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In this episode, I get real about where I’m at right now: 42, in the middle of summer chaos with four boys (including twins), and finally admitting that it doesn’t just take a village to raise kids—it takes a village to take care of *me*.

After our recent vacation, I hit a low point. My back was flaring up, my mood was all over the place, and I realized I was surrounded by males all day and missing my girlfriends’ support. So I started rebuilding my “village”:

- Seeing a naturopath for hormones and supplements
- Going to physio and doing core work for my lower back
- Looking into acupuncture
- Seriously considering hormone replacement therapy (HRT), even though I used to think it was “unnatural”

I’ve always been very “let the body do its thing” and avoided meds unless absolutely necessary. But after months of feeling like the worst version of myself when I’m tired—snapping, raging over tiny things, feeling almost “crazy”—I decided my quality of life matters more than being perfectly natural. I’m still cautious and doing my research, but I’m open to HRT if it helps.

A few big takeaways I land on in this episode:

- Hormone decline can start up to 10 years before “menopause age,” and a lot of symptoms (mood swings, rage, anxiety, depression-like feelings) get misdiagnosed or ignored.
- My husband loves me, but he doesn’t know what to do with my symptoms. It’s on me to lead my own care and then invite him in.
- Taking care of myself takes effort: booking appointments, trying supplements, doing the exercises, saying no to the extra bread, asking for help.
- If what I’m doing isn’t fixing it, I need to go back for help—even if I “know what to do,” because consistency is the hard part.

I end with a gentle nudge to anyone listening: if you’ve been debating booking that appointment, making that call, or trying that thing you keep putting off, this is your sign. Get that one more person into your village who helps *you* feel better, so you can show up better for everyone else.

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