Perimenopause: Why Modern Women Are Struggling More Than Ever (And What We Can Do About It)

Women have always gone through perimenopause, but never like this. Modern life has made this natural transition harder than ever. Here’s why… and how to instead, experience balance, energy, and self-trust through this powerful stage of life.

The Truth About Perimenopause

It’s wonderful that the challenges of perimenopause are finally being talked about. For years, women have silently struggled through this phase, often without realising what’s actually happening to their bodies. Women tell stories of feeling helpless and alone, not recognising themselves anymore, and wondering if they are going crazy.

Did you know that perimenopause can begin up to 10 years before menopause? Menopause itself is a retrospective diagnosis: it’s only diagnosed when a woman hasn’t had a period for 12 months or more.

Perimenopause literally means “around menopause” and it’s the time when your body transitions from relying on higher levels of oestrogen and progesterone to much lower levels. But these hormones don’t just quietly decline, they fluctuate wildly, leading to a rollercoaster of physical and emotional symptoms.

If you’ve ever wondered why you suddenly feel like you’re losing your mind - you’re not. You can see from this very simplified graph, this hormonal upheaval is very real.

Why Are Modern Women Struggling So Much More?

Why do some women breeze through perimenopause while others feel like their entire world is falling apart?

It wasn’t that long ago that menopause wasn’t even spoken about, yet women didn’t seem to suffer as intensely as many do today. So what’s changed?

The Overlap Between Stress, Burnout, and Perimenopause

Here’s something few people are talking about: Many perimenopause symptoms look exactly like the symptoms of chronic stress or burnout.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common symptoms of perimenopause:

• Hot flushes

• Sleep disturbances

• Anxiety

• Gut issues and bloating

• Fatigue

• Heart palpitations

• Brain fog

• Weight gain

• Irregular cycles

• Low libido

Sound familiar? These are also key indicators of a chronically activated stress response, something most modern women are battling daily.

Our pace of life has accelerated beyond what our biology can comfortably sustain. Our exposure to stress, artificial light, toxins, and processed foods has increased dramatically and very quickly.

When the body is under constant stress, it burns through minerals, creates inflammation, and overproduces cortisol (the main stress hormone) at the expense of other hormones. Let me explain:

To make cortisol, your body uses cholesterol → pregnenolone → progesterone → cortisol. The pathway to producing oestrogen and other reproductive hormones also begins with Cholesterol. So when you’re constantly stressed and producing cortisol, your body diverts resources away from sex-hormone production leaving you depleted.

By the time perimenopause hits, your body is already running on empty. No wonder it feels impossible to stay balanced and calm.

Have We Medicalised Womanhood Itself?

Somewhere along the way, normal transitions in women’s lives were turned into “conditions.”

We’ve been sold the story that every symptom needs a pill.

That fatigue needs iron.

That anxiety needs SSRIs.

That mood swings need HRT.

That our changing bodies are problems to be managed instead of messages to be understood.

It’s also worth remembering that for most of history, science has been written by men, about men.

Medical research, clinical trials, and even our understanding of “normal” biology have been largely based on the male body, leaving women’s physiology poorly understood and often pathologised. The mystery of the feminine, with her cyclical nature, emotional depth, and biological rhythm has long been seen by the patriarchal mind as unpredictable, confronting, and difficult to control. It isn’t any wonder that the mostly male scientists and doctors of the past concluded that women needed to be “calmed” or “managed” through medication. What was once called “hysteria” has simply evolved into new diagnoses, with pharmaceutical solutions conveniently offered to quiet the body rather than understand it. Meanwhile, this approach continues to serve a medical system that profits immensely from keeping women dependent rather than empowered.

None of this means hormones don’t matter, or that HRT has no place. For some women, it can be an important short-term support. But when the first response to every symptom is a prescription, we lose the opportunity to ask,

“Why is my body struggling to regulate itself in the first place?”

In my view, we’ve medicalised womanhood itself, and forgotten that the body knows how to heal when it feels safe.

Rethinking Perimenopause: It’s Not Just Hormones: It’s a Whole-Life Wake-Up Call

As real and difficult as perimenopause can be, I want to challenge the modern narrative that reduces it to something to complain about, medicate, or simply “get through.”

Yes, hormones are shifting, but this is also a powerful invitation for self-inquiry. Your body isn’t broken; it’s asking for a change in how you live, nourish, and care for yourself.

When the stress response is soothed and the body receives the nutrients and building blocks it needs, many so-called “perimenopause” symptoms can ease dramatically. I’ve seen this time and time again both in my own life and with clients.

What Helps to Balance Hormones and Calm the Chaos

Here are some of the most effective strategies I use personally and with my clients to smooth the perimenopausal rollercoaster:

1. Eat a Low-Carb, low GI or Keto-Style Diet

Why it works: Insulin is another key hormone in this delicate hormonal symphony. When your blood sugar is constantly spiking and crashing, it sends stress signals to your body and drives up cortisol. By reducing carbohydrates and increasing healthy fats, you stabilise blood sugar and provide the raw materials your body needs to make hormones.

2. Re-mineralise and Nourish Your Mitochondria

Why it works: Stress, poor diet, and modern farming practices have left us chronically mineral-deficient. Your mitochondria (the little powerhouses in your cells) depend on minerals to create energy (ATP). When they’re depleted, you experience fatigue, inflammation, mood swings, and hormonal chaos. Replenishing minerals and supporting mitochondrial function restores vitality at the deepest level.

3. Manage Stress and Support Your Nervous System

Why it works: Your nervous system is the bridge between your hormones and your emotions. When you live in a constant state of stress, your body prioritises survival over reproduction and repair. Techniques such as breathwork, somatic practices, time in nature, rest, and simply doing things that bring you joy all help shift your body from fight-or-flight into rest-and-digest. When your nervous system feels safe, your hormones can begin to rebalance naturally. This isn’t indulgent, it’s essential for thriving through midlife and beyond. (For 7 days of a simple self-connection exercise in your inbox click here.)

4. Support Liver and Gut Health for Hormone Detoxification

Why it works: Your liver plays a key role in processing and clearing out used hormones, while your gut helps eliminate them from the body. When either system is sluggish or inflamed, hormones like oestrogen can recirculate, worsening symptoms such as bloating, mood swings, and fatigue. Simple daily habits such as staying hydrated, eating fibre-rich foods, sweating regularly, reducing alcohol, and using gentle liver-supportive foods like bitter greens, lemon, and cruciferous vegetables can make a huge difference.

5. Embrace Midlife as a Spiritual and Emotional Awakening

Why it works: Oestrogen fuels our nurturing instinct, often leading us to over-give, people-please, and neglect our own needs. As oestrogen naturally declines, women begin to care less about what others think and start to reclaim themselves.

This can feel disorienting, even destructive as old patterns fall away. But with guidance and self-awareness, this becomes a profound opportunity to come home to yourself and create a more authentic, joy-filled life.

Final Thoughts

Perimenopause doesn’t have to feel like a breakdown, it can be a breakthrough. When you address the root causes of imbalance: stress, mineral depletion, inflammation, and overdoing, your body has an incredible ability to heal.

You can feel calm, grounded, energised, and alive again. And most importantly, you can move through this transition not just surviving it, but awakening through it.

How I Can Help

If you’re reading this and realising that stress, fatigue, or hormonal changes have taken more from you than you thought possible, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Through my 1:1 Coaching and Aliveness Program, I help women restore balance at every level: biochemical, emotional, and energetic. Together, we uncover the root causes behind your symptoms, calm the nervous system, support the body’s natural healing processes, and reconnect you with your vitality and purpose, helping you feel alive, confident, and resilient again.

Learn more about The Aliveness Program