Menopause Archetypes/Blog#2

 

Hello everyone, 

Today's topic on women's health I will be discussing Perimenopause/Menopause and how this can affect women differently.  Some symptoms include fatigue, insomnia, night sweats, brain fog and joint pain and hot flashes as early as 35 years of age in early perimenopause, while other cruise through with mild symptoms. Which leads me to the topic of there is not one simple answer or solution, there is not a simple one size fits all plan to improve symptoms.  A plan should be unique and structured to individual needs beginning with nutrition, gut health, sleep, hydration, movements and mindfulness. 

Let's first dive into peri/menopause and how women over the year have felt embarrassed to admit they are entering this stage, as if its unnatural or something that signifies the decline of health and youthfulness. It's a season of our lives that should be enjoyed to the fullest. All women will get there due to our natural decline of hormones in estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.  Yes, women have testosterone too! (I will blog on the importance of all hormones on individual blogs soon). We have to understand the hormones are chemical messengers that affect every part of our bodies, they are tiny but powerful and any change will result in significant symptoms that create a domino effect to other hormones. 

For this blog, I want to discuss the Archetypes in order to bring a better understanding of how women have different experiences as they transition into menopause.  An Archetype is a woman’s unique energy, biological pattern and spiritual self.  Women experience changes differently depending on their archetype. It is not just biological, but also emotional and spiritual.  Instead of seeing menopause as loss (of fertility and youth, hormones), archetypes frame it as a shift into a new role or identity. 

List of Archetypes:

• Type I Estrogen Excess - Most common one in perimenopause when the roller-coaster of hormones is constantly up and down. Estrogen is higher (estrogen dominant) and progesterone is decreased. This leads to decrease thyroid function as well. This type can have multiple symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety and insomnia.
• Type II Cortisol Craver - Very common in perimenopause due to stressful work, family life in general.  Cortisol is very high, and sex hormones decrease. They tend to gain weight very easily, can also have difficulty falling asleep due to high cortisol in pm and decreased melatonin. 
• Type III Liver Lover- This type will have 3 elevated hormones (estrogen, cortisol and insulin). They have a very sluggish liver function due to toxic overload of medications, environmental, molds and processed foods. Common symptoms include headaches, fatigue, and low energy.
• Type IIII Mighty Mitochondria- This type is very sensitive to oxidative stress such as inflammation especially around menopause transition due to environmental stressors including processed foods and external stresses such as lifestyle. This person will have symptoms like chronic pain such as fibromyalgia, muscle cramps, fatigue, and difficulty to gain muscle and difficulty in recovery time after workouts.  
• Type V Broken Burner- This type has in imbalance in both insulin and thyroid. This type will have both physical and emotional symptoms such as depression, fatigue, constant hunger cravings, and feeling cold.
• Type VI The Unicorn - The most uncommon type because this one is the very rare type that cruises into menopause with hardly any symptoms. 😡 Lucky lady! But should be made aware for bone and heart health due to low estrogen.
• Type VII- The Low-Low. The most common in menopause and post menopause. Has all hormones so low that they have terrible joint pain, insomnia, thinning hair, night sweats, brain fog, extreme fatigue and depression etc. all the symptoms

Now you see, with all these different types, we cannot have a one-size-fits-all plan for menopause. Especially, if you are a blend of any of these then with more of a reason, you need a unique plan that will address your hormones, nutrition, mindset for a healthier balanced life. 

With all that I mentioned, we must discuss the concern for abdominal weight gain associated with the risks for cardiac disease as well as the risks for bone fractures from decreased bone mineralization caused by low estrogen levels. These are real concerns that can affect your health and quality of life. We all want to sail into our senior years with less aches and pains and more vitality to do the things we love!  

Menopause is a vital part of women's lives and neglecting ourselves will make matters worse. 

It is so important to keep up with proper nutrition that includes balanced macros with proteins, fiber and healthy fats, as well as balancing hormones with bioidentical hormone therapy, and supplements.  Future blogs to come on topics such as menopause super foods, supplements (herbal and vitamins) exercise, mindfulness, gut health and toxic overload. 

Hope you enjoyed this information. My goal is to provide the information necessary for women to be empowered with the right information to be beautifully balanced.  

More to come next week....

Mary C.