Estrogen Drama - Part I

For the past few weeks, I’ve been telling you all to “get curious,” and today, I’m taking a little of my own advice…

I once took birth control pills for five days. I instantly turned into a bipolar, weeping wreck. Every few years thereafter, a new, lower-dose pill would come out, and, being the modern woman I was, I’d try again. Every time, it turned out to be a disaster.

The pill was (is) a seminal component of the women’s movement. Instantly, women had more time, choices, and opportunity. The secret to having it all was simple: one pill, once a day.

Today, though, I see young women dealing with all the same issues I did and more. The urge to nest away, to care for everyone around us (all hormonally driven), has expanded from the home into the working world. It inevitably becomes overwhelming.

While contemplating my daughter’s similar experiences with birth control pills, I ran across this article, and it made me wonder:

How many women started taking the pill in puberty and really don’t know themselves today? How many are needlessly stressed, struggling with life crises, and nervous about everything from dating, to work, to their futures? Could it be because their natural chemistry has been altered for so long?

At scienceblog.com, one post says that estrogens may increase brain cell viability; another says that estrogens may be a cause of mental illness in young women.

Geez.

I’m not categorically down on hormone manipulation. Certainly, for some women, estrogens are a lifesaver. I just wonder: How much of this stress I see — in my clients, family, friends — might be due to estrogens?

To be continued…