But deeper than that is a story we made up about women a long time ago. A story we tell ourselves that sayswe aren't good enough the waywe are. That we aren't tall enough, slim enough, pretty enough, brainy enough, on time enough. Because who we are is not enough,we spend our lives trying to please everyone around us, putting their needs ahead of our own. The challenge for too many women today is that they live in SNS dominance, in a constant state of "fight or flight". This can play havoc with weight management, food cravings, sleep quality, patience, moods, self-esteem, and overall quality of life. Your mood changes before your period, everything annoys you and/or you feel like crying but for no reason. It is important to realise that the way we eat, drink, move, think, believe and perceive impacts our need to rush. As a scientist and health professional I aim to help people live their lives with more PNS activation because this alone can have the most profound effect on health. From that place sex hormones are far easier to balance, liver function (detoxification processes) and digestion work closer to optimal so there’s far less bloating, and the thyroid works better which is also important for metabolic rate and the ability to burn body fat.

We’ve made more progress in the workplace than we have in the home. Research shows that if a woman and man both work full time and have one child, she does twice the amount of housework and three times the amount of childcare he does. So essentially, she has three jobs and he has one. It is time for the dawning of new era for women, which means it has to be for our men as well. These days women are often in a permanent state of stress – juggling their family, career, finances as well as a chaotic lifestyle. There are biochemical consequences to this constant rush – resulting in imbalanced hormones, HPA axis dysfunction, sluggish thyroid glands and so on. It's not just the physical health consequences that concern me for women. It's that they live their lives so out of touch with their beautiful hearts, out of touch with how extraordinary they are. So many arelost in the cloud of false belief that they aren't doing it properly. Immediately I related to the concept of the “Rushing Woman” and thought of numerous clients who have presented in my therapy room feeling overwhelmed by the demands of their daily lives. I thought of my friends that have spoken about their struggles in balancing their work/home lives and I considered my own journey where I have at times felt that I was trying to juggle a hundred different things and failing miserably. The Cause of Our Stress As well as our period, another canary in the woman’s health mine can be our thyroid, because the thyroid also plays a huge part in our overall wellness. What to look for?

Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter for exclusive tips & expert's advices.

Not that long ago in human history women were given the opportunity to do what had traditionally been their father’s jobs, while maintaining what were traditionally their mother’s responsibilities and what has unfolded for too many women is a frantic double shift, of working day and night, with very little if any rest. Many of them are tiredtoo. Tired yet wired. They’re living in a stateof relentless urgency.There’s never enough time in the day, and the to-do lists arenever completelycrossed off. The term ‘Rushing Woman’s Syndrome’ was coined by Dr Libby Weaver. It evolved out of her observation of women’s health being drastically affected by the constant rush that many women now live in. “Never before have I seen the extent of reproductive system problems that I now see. Women are tired and wired. Sex-hormone based health problems such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, infertility, debilitating menopauses and exhaustion have never been greater, and the role of stress in this is undeniable when you look at both the body’s chemistry and the scientific research.” (Weaver, 2011).

From painful periods to fluid retention, from anxiety to yelling at the people we love the most in the word and berating ourselves afterwards, it has been a long time since women’s health has faced such an intense hormonal challenge. This interference of stress hormones with sex hormones is one of the major biochemical factors I describe in Rushing Woman’s Syndrome. I like to say this biochemical and emotional scenario is common but not normal. It doesn’t have to be this way. What if the symptoms your body gives you, what if the parts of your body that frustrate or sadden you, are simply messengers asking you to eat, drink, move, think, believe or perceive in a new way? It is time to see them as the gifts that they are. These symptoms can be wake up calls for women to make changes in their lives they may not otherwise make, enhancing their health, energy, vitality and greatness in the process. Libby is keen for people not to underestimate the role of ovulation – and in particular, that flood of progesterone – even if you’re not trying for a baby. “Anxiety is such a multi-facetted experience for people, and there’s so much that’s behind it,” Libby says. “I’m not suggesting that good progesterone levels will be the answer for everyone but my goodness, they contribute.The answer is to ask ourselves “ How can I change my reality and/or lower my expectations”. This means setting more realistic goals/demands for ourselves and learning to accept that things are not always going to be how we want them to be or how we think they should be. It means that we learn to feel comfortable in making ourselves a priority and recognising the importance of taking care of ourselves just as well as we do others.