Menopause, Dopamine, and the “New ADHD” Feeling: What’s Really Going On?
Recently, on a trip to Milan, I let myself “go there”… like really “go there.”
The gelato, the pasta, the shopping.
I see myself as an N of 1 experiment and before the trip, I’d been fairly restrained as I was in “body engineering” mode, so I made an intentional decision to get swept up in it all. Just for the sheer pleasure of playing with life (and also exploring my emerging — stronger — Italian identity).
By the third day of this cultural experiment, my digestive tract felt like burning embers and my brain kept grabbing at the thought of “what’s next” like a Duracell bunny.
It was the morning of our departure as I sat waiting for my husband to finish his text, belly and suitcase bloated, when a curiosity popped into my head.
I asked myself the question…
“Now that I’m no longer driven by my reproductive hormones (oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone), am I now driven by my brain hormones (dopamine, serotonin etc.) instead?”
A very clunky question I know, but nevertheless, ...
When Rest Won’t Come Unless You Eat: Menopause and the Flight Nervous System
There’s a moment in the evening that many women recognise once they reach perimenopause or menopause.
The day has been full.
Productive, even.
You’ve eaten properly, moved your body, done what needed to be done.
You may even be on a medication that is supposed to quiet appetite altogether.
And yet, as the light fades, something wakes up inside you.
Not hunger exactly, not even emotional eating in the way it’s usually framed.
More like… a pull.
A niggle.
A sudden and very specific interest in something crunchy, sharp, stimulating.
An oral something.
It can feel slightly perplexing. You might even translate it as a lack of willpower, even though somewhere deep down you know that’s not really true. (And for the record, it definitely isn’t.)
This is especially uncomfortable for women who are used to being capable, regulated, and in control. Women who don’t usually find themselves circling the cupboards but well…. are.
Your body isn’t being difficult.Â
It’s trying to find a way of r...
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