14 June 2023
See the pod here: https://open.spotify.com/show/1TwaZ2ID4FRQthckqfjR0h?si=83e5489a77624020
Cynthia helps women regain their period in a wholistic and nurturing way. On her website she states that:
Getting your period back is about fully enjoying your life & improving your health. It’s the little things that come with period recovery that are the most rewarding. The mental space to enjoy the things you love or never knew you loved. Even closer relationships with people you love. Those spontaneous girlfriend nights or a fun date night, and so much more!
A missing period is commonly seen in women with eating disorders, especially those that are restricting food whilst also engaging in vigorous exercise routines.
Now, my personal experience with not having a period in the eating disorder, and then getting it back, was a process of deep healing for me. For some reason, with my period happening on a regular basis, it opened up this deeply intuitive softening of my spirit.
During these (rather unpleasant) periods of the month, I would go through the motions of a changing body and learn to love myself through them. It opened up a whole new way of connecting with my body, and leaning into the essence of impermanence of physical or emotional sensations.
Getting my period back helped me reintegrate my feminine self and set aside time to listen to my body from deep within, despite the discomfort that arose. I pray that your reconnection with this beautifully natural and necessary phenomenon will bring you the same type of soul-connection I experienced, that you have probably gone so long without.
In this blog post, I will share a bit more about what HA is and some of the insights gained in my chat with Cynthia. If you’d like to dive a little deeper into the topic, and hear about Cynthia’s personal journey with disordered eating and HA, feel free to head over to the podcast episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/24IVAZ5ABMK2thpqExr4XP?si=f4acb71b9bb349e2
WHAT IS HA?
Your hypothalamus is the control centre in your brain that helps to regulate many bodily responses. It is responsible for releasing hormones such as GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone) which partners up with FSH, LH and oestrogen, which are involved in your menstruation cycle. If the hypothalamus stops producing GnRH, well, your period stops.
Now this may seem like the greatest thing ever to some (trust me, I am in no way amped for 5-7 day’s a month worth of agony, moodiness, and the inability to jump in the ocean), BUT having a period is one of the most natural things a women can experience. If this is absent, it could lead to a whole bunch of other health issues like osteoporosis, hair loss, heart disease, or even infertility. The most important thing is, however, that HA could be a sign that your body is simply under too much stress/strain from malnourishment or over exertion. This is why Cynthia’s go-to saying for getting your period back is “Eat more, Exercise less.”
But this isn’t an easy thing to consider when in recovery from an eating disorder, and you may need support along the way to help navigate the psychological, emotional, or physical changes you might undergo during this process.
WHAT CAUSES HA?
Like I said previously, Hypothalamic Amenorrhea is mostly due to things like poor nutrition, inadequate food intake, excessive exercise, stress, or a combination of these, which you may experience if suffering from an eating disorder such as anorexia.
This can lead to things like depression, anxiety, fatigue, abnormal hunger cues, insomnia, hair loss, reduced libido, headaches, vaginal pain/dryness and more. (BTW, You may have an irregular period if you have PCOS, but this isn’t usually a direct cause of HA.) Usually your doctor will diagnose HA through a series of blood and other tests, so if you are suspicious that you may have HA, I encourage you to chat to your GP or Gynea ASAP.
The great thing about HA, is that it is treatable most of the time, mainly through lifestyle changes. Getting adequate nutrition and assessing where the body is undergoing undue stressors is a key point to start at, but it is important to work on this with a professional (such as Cynthia hee-hee).
THE PILL CAN MASK YOUR MISSING PERIOD.
You may be taking a hormonal contraceptive for one of many different reasons. Some people experience a monthly bleed, irregular bleeding or even no bleed at all. The thing is though, that if you are on the pill, there is no guarantee that the menstrual cycle you are having is actually a healthy period. It's a synthetically induced period by hormones that you are taking. Also, it’s NOT NORMAL to miss your period.
In very simple terms, your hypothalamus causes your period to stop. Getting your period back in recovery can be a really great measure for your health status. In fact, Cynthia states that it should be taken as a vital sign by doctors just as much as things like blood pressure. It’s important to know that just because you have a bleed, does not necessarily mean you are having a healthy period.
HYPOTHALAMIC AMENNOREAH CAN HAPPEN TO A PERSON AT ANY BODY SIZE OR WEIGHT.
HA was originally thought to only occur in thinner women, but nope! Even though the occurrence is seen often in lower weight people, it’s a problem with your hypothalamus, of which weight is not a direct cause, even though it might be a factor. Perhaps fatphobia leads to misdiagnosis in the medical world as well hey? Hmmmm?
YOU NEED TO EAT MORE AND EXERCISE LESS
Your body works using an energy equation, and if you are expending more than you are consuming, you are working on a deficit. Do this frequently, and your body will not be able to gather enough “gas in its tank” to fuel basic functioning like metabolic activity, digestion, menstruation, and more.
YOU CAN STILL FEEL GOOD WITH LESS EXERCISE
You may feel that exercise is something that brings you a level of happiness. While exercise can form part of a balanced lifestyle, and it does release endorphins, it’s possible that you will need to reduce your frequency or intensity quite a bit while trying to recover your period. If you want to find out more ways to boost your happy hormones in a loving way, head over to Cynthia’s blog post, “Increase Your Endorphins Without Exercise” here: https://www.periodnutritionist.com/blog/blog-post-title-four-85lb4
So, in conclusion…
HA is a very real and worrisome condition to experience as a female, and can lead to many health concerns. If you have an eating disorder, you may need to challenge more than one area for yourself – changed behaviour is one thing, dealing with the emotional side is something else altogether.
But I want you to know that you are not alone, and you can feel fully supported in this journey. Whether you join Cynthia’s program “Eat to Regain Your Period”, or “The Period Society”, (you can get her here: https://www.periodnutritionist.com/) or you simply want to dive deeper into your recovery journey, don’t hesitate to reach out and I’d be happy to help or at least point you in the right direction.
It will be so worth it.
