Not Just Holiday Stress: Hormones and Their Impact On You

By Dima Ali, MD

With the holidays upon us, most of us feel the stress that comes with the holiday season. This stress can be the same and different for men and women. We all know the common complaints that we hear from our loved ones during the holidays, “I’m stressed, I can’t sleep, my mind is racing, I’m so hot, and I’m gaining weight.” If these sound familiar, there is help and you don’t need to chalk it up to holiday stress.

How do hormones affect stress?

The stress that most of us feel around the holidays is actually due to the lack of circulating cortisol in our blood stream. Cortisol is the stress hormone that is secreted from the adrenal glands atop our kidneys. When production doesn’t meet the demand our bodies need, we start to have some signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue. These range from chronic fatigue, carbohydrate cravings and the inability to lose weight (especially the lower abdominal area) no matter how hard we work out.

When our bodies don’t have enough cortisol we start to “rob Peter to pay Paul”. The parent hormone to cortisol and our sex hormones is DHEA. When our adrenal glands request more DHEA to make cortisol we have a decrease in the amount of essential sex hormones.

When we have a decrease in our sex hormones, the symptoms can be both obvious and subtle. We can start to experience mood swings, agitation, trouble sleeping, mind racing at night, carbohydrate cravings, decreased sex drive, painful sex, vaginal dryness, and more. With the proper testing and a detailed history we are able to stop and even reverse these symptoms using bioidentical hormone therapy (BHRT) and nutritional supplements.

How does it work?

Depending on your age, each of these generic complaints or symptoms is a clue to where to look for hormonal imbalance. Blood tests are used to measure hormonal imbalance, and saliva and urine can be used in certain instances.

Is it safe?

Yes, BHRT is safe when administered and monitored by a qualified healthcare professional. Studies demonstrate the use of BHRT has slowed, and even stopped, certain conditions such as osteoporosis, coronary artery disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Alternative treatments

In addition to the use of BHRT there are new, high-tech devices to effectively address complaints such as vaginal dryness and urinary incontinence. These are painless, no downtime treatments.

So if you feel the symptoms of stress during the holidays, then it would more than likely help you to visit a qualified health professional for a little testing to see if your hormones are out of balance. Imagine living through the holidays stress free. No that’s something to look forward to.