02/12/2022
bits of wisdom whispered to me by wonderful women in my life that I want to sing from the hilltops:
4/4 – Your hormones are smart, listen to your hormones.
This is a big one, and honestly, nobody told me this. I had to come to it on my own. As women, we have been conditioned throughout different stages of our lives that any emotion or thought that may have been triggered by our current hormonal state is irrational. We embody that so much that it isn’t uncommon to hear women say “Oh, I’m just hormonal!” to brush off an intense feeling or mood.
I’d like to suggest a reframe. Perhaps, our hormones are wise and have stood the test of time because they send us pertinent messages about our physical, mental or emotional environment that need to be addressed.
In the postpartum period, many women express feeling an intense need to have their baby close and to keep excess people away. Sometimes this results in anxiety or tears when well-intentioned visitors overstay their welcome or are a bit too forward about handling baby. This is a physiologic effect of the milieu of hormones that are circulating during the postpartum period. Think of the natural wisdom in this. By keeping visitors at bay, we are protecting our baby from exposure to pathogens while their immune system is developing. Being close also keeps baby calm and helps regulate their breathing and body temperature, both of which newborns need help with.
Tuning in to the wisdom of your hormones can serve you well as you venture into parenthood. There have been countless times since becoming a mom that I have used this reframe to tune into myself and take an opportunity to learn something from an intense mood or feeling. Time and again, using that information has made me a better person, mother, friend and partner.
To read the complete list, click the link to the blog post below:
www.rootedbeginningsvt.com/blog/whispered-womanly-wisdom
