Written by SottoPelle
What’s going on with the hormones of periomenopause that may cause anxiety in a woman? The late Dr. Gino Tutera, B/GYN and specialist in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, believed that “these feelings are primarily due to lack of testosterone.”
Periomenopause Can Cause Anxiety
Yes, younger women naturally product the “male hormone” testosterone, but in general, the amount is only one-tenth of what a man normally produces. This is why women do not have the capacity to naturally develop the musculature that men can.
Dr. Tutera continues, “With the loss of ovarian function (menopause), a woman loses at least half of her normal production of testosterone.”
Is there a natural and safe way to get some of this testosterone back?
YES. It’s recommended that women suffering the anxiety and feelings of doom associated with periomenopause take up the following exercises, which boost circulating levels of testosterone:
- High intensity interval training
- Intense and heavy deadlifts, back squats, leg presses, bench presses, kettlebell swings, overhead presses, and if available, tractor tire flipping and sled pushing/pulling.
These exercises cause a chemical chain reaction in the body that culminates in elevated levels of testosterone. But there’s a catch: The training must be intense, heavy and fierce.
Will this result in a woman’s body looking like a man’s? Remember, testosterone production drops during periomenopause. There is absolutely NO way that any kind of exercise could skyrocket a woman’s testosterone levels—especially during periomenopause—to match that of a man’s. But the boosted production WILL have a youth-promoting effect, as this chemical messenger is a so-called youth hormone.
Something else needs mention, when it comes to anxiety, depression and feelings of doom and gloom as periomenopause gets underway. Some of this anxiety and the blues could simply be the result of knowing that periomenopause has arrived. To some women, it signals bad things, namely, the aging process, or the loss of youth and vitality.
Is it possible to feel depressed and gloomy about “the loss of youth” concurrent with the ability to pick something heavy off the ground or lift something heavy overhead? In other words, train hard at the gym. Get back some youth by getting strong and losing body fat. Fight periomenopause with intense and heavy strength training!
