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- Understanding Menopause (The Science Explained)
- Understanding PMDD (The Science Explained Simply)
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PMS and ADHD
Hormonal fluctuations across the menstrual cycle can significantly affect ADHD symptoms in women. Understanding the link between oestrogen and dopamine can help explain monthly changes in focus, mood and motivation.
PCOS and PMDD: The Overlooked Link Affecting Your Hormones, Mood, and Mental Health
PCOS and PMDD are more connected than you think. Learn how hormonal sensitivity, metabolism, and brain chemistry interact—and how to treat the root cause.
Menopause and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Why Symptoms Often Worsen in Midlife
Menopause can significantly affect rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. Learn how hormonal changes influence inflammation, joint pain and fatigue, and what treatments may help.
PMS, Hormones and ADHD in Teen Girls: Why the Week Before a Period Can Feel So Much Harder
Hormonal changes can significantly affect ADHD symptoms in teenage girls. Understanding the link between PMS, oestrogen and dopamine can help families better support concentration, emotions and school performance.
Menopause and Mental Health: Why Hormones Can Affect Mood, Anxiety and Brain Function
Many women experience anxiety, depression or brain fog during menopause. Learn why hormonal changes affect mental health and what treatments can help.
When Menopause Affects Your Mind: Why Some Women Struggle More Than Others
Many women entering perimenopause don’t just experience hot flushes — they experience anxiety, insomnia and a loss of emotional resilience. For women with a history of PMS or postnatal depression, hormonal sensitivity may mean a more personalised HRT approach is needed.
Dry Eyes and Menopause: Why Hormones Matter for Eye Health
Dry, gritty or burning eyes are a common but often unrecognised symptom of menopause. Hormonal changes can affect tear quality and eye comfort, making dry eye more likely during this life stage.
Understanding PMS in Adolescence
Many teens don’t realise that what they’re experiencing each month may be more than just “bad mood” or cramps. PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) can start early, with physical and emotional symptoms that disrupt school, relationships, or self-esteem. This post explains how PMS shows up in adolescence, how common it is, what helps, and when to seek support.
Common Vulval Problems in Adolescents and How to Get Help
Vulval itching, soreness, and discharge are common in teenagers and are usually nothing to worry about. This guide explains common causes, gentle vulval care, and when to seek medical advice.
Progesterone-only HRT in perimenopause: what you need to know
Progesterone-only HRT is increasingly requested by women in perimenopause, often because sleep, anxiety and night sweats feel unmanageable and they’re wary of oestrogen or synthetic progestogens. But progesterone-only isn’t a standard NHS pathway — largely because guidance is oestrogen-led and progesterone’s established role is womb protection. The emerging evidence (including perimenopause-specific trial data) suggests progesterone can help some women, but it isn’t a complete solution for many perimenopause symptoms. Here’s how to make an evidence-based, personalised decision.
Gel, patch or spray? Understanding transdermal HRT and why one size doesn’t fit all
Gel, patch or spray? If your HRT isn’t working the way you hoped, the issue may not be the dose but how your body absorbs it. Learn how transdermal HRT works and why personalised care matters.
The Impact of Stress on Female Hormones
Stress can affect every part of the female hormone system, from ovulation and cycle regularity to sleep, mood and long-term wellbeing. In this blog, Dr Georgina Standen explains how acute and chronic stress influence oestrogen, progesterone and cortisol, the symptoms that can follow, and the most effective lifestyle, medical and complementary approaches to restoring balance.
SSRIs, SNRIs and Mirtazapine: Choosing the Right Antidepressant for Hormone-Sensitive Mood Disorders
A major Lancet study published in 2025 has highlighted how antidepressants differ in their physical effects — from weight and blood pressure to heart rate and sleep. For women managing hormone-linked mood disorders such as PMDD, postnatal depression, or perimenopausal anxiety, understanding these differences can help guide safer, more personalised treatment choices.
Methylation, the MTHFR Gene, and PMDD: What’s the Connection?
Could your genes and folate metabolism influence your premenstrual mood? New research suggests that the MTHFR gene — which affects how we process folate and regulate brain chemistry — may play a role in PMS and PMDD. Dr Georgina Standen explains what methylation is, what the latest studies show, and how to support healthy folate levels through diet and supplements.
When IBS Meets Hormones: How Menstruation, PMS & Menopause Impact Your Gut—and Why Personalised Care Matters
Many women notice their IBS worsens around their period, during PMS, or in perimenopause — yet few are told that hormones directly influence gut sensitivity and motility. In this article, we explore the science behind hormone-related IBS and explain how personalised, cycle-aware treatment can transform symptoms.
Hormones and Sleep During the Menopause
Hormones play a powerful role in how well we sleep — from cycle-related changes to the dramatic shifts of perimenopause and menopause. In this blog, Dr Georgina Standen explains how oestrogen, progesterone, cortisol and melatonin interact with the brain’s sleep systems, why insomnia becomes more common in midlife, and which treatments and lifestyle strategies truly make a difference.
Vitex agnus-castus (Chasteberry) and PMS: Can Nature Support Your Hormonal Health?
Vitex agnus-castus (chasteberry) is one of the most researched herbal options for PMS and PMDD, helping to balance prolactin and support the natural rhythm of oestrogen and progesterone. In this article, Dr Georgina Standen explains how Vitex works, what the latest evidence shows, who it’s suitable for, and how to use it safely—alone or alongside conventional treatments—to support mood, cycle regularity and premenstrual wellbeing.
How to Naturally Maintain Your Testosterone Levels Through Midlife
Testosterone doesn’t fall off a cliff at menopause — it declines gradually. Learn how nutrition, movement, sleep and stress balance can help preserve your natural levels and energy through midlife.