steroid<\/b>A steroid, made in the body or in the brain itself, that changes how nerve cells behave. Many act quickly on receptors at the surface of the cell.<\/span><\/span>, and research has linked it to changes in several neurotransmitter systems and neural processes. Much of the mechanistic evidence comes from animal and laboratory studies, however, and translating those findings into everyday human psychological experience requires caution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">That distinction is worth keeping. There is a long road between:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:8px\"><div class=\"hm-pair\"><div class=\"cell qa mist\"><p class=\"q\">Estradiol interacts with serotonin signalling<\/p><\/div><div class=\"mid\"><span>and<\/span><\/div><div class=\"cell qb cream\"><p class=\"q\">Estrogen is why you feel sad today.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"cell na mist\"><p class=\"nt\">The first is a biological statement.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"cell nb cream\"><p class=\"nt\">The second is usually a guess.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-f86ed65e wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#f2f5f7;border-color:#dde4ea;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:20px;margin-top:46px;margin-bottom:46px;padding:34px 38px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#8f300a;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">WHAT THE RESEARCH SUPPORTS<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Hormonal changes can influence biological systems involved in mood, cognition, reward, stress regulation and sleep. That does not mean a particular hormone produces a particular emotion in a simple, predictable way. Human behaviour is not a hormone chart.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"hm-part\"><div class=\"no\">02<\/div><div class=\"tx\"><p class=\"lb\">Part two of six<\/p><h2 id=\"part-2\">The same hormone can feel completely different<\/h2><p class=\"sb\">Why sensitivity matters as much as levels<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#35302a;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px;font-size:clamp(14.642px, 0.915rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.836), 22px);line-height:1.55\">Hormone level is not the same thing as hormone effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This is where the story becomes much more interesting. Suppose two people experience the same hormonal change. You might expect them to have broadly the same response. They don\u2019t necessarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">One person notices very little. Another becomes noticeably more irritable or anxious. Someone else mainly notices sleep changes. Another person notices nothing until they look back at several months of symptoms and realise there is a pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This is not particularly mysterious once you stop thinking of hormones as instructions and start thinking of them as <strong class=\"eqb\">signals being interpreted by a biological system<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:40px;margin-bottom:46px\"><figure class=\"hm-fig hm-sens\"><div class=\"hd\"><p class=\"ti\">The same change, different people<\/p><p class=\"un\">schematic<\/p><\/div><div class=\"tabs\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"Choose a person\"><button type=\"button\" data-i=\"0\" aria-pressed=\"false\">One person<\/button><button type=\"button\" data-i=\"1\" aria-pressed=\"true\">Another<\/button><button type=\"button\" data-i=\"2\" aria-pressed=\"false\">Someone else<\/button><\/div><p class=\"say\" id=\"hm-say\" aria-live=\"polite\">Another becomes noticeably more irritable or anxious.<\/p><div class=\"plot\" role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Across one 28 day cycle the hormone lines are identical for all three people. Only the response underneath them differs.\"><div class=\"ph\"><span style=\"right:calc(100% &#45; 48.22% + 9px)\">follicular phase<\/span><span style=\"left:calc(48.22% + 9px)\">luteal phase<\/span><\/div><div class=\"hbw\"><svg class=\"hb\" viewBox=\"0 0 860 158\" preserveAspectRatio=\"none\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><rect x=\"414.7\" y=\"0\" width=\"429.3\" height=\"156\" fill=\"#f2f5f7\"\/><line x1=\"414.7\" y1=\"0\" x2=\"414.7\" y2=\"156\" stroke=\"#dde4ea\" stroke-width=\"1\" stroke-dasharray=\"3 4\" vector-effect=\"non-scaling-stroke\"\/><line x1=\"16\" y1=\"156\" x2=\"844\" y2=\"156\" stroke=\"#e8e1d5\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" vector-effect=\"non-scaling-stroke\"\/><polyline points=\"16.0,147.0 23.7,147.0 31.3,147.0 39.0,147.0 46.7,147.0 54.3,147.0 62.0,147.0 69.7,147.0 77.3,147.0 85.0,147.0 92.7,147.0 100.3,147.0 108.0,147.0 115.7,147.0 123.3,147.0 131.0,147.0 138.7,147.0 146.3,147.0 154.0,147.0 161.7,147.0 169.3,147.0 177.0,147.0 184.7,147.0 192.3,147.0 200.0,147.0 207.7,147.0 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23.7,53.6 31.3,54.4 39.0,55.6 46.7,57.1 54.3,58.7 62.0,60.3 69.7,61.7 77.3,63.0 85.0,64.0 92.7,64.7 100.3,65.2 108.0,65.6 115.7,65.8 123.3,66.0 131.0,66.1 138.7,66.1 146.3,66.1 154.0,66.1 161.7,66.2 169.3,66.2 177.0,66.2 184.7,66.2 192.3,66.2 200.0,66.2 207.7,66.2 215.3,66.2 223.0,66.2 230.7,66.2 238.3,66.2 246.0,66.2 253.7,66.2 261.3,66.2 269.0,66.2 276.7,66.2 284.3,66.2 292.0,66.2 299.7,66.2 307.3,66.2 315.0,66.2 322.7,66.2 330.3,66.2 338.0,66.2 345.7,66.2 353.3,66.2 361.0,66.2 368.7,66.2 376.3,66.2 384.0,66.2 391.7,66.2 399.3,66.2 407.0,66.2 414.7,66.2 422.3,66.2 430.0,66.2 437.7,66.2 445.3,66.2 453.0,66.2 460.7,66.2 468.3,66.1 476.0,66.1 483.7,66.1 491.3,66.1 499.0,66.1 506.7,66.1 514.3,66.0 522.0,66.0 529.7,65.9 537.3,65.8 545.0,65.6 552.7,65.4 560.3,65.1 568.0,64.8 575.7,64.3 583.3,63.8 591.0,63.1 598.7,62.3 606.3,61.2 614.0,60.0 621.7,58.6 629.3,56.9 637.0,55.0 644.7,52.8 652.3,50.3 660.0,47.6 667.7,44.7 675.3,41.5 683.0,38.3 690.7,34.9 698.3,31.5 706.0,28.2 713.7,24.9 721.3,21.9 729.0,19.2 736.7,16.9 744.3,15.0 752.0,13.6 759.7,12.7 767.3,12.4 775.0,12.7 782.7,13.6 790.3,15.0 798.0,16.9 805.7,19.2 813.3,21.9 821.0,24.9 828.7,28.2 836.3,31.5 844.0,34.9\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#2b7a78\" stroke-width=\"3\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" vector-effect=\"non-scaling-stroke\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"tag\" id=\"hm-tag\" style=\"left:89.22%;top:16.32%\">more irritable or anxious<\/span><\/div><div class=\"tk\"><b style=\"left:1.86%\">day 1<\/b><b style=\"left:23.26%\">day 7<\/b><b style=\"left:48.22%\">day 14<\/b><b style=\"left:73.18%\">day 21<\/b><b style=\"left:98.14%\">day 28<\/b><\/div><\/div><div class=\"key\"><span><i style=\"background:#b23c0c\"><\/i>Estradiol<\/span><span><i style=\"background:#4d6f93\"><\/i>Progesterone<\/span><span><i style=\"background:#2b7a78\"><\/i>This person<\/span><span><i style=\"background:#2b7a78;opacity:.35\"><\/i>The other two<\/span><\/div><figcaption>The signal matters. So does the system receiving it.<\/figcaption><script>(function(){var D=[[\"16.0,65.5 23.7,65.5 31.3,65.5 39.0,65.5 46.7,65.5 54.3,65.5 62.0,65.5 69.7,65.5 77.3,65.5 85.0,65.5 92.7,65.5 100.3,65.5 108.0,65.5 115.7,65.5 123.3,65.5 131.0,65.5 138.7,65.5 146.3,65.5 154.0,65.5 161.7,65.5 169.3,65.5 177.0,65.5 184.7,65.5 192.3,65.5 200.0,65.5 207.7,65.5 215.3,65.5 223.0,65.5 230.7,65.5 238.3,65.5 246.0,65.5 253.7,65.5 261.3,65.5 269.0,65.5 276.7,65.5 284.3,65.5 292.0,65.5 299.7,65.5 307.3,65.5 315.0,65.5 322.7,65.5 330.3,65.5 338.0,65.5 345.7,65.5 353.3,65.5 361.0,65.5 368.7,65.5 376.3,65.5 384.0,65.5 391.7,65.5 399.3,65.5 407.0,65.5 414.7,65.5 422.3,65.5 430.0,65.5 437.7,65.5 445.3,65.5 453.0,65.5 460.7,65.5 468.3,65.5 476.0,65.5 483.7,65.5 491.3,65.5 499.0,65.5 506.7,65.5 514.3,65.5 522.0,65.5 529.7,65.5 537.3,65.5 545.0,65.5 552.7,65.5 560.3,65.5 568.0,65.5 575.7,65.5 583.3,65.4 591.0,65.4 598.7,65.4 606.3,65.3 614.0,65.3 621.7,65.2 629.3,65.2 637.0,65.1 644.7,65.0 652.3,64.9 660.0,64.8 667.7,64.7 675.3,64.6 683.0,64.4 690.7,64.3 698.3,64.1 706.0,64.0 713.7,63.8 721.3,63.7 729.0,63.5 736.7,63.4 744.3,63.3 752.0,63.2 759.7,63.1 767.3,63.0 775.0,63.0 782.7,63.0 790.3,63.0 798.0,63.0 805.7,63.1 813.3,63.2 821.0,63.3 828.7,63.4 836.3,63.5 844.0,63.7\",\"One person notices very little.\",[\"91.01%\",\"82.84%\",\"very little\"]],[\"16.0,53.4 23.7,53.6 31.3,54.4 39.0,55.6 46.7,57.1 54.3,58.7 62.0,60.3 69.7,61.7 77.3,63.0 85.0,64.0 92.7,64.7 100.3,65.2 108.0,65.6 115.7,65.8 123.3,66.0 131.0,66.1 138.7,66.1 146.3,66.1 154.0,66.1 161.7,66.2 169.3,66.2 177.0,66.2 184.7,66.2 192.3,66.2 200.0,66.2 207.7,66.2 215.3,66.2 223.0,66.2 230.7,66.2 238.3,66.2 246.0,66.2 253.7,66.2 261.3,66.2 269.0,66.2 276.7,66.2 284.3,66.2 292.0,66.2 299.7,66.2 307.3,66.2 315.0,66.2 322.7,66.2 330.3,66.2 338.0,66.2 345.7,66.2 353.3,66.2 361.0,66.2 368.7,66.2 376.3,66.2 384.0,66.2 391.7,66.2 399.3,66.2 407.0,66.2 414.7,66.2 422.3,66.2 430.0,66.2 437.7,66.2 445.3,66.2 453.0,66.2 460.7,66.2 468.3,66.1 476.0,66.1 483.7,66.1 491.3,66.1 499.0,66.1 506.7,66.1 514.3,66.0 522.0,66.0 529.7,65.9 537.3,65.8 545.0,65.6 552.7,65.4 560.3,65.1 568.0,64.8 575.7,64.3 583.3,63.8 591.0,63.1 598.7,62.3 606.3,61.2 614.0,60.0 621.7,58.6 629.3,56.9 637.0,55.0 644.7,52.8 652.3,50.3 660.0,47.6 667.7,44.7 675.3,41.5 683.0,38.3 690.7,34.9 698.3,31.5 706.0,28.2 713.7,24.9 721.3,21.9 729.0,19.2 736.7,16.9 744.3,15.0 752.0,13.6 759.7,12.7 767.3,12.4 775.0,12.7 782.7,13.6 790.3,15.0 798.0,16.9 805.7,19.2 813.3,21.9 821.0,24.9 828.7,28.2 836.3,31.5 844.0,34.9\",\"Another becomes noticeably more irritable or anxious.\",[\"89.22%\",\"16.32%\",\"more irritable or anxious\"]],[\"16.0,39.6 23.7,39.3 31.3,39.9 39.0,41.3 46.7,43.3 54.3,45.9 62.0,48.7 69.7,51.6 77.3,54.4 85.0,57.0 92.7,59.2 100.3,61.0 108.0,62.5 115.7,63.7 123.3,64.5 131.0,65.1 138.7,65.5 146.3,65.8 154.0,65.9 161.7,66.0 169.3,66.1 177.0,66.1 184.7,66.1 192.3,66.1 200.0,66.2 207.7,66.2 215.3,66.2 223.0,66.2 230.7,66.2 238.3,66.2 246.0,66.2 253.7,66.2 261.3,66.2 269.0,66.2 276.7,66.2 284.3,66.2 292.0,66.2 299.7,66.2 307.3,66.2 315.0,66.2 322.7,66.2 330.3,66.2 338.0,66.2 345.7,66.2 353.3,66.2 361.0,66.2 368.7,66.2 376.3,66.2 384.0,66.2 391.7,66.2 399.3,66.2 407.0,66.2 414.7,66.2 422.3,66.2 430.0,66.2 437.7,66.2 445.3,66.2 453.0,66.2 460.7,66.2 468.3,66.2 476.0,66.2 483.7,66.2 491.3,66.2 499.0,66.2 506.7,66.2 514.3,66.2 522.0,66.2 529.7,66.2 537.3,66.2 545.0,66.2 552.7,66.2 560.3,66.2 568.0,66.2 575.7,66.2 583.3,66.2 591.0,66.1 598.7,66.1 606.3,66.1 614.0,66.1 621.7,66.1 629.3,66.0 637.0,65.9 644.7,65.8 652.3,65.6 660.0,65.3 667.7,64.9 675.3,64.4 683.0,63.7 690.7,62.8 698.3,61.6 706.0,60.2 713.7,58.4 721.3,56.3 729.0,53.8 736.7,51.0 744.3,48.0 752.0,44.8 759.7,41.4 767.3,38.1 775.0,35.0 782.7,32.2 790.3,29.8 798.0,28.0 805.7,26.9 813.3,26.5 821.0,26.9 828.7,28.0 836.3,29.8 844.0,32.2\",\"Someone else mainly notices sleep changes.\",[\"94.57%\",\"34.84%\",\"sleep changes\"]]];var f=document.querySelector(\".hm-sens\");if(!f){return;}var r=document.getElementById(\"hm-resp\");var s=document.getElementById(\"hm-say\");var bs=f.querySelectorAll(\"button[data-i]\");Array.prototype.forEach.call(bs,function(b){b.addEventListener(\"click\",function(){var i=parseInt(b.getAttribute(\"data-i\"),10);Array.prototype.forEach.call(bs,function(o){o.setAttribute(\"aria-pressed\",o===b?\"true\":\"false\");});if(r){r.setAttribute(\"points\",D[i][0]);}if(s){s.textContent=D[i][1];}var tg=document.getElementById(\"hm-tag\");if(tg){tg.style.left=D[i][2][0];tg.style.top=D[i][2][1];tg.textContent=D[i][2][2];}});});})();<\/script><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Receptors can differ. Neural circuits can differ. Previous exposure matters. Other hormones matter. Stress matters. Sleep matters. Genetics matter. The timing and speed of a hormonal change can matter too. The brain is constantly adapting to its environment, and hormones are part of that environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">One of the clearest examples comes from <em class=\"eqi\">premenstrual dysphoric disorder<\/em>, or PMDD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">PMDD is characterised by recurring mood symptoms, including irritability, depressed mood, anxiety and <span class=\"gl\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-3\"><em class=\"eqi\">emotional lability<\/em><span class=\"gd\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-3\"><b>emotional lability<\/b>Moods that shift quickly and strongly, often more than the situation seems to call for, such as sudden tearfulness or irritability.<\/span><\/span>, that are closely tied to the <span class=\"gl\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-4\"><em class=\"eqi\">luteal phase<\/em><span class=\"gd\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-4\"><b>luteal phase<\/b>The second half of the menstrual cycle, from ovulation to the next period, when progesterone rises. The first half, before ovulation, is the follicular phase.<\/span><\/span> of the menstrual cycle. What makes it particularly useful for understanding hormones is that the problem does not appear to be simply an abnormal amount of ovarian hormone circulating in the blood. Research increasingly points toward <strong class=\"eqb\">an altered sensitivity to normal hormonal fluctuations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">In other words, the question changes from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px\"><div class=\"hm-re\"><p class=\"a\">How much hormone is there?<\/p><p class=\"j\">to<\/p><p class=\"b\">How is this person\u2019s brain responding to the change?<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">That is a much more sophisticated question. It also explains something that can otherwise seem strange. If ordinary hormonal fluctuations were inherently mood-damaging, we would expect most people to have severe psychological reactions to them. They don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">The existence of conditions such as PMDD tells us that <strong class=\"eqb\">individual sensitivity matters enormously<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-f86ed65e wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#fbf4e6;border-color:#eedcb9;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:20px;margin-top:46px;margin-bottom:46px;padding:34px 38px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#8f300a;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">WORTH BEING CLEAR ABOUT<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This does not mean that anyone experiencing mood changes before their period automatically has PMDD. PMDD is a specific clinical condition with a characteristic pattern of symptoms and functional impairment. Diagnosis depends on the timing, severity and recurrence of symptoms rather than simply having a difficult premenstrual week. And \u201chormonal sensitivity\u201d is not a universal explanation for every emotional change that happens around a menstrual cycle. The point is narrower and more useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Normal hormonal changes can produce very different psychological experiences in different brains.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"hm-part\"><div class=\"no\">03<\/div><div class=\"tx\"><p class=\"lb\">Part three of six<\/p><h2 id=\"part-3\">Your menstrual cycle is not a personality cycle<\/h2><p class=\"sb\">What the evidence says about cognition, mood and the familiar myths<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#35302a;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px;font-size:clamp(14.642px, 0.915rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.836), 22px);line-height:1.55\">The internet has made the menstrual cycle sound remarkably efficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Apparently, there is a follicular phase for productivity, an ovulation phase for confidence, a luteal phase for introspection and a menstrual phase for retreating into a blanket while refusing all administrative responsibilities. It is an appealing story. It is also much neater than the evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">One of the most useful recent studies here is a 2025 <span class=\"gl\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-6\"><em class=\"eqi\">meta-analysis<\/em><span class=\"gd\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-6\"><b>meta-analysis<\/b>A study of studies. It pools the results of many separate studies of one question, which gives a steadier answer than any single study can.<\/span><\/span> of menstrual-cycle effects on cognitive performance. The researchers examined 102 articles involving 3,943 participants and 730 comparisons across attention, <span class=\"gl\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-5\"><em class=\"eqi\">executive functioning<\/em><span class=\"gd\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-5\"><b>executive functioning<\/b>The mental skills used to plan, focus, switch between tasks, hold things in mind and hold back an impulse.<\/span><\/span>, intelligence, creativity, motor function, spatial ability and verbal ability. They found <strong class=\"eqb\">no robust systematic evidence<\/strong> that objective cognitive performance reliably changes across menstrual-cycle phases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">That is worth paying attention to because it pushes back against a familiar idea: Your cycle does not appear to switch your cognitive abilities on and off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">You do not become objectively less intelligent because your period is approaching. There is no evidence that the brain reliably follows a monthly timetable in which executive function disappears on Thursday and returns approximately three days later. Fortunately. It would make scheduling meetings considerably more complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">But there is an important distinction here. A lack of robust evidence for systematic changes in objective cognitive performance <strong class=\"eqb\">does not mean people are imagining every change they notice<\/strong>. Cognition is only one part of experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:30px\"><style>.hm-con{margin:0;border:1.5px solid #e8e1d5;border-radius:16px;overflow:hidden;background:#fff}.hm-con .h,.hm-con .r{display:grid;grid-template-columns:1fr 1.35fr}.hm-con .h span{padding:12px 22px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#6b6259;background:#faf8f3}.hm-con .r{border-top:1px solid #e8e1d5}.hm-con .r span{padding:15px 22px;font-size:19px;line-height:1.45;color:#2a2622}.hm-con .r span:first-child{font-weight:600}.hm-con .r span+span,.hm-con .h span+span{border-left:1px solid #e8e1d5}@media(max-width:600px){.hm-con .h{display:none}.hm-con .r{grid-template-columns:1fr}.hm-con .r span{padding:4px 18px}.hm-con .r span:first-child{padding-top:14px}.hm-con .r span:last-child{padding-bottom:14px}.hm-con .r span+span{border-left:0}}<\/style><div class=\"hm-con\"><div class=\"h\"><span>What can change<\/span><span>What stays the same<\/span><\/div><div class=\"r\"><span>You can sleep differently<\/span><span>without becoming less intelligent.<\/span><\/div><div class=\"r\"><span>You can experience more pain<\/span><span>without losing your reasoning ability.<\/span><\/div><div class=\"r\"><span>You can feel more emotionally reactive<\/span><span>without having impaired executive functioning.<\/span><\/div><div class=\"r\"><span>You can be exhausted<\/span><span>and still perform normally on a laboratory memory task while feeling, quite sincerely, that your brain has been replaced by damp cardboard.<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">These things are not contradictory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"the-experience-of-brain-fog-is-more-complicated-than-a-cog\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">The experience of \u201cbrain fog\u201d is more complicated than a cognitive test<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">When someone says: \u201cI can\u2019t think properly,\u201d they may be describing several different things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:30px\"><ul class=\"hm-run\"><li>Perhaps they are forgetting words.<\/li><li>Perhaps they are having trouble sustaining attention.<\/li><li>Perhaps they are sleeping badly.<\/li><li>Perhaps they are anxious and monitoring themselves constantly.<\/li><li>Perhaps they are physically uncomfortable.<\/li><li>Perhaps their thoughts are unusually preoccupied.<\/li><li>Perhaps they are mentally exhausted.<\/li><li>Perhaps all of these are happening at once.<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">A standard cognitive test captures only some of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This distinction becomes particularly important during menopause, where subjective cognitive complaints can be substantial even when objective cognitive performance does not map neatly onto them. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis examining 24 studies and 5,629 participants found that subjective and objective measures of cognition do not necessarily correspond closely during the menopausal transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">That is not an argument for dismissing subjective experience. Quite the opposite. It is a reminder that \u201ccognition\u201d <strong class=\"eqb\">is not one thing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-f86ed65e wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#f2f5f7;border-color:#dde4ea;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:20px;margin-top:46px;margin-bottom:46px;padding:34px 38px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#8f300a;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">WHAT THE RESEARCH SUPPORTS<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">The current evidence does not support the popular idea that menstrual-cycle phases reliably make people globally smarter, less intelligent, more creative or cognitively impaired. It does support the idea that hormonal fluctuations occur alongside changes in many other aspects of physiology and subjective experience. Those are different claims.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"hm-part\"><div class=\"no\">04<\/div><div class=\"tx\"><p class=\"lb\">Part four of six<\/p><h2 id=\"part-4\">The surprisingly busy life of progesterone<\/h2><p class=\"sb\">How a progesterone metabolite called allopregnanolone helps explain PMDD<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#35302a;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px;font-size:clamp(14.642px, 0.915rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.836), 22px);line-height:1.55\">One of progesterone\u2019s metabolites has an unusual relationship with the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Progesterone tends to get described as the \u201ccalming\u201d hormone. That is another example of a complicated biological process being turned into a personality adjective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">One reason progesterone is particularly interesting is that the brain does not simply receive progesterone as progesterone. The body metabolises it into other neuroactive steroids, including <em class=\"eqi\">allopregnanolone<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Allopregnanolone interacts with <em class=\"eqi\">GABA-A receptors<\/em>, which are part of one of the brain\u2019s major inhibitory signalling systems. GABA generally reduces neuronal excitability, helping regulate how strongly neural circuits respond. Allopregnanolone can enhance GABA-A receptor activity, which is one reason it has attracted so much attention in research on anxiety, stress, sleep and mood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And this is where things get wonderfully inconvenient. A substance that can have calming effects <strong class=\"eqb\">does not necessarily make every person feel calm<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">In susceptible individuals, changes in allopregnanolone can be associated with anxiety, irritability and other negative mood symptoms. Research into PMDD suggests that altered sensitivity to changing allopregnanolone levels and GABA-A receptor function may contribute to symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">So the same general signalling system that can help regulate neural inhibition can, under different circumstances, become part of a very unpleasant experience. This is one reason PMDD is such a useful case study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:14px;margin-bottom:34px\"><figure class=\"hm-chain\"><div class=\"row\"><p class=\"lab\">The old explanation might have been<\/p><ol aria-label=\"Hormones fluctuate \u2192 mood becomes bad.\"><li><span class=\"nd\">hormones fluctuate<\/span><svg class=\"ar\" viewBox=\"0 0 26 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M1 6h22M18 1.5 23 6l-5 4.5\"\/><\/svg><\/li><li><span class=\"nd\">mood becomes bad<\/span><svg class=\"ar\" viewBox=\"0 0 26 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M1 6h22M18 1.5 23 6l-5 4.5\"\/><\/svg><\/li><\/ol><\/div><div class=\"row long\"><p class=\"lab\">The more interesting explanation is closer to<\/p><ol aria-label=\"Hormones fluctuate \u2192 a neuroactive steroid changes \u2192 the brain\u2019s signalling environment changes \u2192 a susceptible nervous system responds differently \u2192 mood and stress regulation can change.\"><li><span class=\"nd\">hormones fluctuate<\/span><svg class=\"ar\" viewBox=\"0 0 26 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M1 6h22M18 1.5 23 6l-5 4.5\"\/><\/svg><\/li><li><span class=\"nd\">a neuroactive steroid changes<\/span><svg class=\"ar\" viewBox=\"0 0 26 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M1 6h22M18 1.5 23 6l-5 4.5\"\/><\/svg><\/li><li><span class=\"nd\">the brain\u2019s signalling environment changes<\/span><svg class=\"ar\" viewBox=\"0 0 26 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M1 6h22M18 1.5 23 6l-5 4.5\"\/><\/svg><\/li><li><span class=\"nd\">a susceptible nervous system responds differently<\/span><svg class=\"ar\" viewBox=\"0 0 26 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M1 6h22M18 1.5 23 6l-5 4.5\"\/><\/svg><\/li><li><span class=\"nd\">mood and stress regulation can change<\/span><svg class=\"ar\" viewBox=\"0 0 26 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M1 6h22M18 1.5 23 6l-5 4.5\"\/><\/svg><\/li><\/ol><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">That is a very different story. It is also much closer to what neuroscience actually looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"the-brain-is-responding-to-change-not-simply-to-a-number\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">The brain is responding to change, not simply to a number<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">One of the striking ideas in this field is that <strong class=\"eqb\">change itself can matter<\/strong>. A hormone can be present at a level the brain has encountered many times before, but the transition into or out of that level can still be biologically meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Think about temperature. Twenty degrees Celsius is not inherently stressful. But going from five degrees to twenty feels very different from going from thirty degrees to twenty. The number is the same. The transition is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Hormonal systems are obviously much more complicated than room temperature, but the analogy captures something important. Biological systems respond not only to absolute levels but also to changing conditions and adaptation over time. This may be one reason that hormonal transitions can feel particularly noticeable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And it brings us to another system that is constantly paying attention to change: <a href=\"\/your-brain-on-stress\/\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1.5px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">the stress system<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"hm-part\"><div class=\"no\">05<\/div><div class=\"tx\"><p class=\"lb\">Part five of six<\/p><h2 id=\"part-5\">When hormones and stress meet<\/h2><p class=\"sb\">Why hormonal changes can alter the background against which stress is experienced<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#35302a;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px;font-size:clamp(14.642px, 0.915rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.836), 22px);line-height:1.55\">Sometimes \u201chormonal\u201d and \u201cpsychological\u201d are describing the same system from different directions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Imagine that you have slept badly for three nights. You are already more irritable. Then something mildly annoying happens. On an ordinary day, you might shrug. Today, you are disproportionately furious about the way someone has loaded the dishwasher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">The dishwasher did not suddenly become psychologically significant. <strong class=\"eqb\">Your internal conditions changed<\/strong>. Hormones can be part of those conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">The reproductive hormone system and the stress system communicate with one another through overlapping biological pathways. Research examining menstrual-cycle effects on the stress response has found some evidence of cycle-related differences in <span class=\"gl\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-7\"><em class=\"eqi\">cortisol<\/em><span class=\"gd\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-7\"><b>cortisol<\/b>A hormone released by the adrenal glands as part of the body stress response. It helps mobilise energy and follows a daily rhythm, highest in the morning.<\/span><\/span> reactivity, although the effects are small and the evidence base remains limited. One 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies found slightly higher cortisol responses to acute stressors during the luteal phase compared with the follicular phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This is not enough to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-66cb9a2b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-left-color:#dde4ea;border-left-width:4px;border-left-style:solid;border-radius:0px;margin-top:30px;margin-bottom:30px;padding:2px 0px 2px 26px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.625), 19.5px);font-weight:600;line-height:1.5\">You are more stressed before your period because your cortisol is higher.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">That would be much too simple. The study itself highlights the need for better research, and individual differences are substantial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">But the broader idea is important. The stress system does not operate in isolation. Neither does the reproductive system. And neither operates independently of sleep, immune activity, metabolism, pain or the brain\u2019s interpretation of what is happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This is why trying to divide experience neatly into \u201cphysical\u201d and \u201cpsychological\u201d can become misleading.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:30px;margin-bottom:46px\"><figure class=\"hm-fig hm-loop\"><div class=\"hd\"><p class=\"ti\">A loop with no first step<\/p><p class=\"un\">press any card<\/p><\/div><ol class=\"ring\"><li class=\"orb\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg><rect\/><\/svg><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><\/li><li class=\"c0\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"node on\" data-i=\"0\"><span class=\"k\">1<\/span><span>You might have a hormonal change that affects sleep<\/span><\/button><\/li><li class=\"c1\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"node\" data-i=\"1\"><span class=\"k\">2<\/span><span>Poor sleep changes emotional regulation<\/span><\/button><\/li><li class=\"c2\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"node\" data-i=\"2\"><span class=\"k\">3<\/span><span>That makes a stressful situation feel harder<\/span><\/button><\/li><li class=\"c3\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"node\" data-i=\"3\"><span class=\"k\">4<\/span><span>The stressful situation then changes how you sleep<\/span><\/button><\/li><li aria-hidden=\"true\" style=\"display:contents\"><svg class=\"arr a1\" viewBox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 11h14M13 6l5 5-5 5\"\/><\/svg><svg class=\"arr a2\" viewBox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 11h14M13 6l5 5-5 5\"\/><\/svg><svg class=\"arr a3\" viewBox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 11h14M13 6l5 5-5 5\"\/><\/svg><svg class=\"arr a4\" viewBox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 11h14M13 6l5 5-5 5\"\/><\/svg><\/li><\/ol><div class=\"ask\"><p id=\"hm-lsay\" aria-live=\"polite\">Starting at <b>1<\/b>, four steps bring you back to where you began.<\/p><\/div><figcaption>Now the original hormone fluctuation is sitting somewhere inside a much larger feedback loop.<\/figcaption><script>(function(){var f=document.querySelector(\".hm-loop\");if(!f){return;}var ring=f.querySelector(\".ring\"),el=f.querySelector(\".orb rect\"),dot=f.querySelector(\".orb .dot\");var ns=f.querySelectorAll(\".node\");var s=document.getElementById(\"hm-lsay\");var RM=false;if(window.matchMedia){RM=window.matchMedia(\"(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)\").matches;}var box=function(){var r=ring.getBoundingClientRect();return {x:-22,y:-22,w:r.width+44,h:r.height+44,W:r.width,H:r.height};};var draw=function(){if(!el){return;}var g=box();el.setAttribute(\"x\",g.x);el.setAttribute(\"y\",g.y);el.setAttribute(\"width\",g.w);el.setAttribute(\"height\",g.h);el.setAttribute(\"rx\",18);};var at=function(d){var g=box(),L=2*(g.w+g.h);d=((d%L)+L)%L;if(d<g.w){return [g.x+d,g.y];}d-=g.w;if(d<g.h){return [g.x+g.w,g.y+d];}d-=g.h;if(d<g.w){return [g.x+g.w-d,g.y+g.h];}d-=g.w;return [g.x,g.y+g.h-d];};var start=function(k){var g=box(),c=22+(g.W-68)\/4;if(k===0){return c;}if(k===1){return g.w-c;}if(k===2){return g.w+g.h+c;}return 2*g.w+g.h-c;};var put=function(d){var p=at(d);dot.style.transform=\"translate(\"+p[0]+\"px,\"+p[1]+\"px)\";return p;};var near=function(p){var g=box(),best=0,bd=1e9;var C=[[g.W\/4,g.H\/4],[3*g.W\/4,g.H\/4],[3*g.W\/4,3*g.H\/4],[g.W\/4,3*g.H\/4]];for(var i=0;i<4;i++){var dx=p[0]-C[i][0],dy=p[1]-C[i][1],q=dx*dx+dy*dy;if(q<bd){bd=q;best=i;}}return best;};draw();put(start(0));window.addEventListener(\"resize\",function(){draw();});var run=null;var go=function(k){var d0=start(k);if(RM){put(d0);return;}var g=box(),L=2*(g.w+g.h),t0=null,D=2800;if(run){cancelAnimationFrame(run);}var step=function(ts){if(t0===null){t0=ts;}var p=Math.min(1,(ts-t0)\/D);var e=p<0.5?2*p*p:1-Math.pow(-2*p+2,2)\/2;var pt=put(d0+e*L);var n=near(pt);Array.prototype.forEach.call(ns,function(m){m.classList.toggle(\"pass\",p<1?parseInt(m.getAttribute(\"data-i\"),10)===n:false);});if(p<1){run=requestAnimationFrame(step);}};run=requestAnimationFrame(step);};Array.prototype.forEach.call(ns,function(n){n.addEventListener(\"click\",function(){var st=parseInt(n.getAttribute(\"data-i\"),10);Array.prototype.forEach.call(ns,function(m){var j=parseInt(m.getAttribute(\"data-i\"),10);m.querySelector(\".k\").textContent=String(((j-st+4)%4)+1);m.classList.toggle(\"on\",j===st);});if(s){s.innerHTML=\"Starting here instead, four steps still bring you back to where you began.\";}draw();go(st);});});})();<\/script><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Which part caused the feeling? <strong class=\"eqb\">There may not be one answer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"this-is-also-why-context-matters\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">This is also why context matters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Suppose two people experience the same premenstrual hormonal changes. One is sleeping well, has relatively little stress, feels secure in their relationships and has no significant physical symptoms. The other is sleeping four hours a night, is already anxious, is experiencing chronic pain and is dealing with a difficult situation at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">It would be strange to expect the same internal experience. The hormones are not operating on an empty brain. They are entering an already complicated system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This is perhaps the most useful way to think about hormonal effects:<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-a859433a wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-left-color:#b23c0c;border-left-width:4px;border-left-style:solid;border-radius:0px;margin-top:48px;margin-bottom:14px;padding:6px 0px 6px 30px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-weight:600;line-height:1.45\">Hormones change the conditions under which your brain is processing experience. They do not write the entire experience themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"hm-part\"><div class=\"no\">06<\/div><div class=\"tx\"><p class=\"lb\">Part six of six<\/p><h2 id=\"part-6\">When the hormonal landscape changes<\/h2><p class=\"sb\">What we know about postpartum changes, perimenopause, menopause and the brain<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#35302a;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px;font-size:clamp(14.642px, 0.915rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.836), 22px);line-height:1.55\">Puberty, postpartum, <span class=\"gl\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-8\"><em class=\"eqi\">perimenopause<\/em><span class=\"gd\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-8\"><b>perimenopause<\/b>The years of transition before the final period, when cycles become irregular and hormone levels fluctuate. Menopause itself is dated to twelve months after the last period.<\/span><\/span> and menopause are not just changes in hormone levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Some periods of life involve relatively large changes in reproductive hormones over a comparatively short period. Puberty is one. Pregnancy and the postpartum period are another. Perimenopause is another. These transitions can make the relationship between hormones and psychological experience much easier to notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"after-pregnancy-the-biological-environment-changes-very-qu\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">After pregnancy, the biological environment changes very quickly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">During pregnancy, reproductive hormones reach very high levels. After delivery, the hormonal environment changes dramatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">It is tempting to turn this into a simple explanation for postpartum depression:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:30px\"><figure class=\"hm-chain\"><div class=\"row\"><ol aria-label=\"Hormones drop \u2192 depression happens.\"><li><span class=\"nd\">hormones drop<\/span><svg class=\"ar\" viewBox=\"0 0 26 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M1 6h22M18 1.5 23 6l-5 4.5\"\/><\/svg><\/li><li><span class=\"nd\">depression happens<\/span><svg class=\"ar\" viewBox=\"0 0 26 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M1 6h22M18 1.5 23 6l-5 4.5\"\/><\/svg><\/li><\/ol><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">But postpartum depression does not work like that. A recent 2026 review describes postpartum depression as involving interacting endocrine, stress-system, neurotransmitter and immune mechanisms rather than hormonal withdrawal alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">There is also sleep deprivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px\"><ul class=\"hm-pill\"><li>physical recovery<\/li><li>pain<\/li><li>changes in identity<\/li><li>the demands of caring for a newborn<\/li><li>relationship changes<\/li><li>loss of routine<\/li><li>feeding difficulties<\/li><li>previous mental-health history<\/li><li>social support<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And the extraordinary experience of suddenly being responsible for a person who has absolutely no respect for your preferred sleep schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">The hormones matter. They are not the whole story. That distinction is important because <strong class=\"eqb\">biological explanations should not erase psychological or social ones<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"then-there-is-perimenopause\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Then there is perimenopause<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This is where many people first encounter the phrase \u201cbrain fog.\u201d It can sound vague until you experience it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:30px\"><ul class=\"hm-run\"><li>You walk into a room and forget why.<\/li><li>A familiar word refuses to arrive.<\/li><li>You reread the same paragraph.<\/li><li>You know what you want to say, but retrieving the word takes longer than it should.<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">You are still capable of doing the work. You simply feel less cognitively fluent while doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And unlike some of the more exaggerated claims about menstrual-cycle cognition, there is growing evidence that the menopausal transition can be associated with meaningful changes in cognitive experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis of 26 studies involving 9,428 participants found poorer cognitive outcomes in perimenopausal compared with premenopausal groups, although the finding depended importantly on how reproductive stages were classified. The researchers also found differences between subjective reports and objective performance depending on the comparison being made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">A 2025 review similarly notes that brain fog, mood changes and sleep disruption are common complaints during the menopausal transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sleep deserves particular attention here. Menopausal sleep disturbance is common, and reproductive hormone changes, <span class=\"gl\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-9\"><em class=\"eqi\">vasomotor symptoms<\/em><span class=\"gd\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-9\"><b>vasomotor symptoms<\/b>Hot flashes and night sweats. Sudden waves of heat caused by changes in how the body controls blood flow and temperature.<\/span><\/span> and other biological and psychological factors can all contribute. <a href=\"\/surprisingly-busy-business-of-sleeping\/\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1.5px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">Poor sleep<\/a>, in turn, can affect attention, memory, emotional regulation and mood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">So when someone says: \u201cMy hormones have ruined my concentration,\u201d the answer may be more complicated than either agreeing or disagreeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Hormonal changes may be contributing directly. They may also be changing sleep. They may be contributing to hot flashes or night-time waking. Those changes may then affect attention and emotional regulation. And stress about feeling cognitively different may add another layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">The brain does not label each factor separately. <strong class=\"eqb\">It simply experiences the result<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-f86ed65e wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#f2f5f7;border-color:#dde4ea;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:20px;margin-top:46px;margin-bottom:46px;padding:34px 38px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#8f300a;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">WHAT THE RESEARCH SUPPORTS<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Perimenopause is associated with commonly reported changes in sleep, mood and cognition, and recent meta-analytic evidence supports at least some differences in cognitive outcomes during the transition. But the size and nature of those effects depend on how menopause is defined, what cognitive function is measured and whether researchers are measuring subjective experience or objective performance.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:104px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"hm-part close\"><h2 id=\"closing\">Sometimes, and rarely on their own<\/h2><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sometimes. But that answer is much less useful than it sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Hormones are involved in the brain. They influence signalling systems, neural circuits and physiological states that matter for mood, cognition, stress and sleep. There is good evidence for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">There is also good evidence that hormonal changes can affect people very differently. And that is where the phrase \u201cit\u2019s just your hormones\u201d starts to fall apart. Because \u201cyour hormones\u201d are not an explanation in themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">They are a biological system interacting with another biological system, which is interacting with your history, your environment, your sleep, your relationships, your stress level, your health and the meaning your brain is making of what is happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sometimes the hormonal component is obvious. PMDD provides one of the clearest examples. The hormonal fluctuations themselves are ordinary, but the response to those fluctuations can be profoundly different in a susceptible person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sometimes the effect is much harder to separate. Perimenopausal brain fog may involve hormonal changes, sleep disruption, vasomotor symptoms, mood, stress and several biological processes happening at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And sometimes the answer really isn\u2019t hormones. You may be exhausted because you are exhausted. You may be anxious because something genuinely difficult is happening. You may be struggling to concentrate because you have been under sustained cognitive load. You may be irritable because somebody has been annoying you for three weeks and your nervous system has finally filed the appropriate paperwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">A hormonal explanation should add information. <strong class=\"eqb\">It should not replace curiosity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"there-is-another-reason-to-be-careful-with-hormonal-explan\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">There is another reason to be careful with hormonal explanations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Hormones have become a very attractive explanation for almost everything. They are invisible, powerful and complicated enough to sound convincing. This makes them perfect for internet certainty. But <strong class=\"eqb\">biological plausibility is not the same thing as proof<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">For example, estradiol has many effects on neural systems, but that does not mean that taking estrogen will automatically improve mood or cognition. When researchers have examined menopausal hormone therapy and cognition in randomized trials, the overall picture has been mixed. A 2024 meta-analysis of 34 randomized controlled trials involving more than 27,000 participants found no overall effect of menopausal hormone therapy on cognitive domain scores, while some effects varied according to treatment formulation and timing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This is a good example of how science should work. We can have a compelling biological mechanism. And then we still have to ask: What happens in actual humans?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sometimes the answer is impressive. Sometimes it is modest. And sometimes the evidence simply isn\u2019t settled yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"what-this-means-for-you\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">What this means for you<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Perhaps the most useful question is not:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px\"><div class=\"hm-re\"><p class=\"a\">Are my hormones causing this?<\/p><p class=\"j\">Try<\/p><p class=\"b\">Could hormonal changes be one of the things influencing how my brain and body are responding right now?<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">That question leaves room for the rest of the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:30px\"><ul class=\"hm-run\"><li>You might notice that certain symptoms reliably appear at particular points in your cycle.<\/li><li>You might notice that they become more pronounced when you are stressed or sleeping badly.<\/li><li>You might notice that they started during a major hormonal transition such as postpartum or perimenopause.<\/li><li>You might notice that the pattern is strong enough to interfere with work, relationships or everyday functioning.<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Those patterns are worth paying attention to. Not because every pattern proves a hormonal cause. But because <strong class=\"eqb\">timing is information<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">If something repeatedly happens at the same point in a physiological cycle, that is useful information to bring to a qualified healthcare professional. A symptom diary can sometimes be particularly helpful because memory is not very good at reconstructing patterns after the fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And if mood symptoms are severe, persistent, frightening or interfering substantially with your life, \u201cit\u2019s probably hormones\u201d should not be the end of the investigation. <strong class=\"eqb\">It should be the beginning of a better one<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">There is something slightly reassuring about the complexity here. We tend to imagine that being psychologically stable means feeling essentially the same all the time. It doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Your brain is a living system. It is constantly responding to sleep, light, food, illness, stress, relationships, memories, expectations, physical sensations and changes in the body\u2019s internal chemistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Hormones are part of that conversation. And sometimes they can help explain why something that feels disproportionate on Tuesday feels entirely manageable again on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">But they do not erase your psychology. They do not determine your personality. And they certainly do not mean that every difficult feeling can be dismissed with three words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-66cb9a2b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-left-color:#dde4ea;border-left-width:4px;border-left-style:solid;border-radius:0px;margin-top:30px;margin-bottom:30px;padding:2px 0px 2px 26px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.625), 19.5px);font-weight:600;line-height:1.5\">It\u2019s your hormones.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">The more interesting truth is that biology and psychology were never really separate conversations in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:40px;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Your brain is part of your body. Your body is constantly communicating with your brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family hm-last wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#b23c0c;margin-top:6px;margin-bottom:56px;font-size:clamp(17.371px, 1.086rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 1.094), 27px);font-weight:700;line-height:1.35\">And hormones are some of the messengers carrying information between the two.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-f86ed65e wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#fbf4e6;border-color:#eedcb9;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:20px;margin-top:46px;margin-bottom:46px;padding:34px 38px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#8f300a;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">A NOTE ON THE EVIDENCE<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Hormone research is an area where it is particularly easy to move from a plausible biological mechanism to a confident psychological claim. This article therefore distinguishes between several different kinds of evidence. Some findings, such as the ability of estradiol and neuroactive steroids to influence neural signalling, are well established biologically. Others, particularly claims about how specific hormonal fluctuations translate into everyday mood, personality or cognitive performance, are considerably more variable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Many mechanistic studies are also conducted in animals or laboratory settings. Human studies often have difficulties with cycle timing, hormone measurement, sample size, reproductive-stage classification and the distinction between subjective symptoms and objective performance. That does not make the research unhelpful. It means the most scientifically honest answer is sometimes: We know that this system can influence the brain. We are still working out exactly how much that influence matters for a particular person, in a particular situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">That is less satisfying than a simple answer. It is also usually more useful.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-69c879e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#faf8f3;border-color:#e8e1d5;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:18px;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:44px;padding:30px 34px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#6b6259;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">REFERENCES<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" style=\"color:#524a42;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.17), 15.5px);line-height:1.7\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fendo.2024.1350318\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">Andy, C., Nerattini, M., Jett, S., Carlton, C., Zarate, C., Boneu, C., Fauci, F., Ajila, T., Battista, M., Pahlajani, S., Christos, P., Fink, M. E., Williams, S., Brinton, R. D., &amp; Mosconi, L. (2024). Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of menopause hormone therapy on cognition. <em>Frontiers in Endocrinology<\/em>, 15, 1350318.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1037\/pag0000946\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">Bangle, A., Williams, D., Walters, J., &amp; Nguyen, L. (2026). Cognitive functioning in perimenopause: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis. <em>Psychology and Aging<\/em>, 41(3), 303-318.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fnins.2024.1348551\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">Bendis, P. C., Zimmerman, S., Onisiforou, A., Zanos, P., &amp; Georgiou, P. (2024). The impact of estradiol on serotonin, glutamate, and dopamine systems. <em>Frontiers in Neuroscience<\/em>, 18, 1348551.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1192\/bjp.2025.103\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">Bixo, M., Stiernman, L., &amp; B\u00e4ckstr\u00f6m, T. (2026). Neurosteroids and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. <em>British Journal of Psychiatry<\/em>, 229(1), 92-100.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/GCO.0000000000001012\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">Carmona, N. E., Solomon, N. L., &amp; Adams, K. E. (2025). Sleep disturbance and menopause. <em>Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology<\/em>, 37(2), 75-82.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jpsychires.2026.05.014\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">Chamanara, S., Irandoost, E., Dahmardeh, N., &amp; Aghaamoo, S. (2026). Neuroendocrine and neuroinflammatory mechanisms in postpartum depression: From hormonal withdrawal to central immune dysregulation and emerging therapeutic targets. <em>Journal of Psychiatric Research<\/em>, 200, 46-62.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S1355617725101306\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">Furey, R. T., Thomas, E. H. X., Kulkarni, J., &amp; Gurvich, C. (2025). Subjective versus objective cognition during menopause: A systematic review and meta-analysis. <em>Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society<\/em>, 31(5-6), 459-477.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.ynstr.2020.100213\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">Hantsoo, L., &amp; Epperson, C. N. (2020). Allopregnanolone in premenstrual dysphoric disorder: Evidence for dysregulated sensitivity to GABA-A receptor modulating neuroactive steroids across the menstrual cycle. <em>Neurobiology of Stress<\/em>, 12, 100213.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0318576\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">Jang, D., Zhang, J., &amp; Elfenbein, H. A. (2025). Menstrual cycle effects on cognitive performance: A meta-analysis. <em>PLOS ONE<\/em>, 20(3), e0318576.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2023.105212\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">Klusmann, H., Luecking, N., Engel, S., Blecker, M. K., Knaevelsrud, C., &amp; Schumacher, S. (2023). Menstrual cycle-related changes in HPA axis reactivity to acute psychosocial and physiological stressors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. <em>Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews<\/em>, 150, 105212.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/AOG.0000000000005914\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:#efc4ad\">Williams, M., &amp; Maki, P. M. (2025). A review of cognitive, sleep, and mood changes in the menopausal transition: Beyond vasomotor symptoms. <em>Obstetrics and Gynecology<\/em>, 146(3), 350-359.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"eq-lastrev\" style=\"margin:34px 0 0;font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;,sans-serif;font-size:11.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.15em;text-transform:uppercase;line-height:1.5;color:#6b6259\">Last reviewed September 2026<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:44px\"><a class=\"hm-next\" href=\"\/your-brain-on-stress\/\"><span class=\"eyb\">Read next<\/span><span class=\"ti\">Your Brain on Stress<\/span><span class=\"wy\">What the stress system is actually doing, and why the same week can feel manageable one month and impossible the next.<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1708\" src=\"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mid-shot-woman-therapist-taking-notes-clipboard-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A therapist taking notes on a clipboard during a session\" class=\"wp-image-230\" style=\"width:100%;height:340px;object-fit:cover;object-position:center 40%;border-radius:22px 22px 0 0;display:block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mid-shot-woman-therapist-taking-notes-clipboard-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mid-shot-woman-therapist-taking-notes-clipboard-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mid-shot-woman-therapist-taking-notes-clipboard-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mid-shot-woman-therapist-taking-notes-clipboard-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mid-shot-woman-therapist-taking-notes-clipboard-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background eq-ondark has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-f761ea3b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#b23c0c;border-radius:0px 0px 22px 22px;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:80px;padding:52px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#fde6d9;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">WORKING WITH THIS<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"when-the-pattern-keeps-coming-back\" style=\"color:#ffffff;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:18px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">When the pattern keeps coming back<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#ffffff;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.455), 18px);line-height:1.7\">If something keeps returning at the same point in your cycle, or started with a hormonal transition and has not settled, it deserves more than being put down to hormones. Alongside medical care, it can help to have somewhere to talk through the stress, the sleep and the sense you are making of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-background has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-element-button\" href=\"\/individual-session\/\" style=\"border-radius:9px;color:#2a2622;background-color:#faf8f3;padding:15px 30px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.284), 16.5px);font-weight:700\">Book a session<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button footer_b\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-element-button\" href=\"\/contact\/\" style=\"border-color:#f6c9ae;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:9px;color:#ffffff;padding:15px 30px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.284), 16.5px);font-weight:600\">Get in touch<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your hormones are already talking to your brainThe same hormone can feel completely differentYour menstrual cycle is not a personality cycleThe surprisingly busy life of progesteroneWhen hormones and stress meetWhen the hormonal landscape changes Top So, Is It Your Hormones? How hormones affect your brain and mood, why hormonal changes can feel surprisingly psychological, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2828,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,16,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-body-and-mind","category-deep-dive","category-womens-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2792"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2839,"href":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2792\/revisions\/2839"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}