You’re not losing your mind!

4 min read

If menopause brain fog, mental stress are making though your brain is goin Dr Mindy Pelz will help yo what’s happening and ho back control of your mental health.

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MENOPAUSE COULD BE THE wildest hormonal time of your life, but I promise that you are not going crazy! For many women, menopause can be a 10-15-year j our ney. Your 40s are the beginning of this hormonal decline but your hor mones don’t retreat in a slow, consistent way – some days they are higgher than normal, while ot her days they ar e non-existent. This puts you on an emotional roller coaster.

The highs andl ows of my emoti ons wer e s oi nt enset hat I never knewif I was goi ngt o be filled with joy or want to kill anyone who looked at met he wr ong way! My mental state didn’t seem to come from circumstances; it felt as if something else was in charge, as if an alien took over my brain and left me feeling out of control and unpredictable. I hated it, yet it empowered me to get to know my body at a deeper level. Here are ways that might help your brain perform better, so you feel good again.

PURGE YOUR PATHOGENS

One often overlooked aspect that can lead to brain fog are pathogens. These are the bullies of your gut microbiome. They hijack the terrain inside the gut and make it difficult for good bacteria to grow.

Pathogens come in all different forms: parasites, viruses, bacteria and fungi. The pathogen that harms hormonal balance most is Candida albicans. This is a fungus that makes you crave sugar, refined carbohydrates and alcohol. It can give you brain fog and makes you hold on to weight. Its preferred fuel source is sugar, so in order to keep itself alive, it makes you crave it. Head symptoms like brain fog or ringing in the ears are other telltale signs, as are any of the classic yeast symptoms, such as rashes, itchy skin or recurring vaginal infections.

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Look at your tongue first thing in the morning. If there is a white or yellow coating, that can be a sign of Candida. A stool test will also confirm if Candida or any other pathogen is present in your gut.

SLOW DOWN THE RUSH

A busy, overscheduled life keeps your brain in a state of fight-or-flight. Once your brain thinks it’s in crisis, it shuts down sex hormone production. This is a disaster for a menopausal woman as it can leave you with symptoms of irritability and anxiety.

First, build downtime into your schedule. Start with a couple of free hours on a couple of days every week. Give yourself permission to do whatever you want during these times without putting anyone else’s needs ahead of yours.

Secondly, prioritise self-care by identifying activities you love doing that make you feel better, such as a massage. Next, adapt your workout schedule by listening to your body, rather than pushing yourself to an exercise goal. Some days you might

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