The PCOS Epidemic (Balancing Feminine & Masculine Energies)

When I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome I was told 4 things ...

1. PCOS is an endocrine disorder.

2. It is incurable.

3. We are still not 100% sure WHY women get PCOS.

4. The only solution is to go back on birth control. 

All four of these statements did not sit well with me. The one that particularly frustrated me was "we are not sure why women are developing PCOS". I had just been diagnosed with a syndrome that is known to be incurable and impacts fertility. 

I needed to understand why this is happening.

There was not a lot my doctor could tell me, so I decided to dive into my own research.

What I found after lots of digging around was the same old answer.

PCOS is too many androgens in the body. Increased androgens affect the development and release of eggs during ovulation. In addition to this, the ovaries are making too much testosterone and with all these increased male hormones, your body holds onto more fat, you lose head hair, gain hair everywhere else and your are likely to experience body and facial acne ... Well that's just fantastic! 

Although this still wasn't telling me the reason why our hormones have become imbalanced with the formation of too many male hormones in the first place.

The speculations the medical community have developed are:

1. the link between pre-diabetes and PCOS,

2. the link between your hereditary genes and PCOS and

3. the link between long-term usage of the contraceptive pill and PCOS.

I say 'speculations' because there is no hard scientific data pointing to anything in particular being the actual cause of PCOS.

SO WHAT WE KNOW FOR SURE...

WE DO NOT KNOW FOR SURE, WHAT CAUSES PCOS.

Yet we are seeing these statistics rise drastically, with more than 5 million women in the US being diagnosed with PCOS and 12-18% of Australian women in the reproductive age being diagnosed. Not to mention all the other countries that have PCOS rates rising. 

In addition to this particular syndrome we are also seeing endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts statistics rise, and a huge population of women who feel their hormones are out of balance leaving them with pain, absent periods, abnormal bleeding, acne, weight gain and intense mood swings.

These women go to their trusted doctors and are prescribed the contraceptive pill which in the medical communities eyes, is the fastest and most effective way to balance hormones. 

The problem I see with using the pill as a solution to hormonal imbalance is the same problem I see with using any pharmaceutical drug to mask a symptom that has shown up for good reason. 

It's shutting down our bodies ability to warn us that something is wrong.

This was certainly the case for me. I was not aware of many gut, inflammation and hormonal issues going on in my body until I stopped taking the pill. I would much prefer to work through these health challenges now, rather than it manifesting into a serious disease later down the track.

SO WHAT IS CAUSING THIS HORMONAL IMBALANCE WORLDWIDE EPIDEMIC? 

First let's dive into the difference between the MALE and FEMALE bodies from a biochemical standpoint. 

Men succeed when they have something that excites the adrenal system. This means they are biochemically designed to thrive in times of adventure, action and a 'go-go-go' mentality. It's this power and drive that biologically form the core characteristics of the masculine. 

Women on the other hand, thrive on the hormone oxytocin (this is the bonding hormone). We have been biochemically designed to nurture others, develop relationships, connect the tribe, connect hearts ... and of course, to express love and compassion.

So whilst men and women both have masculine and feminine energy within them, biologically speaking our anatomy is very different from one another. Our bodies have been designed by nature to do very different things.

Why Does This Cause Hormonal Imbalance in Women?

In modern civilisation we are seeing a strong feminine empowerment movement which was born from women proving that we are capable of everything men can do. Don't get me wrong, I believe that mentally and intellectually we are more than capable of achieving anything we aspire to be, although on a physical level, we are seeing an unnatural push for women to behave like men. 

When we inflate ourselves and use power and forcefulness as our driver to get things done, we experience a peak and then we eventually burn out. This is what adrenal fatigue is. When we have overused cortisol and adrenalin in the attempt to be productive, although because our bodies are not wired in this way without enough rest, we burn out which creates major hormonal imbalance. 

So aside from seeing the commonly occurring symptoms of adrenal fatigue in women, we are also seeing a hormonal imbalance epidemic due to so many male hormones dominating our female hormones. 

Balancing Your Masculine & Feminine Energies 

I will not tell someone they need to behave and express in a more feminine or more masculine manner. This is an inaccurate piece of information to offer someone, because we are all unique individuals with different variances of masculine and feminine energy. Some women will feel more comfortable expressing themselves in a more feminine way, and other women will feel more comfortable expressing in a more masculine way. You must listen to you own innate nature and express yourself in a way that feels comfortable and natural to you.

The purpose of this article is to teach you an important step when balancing your hormones and regaining a healthy cycle. 

When we are constantly using force and power to drive our lives, we are paddling our little boats up-stream. We are pushing against the natural flow of nature and the natural flow of our hormones.

By recognising and honouring the female body and the delicate nature of our hormones, naturally things will start to balance because you are living in harmony with nature.

How to Balance Your Hormones By Connecting With Your Feminine (In a Masculine Workplace)

Whilst it may be easy to connect more with your feminine when in the privacy of your own home, going into your workplace environment makes the task seem impossible at times. The structure of the corporate world is incredibly masculine because it is about pushing your own needs aside to serve the needs of the business finances. 

It is very tricky for women to express themselves emotionally at work, because there is no time for emotions. There is work to be done so often we find ourselves skipping meals, stuffing our emotions down and feeling completely exhausted and drained by the end of the day. 

Here are 5 recommendations for you to immediately put into practice. Each person is different with a different workplace environment, so you will learn to develop your own tactics too. 

1. Don't neglect yourself, don't neglect your emotional needs. If emotion needs to be expressed, find a way to express it! Try letting some tears flow in the bathroom or going for a walk and taking some deep long breaths.

Get really good at checking in with yourself throughout the day. Anytime you are feeling overwhelmed, ground yourself by asking yourself the question "how am I feeling in this moment? What do I need in this moment?"

A crucial step, is learning how to care more about how YOU are feeling, than how OTHER people are perceiving you. Don't worry about being liked or accepted by other people. Accepting yourself is more than enough to handle right now.

2. When you are hormonally imbalanced there will be MANY ups and downs. The trick is to become the observer of your thoughts and feelings, without identifying with them. Whilst I urge you not to suppress or run away from anything that comes up, don't indulge in bad moods and think it's here to stay. Understand that your body is going through an adjustment/balancing period and there will be many smiles and frowns. Just sit back, and watch without judgement.

3. Try to bring some qualities of the feminine into your workplace. Bring the team together, encourage your teammates to share, listen to others, express compassion and love. Even though your health is not 100% at the moment, it will heal you much faster to express love and compassion towards other people. Whenever possible, allow your intuitive flowing energy to guide you at work, rather than following a set timeline.

4. Bring a self-love practice to work! Learn how to step away from the computer when things are feeling too much. Always choose to leave the office to get some fresh air, even when you feel your boss will get angry (what's more important than your health?) Aside from this, fill your workspace with pictures, plants, crystals, funny memes... anything that will help to ground and center you in times of overwhelm. 

Whenever you are feeling lost, confused, sad or overwhelmed, ask yourself the question ... "what would someone who loves themselves do?" This is potent medicine on the path to self-love. Perhaps it means, taking yourself out to lunch, grabbing some tea, calling a friend ... whatever it is, please nurture yourself. Nurture your needs.

5. Love and accept EVERYTHING about yourself and your experience. Do not resist ANYTHING. Just remember not to label thoughts, feelings, emotions or experiences as 'bad' or 'good'. Because it is neither bad nor good - it just is. Accept whatever arises without labelling it. Accept every single part of your body and your emotions. Trust that it's exactly where you need to be right now. 

Exercise for self-acceptance: place your hands on an area of your body that you usually send harsh comments to (for women it's usually their hips, thighs, belly or womb areas).

I want you to close your eyes and place your hands on these areas of the body. Tune in and send so much love, compassion and acceptance to these areas of your body. Don't stop doing it until you feel something shift; until you feel a tingling sensation of self-love emanating from your body. Know that your body is doing the best it can at this moment to heal your symptoms. 

Your cells, tissue and organs hear all your thoughts - this is the medicine your body needs most right now.

In addition to these 5 steps, find things outside of work to nurture your feminine energy. This is something that is more creative/expressive, rather than productivity/action orientated.

For you it might be drawing, singing, sewing, dancing, writing or any other little creative hobbies. If you don't know what your creative hobbies are, I urge you to go find them!

It will be whatever lights you up and excites you. A tip - try to think what you used to love to do as a little girl. We are all as creative as one another. We tend to suppress our creativity with thoughts like "I am not a creative person" which is totally untrue. You are very creative, I assure you. 

Ladies, I know for a fact balancing my feminine energy was a very important step in my healing process. I truly believe I manifested PCOS in the first place due to living from my masculine for so many years pushing myself beyond my physical boundaries. 

I invite you to start paddling that boat of yours downstream, so you can flow with the natural rhythm of your beautiful hormones. 

Sending my love and healing light your way,

For additional support on this topic watch my YouTube video below.