PERIMENOPAUSE: FINDING YOUR WAY BACK TO YOURSELF
There can be a moment during perimenopause when you pause and think, “I don’t feel like me.” Perhaps you’ve always been someone who manages a busy life, supports everyone around you and gets things done. Now your confidence feels less steady, ordinary demands seem overwhelming, and you’re tired in a way that a quiet evening doesn’t quite resolve. You may find yourself searching for familiar words, feeling unexpectedly anxious or wondering why your patience seems to have disappeared.
When these changes arrive gradually, it can be difficult to recognise what connects them. You might blame yourself for not coping as well as you once did, especially if you’re still having periods and haven’t considered perimenopause. Understanding this transition can help you make sense of your experience and begin exploring the support you need.
WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOUR HORMONES?
Perimenopause is the transition towards menopause, when ovarian activity becomes less predictable. Oestrogen can fluctuate considerably, while changes in ovulation affect the progesterone rise that normally follows it. This means the transition can feel uneven: one month may be relatively comfortable, while another brings noticeable changes in sleep, mood or your menstrual cycle.
Research from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation followed women’s hormone patterns over time and documented declining ovulatory activity as the transition progressed. These changes help explain why your experience may vary from month to month, rather than follow a neat, predictable course.
Hot flushes and changing periods are familiar signs, but some women first notice anxiety, disrupted sleep, difficulty concentrating or changes in sexual wellbeing. These experiences can overlap with other health concerns, which is why taking time to understand your history matters. The question is how the changes fit together for you.
LOOKING AT THE WOMAN BEHIND THE SYMPTOMS
In my practice, I want to understand what your days actually feel like. Are you waking already exhausted? Have meals become something you fit around everyone else? Is your digestion uncomfortable? Are work, caring responsibilities or relationship pressures leaving little room for recovery? What medication or supplements are you taking, and what have you already tried and understaniding you life that leading you to this point now.
Your changing hormones sit within this wider picture. Poor sleep can make concentration and emotional resilience harder. Heavy periods may make iron status relevant to fatigue. Digestive difficulties can affect your appetite and the variety of foods you feel comfortable eating. Exploring these connections helps us decide what deserves attention and where individual support may be useful.
It also gives you space to talk about changes that can be difficult to explain in a brief conversation. Feeling heard matters, particularly when you’ve spent months trying to describe something that feels different but is hard to put into words then we can begin to bring your body back into balance.
A TIME OF RECONNECTION
Much of the conversation about menopause focuses on difficulty, decline and the things women are expected to lose. The challenges deserve recognition, but they do not have to define the whole experience. There can also be greater self-understanding, a clearer sense of priorities and a growing willingness to honour your own needs.
Women I’ve worked with have described coming through this journey feeling like a new, more connected version of themselves. They speak about renewed confidence, stronger boundaries and a deeper appreciation of their bodies. Their experiences are individual, but they show that this chapter can become something positive and meaningful.
For some women, the transition prompts an honest look at how long they have been putting themselves last. It can become an opportunity to reconsider what feels nourishing, which demands are sustainable and what they want from the years ahead. That process deserves support as much as the physical changes do.
RETURNING TO NATURE AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF HEALTH
My naturopathic approach begins with nourishment, rest, movement, time outdoors and the everyday environment in which you live. These foundations give us practical places to explore while keeping your own circumstances and preferences central.
Natural support also needs to be individual. A supplement that suits a friend may not suit your symptoms, health history or medication. My work focuses on helping you make informed choices about nutrition and natural approaches, with recommendations considered in the context of your whole health. Medication choices remain personal.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR INDIVIDUAL HORMONE PATTERN
DUTCH testing can add detail to the picture gathered during your consultation. It measures hormones and their metabolites, providing information about sex hormones, oestrogen metabolism and stress cortisol patterns. Collection timing, menstrual history and your current circumstances are important when interpreting the results.
The value lies in discussing those findings alongside how you feel. We can consider your symptoms, sleep, daily stresses and existing supplements together, then explore what the results may mean for your next steps. This creates an opportunity to ask questions and understand the reasoning behind your recommendations.
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Perimenopause can ask you to pay attention to needs you have overlooked for years. Although that can feel unsettling, it can also open the door to a more thoughtful and connected relationship with yourself.
You deserve time to understand what is happening and support that reflects your experience. My consultations offer space to explore your health, discuss a naturopathic approach and decide on appropriate next steps together.
This is an important part of life, with room for change, growth and renewed confidence. You don’t have to work it all out alone.
Sara JaneSara Jane Health & Nutrition
REFERENCE
Santoro, N. et al. (2008). Factors related to declining luteal function in women during the menopausal transition. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 93(5), pp. 1711–1721. DOI: 10.1210/jc.2007-2165. Read the study.