I’ve worked with women for a few years now; listened to their stories and struggles, with compassion for their journey, as it revolves around what I understand is hormone imbalance; and championed their cause for their best health naturally. I’ve listened, held their hand, offered a tissue when needed, all the while validating their experience. And I know that the single most important thing I can provide our women with is two-fold:
-educating them about their options for natural hormone balance
-encouraging them to examine their beliefs in this arena, so they can be assertive with their healthcare practitioner.
Standing in the way are a couple of simple truths. The first truth is that we tend to choose our beliefs over our experiences. This is never more apparent to me than when women who know something isn’t right with their bodies, and have known this for awhile (most women over 35 want the same few things: to sleep, lose weight, have energy and regain libido), have gone to their doctor for help, and accepted any number of current standard of care “treatments” (antidepressants, sleeping aids, the latest estrogen-of-the-month product, or doing nothing because ‘this is just how you are supposed to feel” or “this too shall pass….”) yet feel no better, and in some cases feel worse. So these women who just know there has to be a better way, have searched for me and found me, have become educated in natural hormone balance, have done their saliva testing and filled our their online profile card, symptom sheet and medical history, and for whom we have sent our recommendation to their doctor for their natural hormone balance and they are excited about the hope of finally feeling better…..only to meet with their doctor for approval (this is where the rubber meets the road) and they once again, choose the beliefs of their doctor over their experience. They convince themselves that because their doctor has doubts about natural hormone balance (not taught in medical school, not pushed by drug reps, out of their realm of experience) their own experience of their bodies and its hormone imbalance issues (validated by their saliva test results) must not be valid. They choose their beliefs (or their doctor’s beliefs) over their experience. This brings me to my second truth that whenever there is an imbalance of power in a relationship, like that between a doctor and patient, the influence (power) that the doctor has is out of balance. This makes it more difficult for some women to choose their experience over their beliefs. Yet do this we must so we can treat the issue to feel better. The simple truth is that a hormone imbalance is only fixed by replacing depleted hormone levels that deplete with age. This is called the aging process. Replacing these depleted hormone levels with actual hormones customized for each woman based on the needs of her body, is an important key to WELLNESS–this along with taking the proper supplements, eating right, and working out–is key to optimal health and vitality.
So can we do better? Can we choose our experience over our beliefs and then find a doctor to validate this experience by being willing to work with us for our best health naturally? Can we do better? Yes, we can….and we must.
