Hormones influence far more than reproductive health. They play a role in energy, mood, sleep, metabolism, thyroid function, appetite, skin, hair, bone health, and many of the subtle signals our bodies give us every day.

In Episode 238 of Wellness in Every Season, Autumn takes a closer look at everyday environmental exposures that may interfere with normal hormone signaling—and, more importantly, how to reduce those exposures without trying to overhaul your entire life overnight.

The conversation starts with plastics and expands into some of the commonly discussed categories of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including BPA, phthalates, PFAS, parabens, and certain pesticides. Autumn walks through ordinary places these exposures may show up: food storage containers, cutting boards, cookware, water bottles, cosmetics, fragrances, personal-care products, clothing, household materials, and even the products used around our lawns and food supply.

Rather than turning this into another overwhelming list of things you should be doing, the episode focuses on a much more realistic question:

What is one thing you can change when it naturally makes sense to change it?

Maybe that’s replacing a scratched plastic cutting board. Maybe it’s transferring hot leftovers into glass instead of plastic. Maybe it’s reconsidering heavily fragranced products when the bottle runs out. Maybe it’s choosing different cookware the next time yours needs replacing.

Autumn also explores some of the many symptoms that can prompt a conversation with a healthcare professional about hormones—from menstrual and reproductive changes to fatigue, sleep disruption, unexplained weight changes, mood shifts, skin changes, libido changes, temperature sensitivity, and other changes that feel unusual for your body.

And because environmental exposures don’t stop with humans, the conversation expands to children and household pets, encouraging listeners to become curious about the environments the entire family lives in without jumping to conclusions about the cause of any individual symptom.

The goal isn’t perfection.

It’s awareness.

Our modern environment contains a lot of plastic, chemicals, fragrances, coatings, packaging, and convenience products. Trying to eliminate everything at once would be expensive, exhausting, and nearly impossible. Instead, this episode is an invitation to notice what surrounds you, make thoughtful replacements over time, and create a home environment that supports your long-term wellness a little better than it did yesterday.

Related Episode

Episode 224: How to Research Your Wellness — a deeper look at how to evaluate health information and research wellness questions more carefully.

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Episode Tags:
hormone disruption, hormone disruptors, endocrine disruptors, endocrine disrupting chemicals, hormone health, hormonal health, hormone imbalance, hormones, perimenopause, menopause, estrogen, testosterone, thyroid health, cortisol, reproductive health, fertility health, BPA, bisphenol A, phthalates, PFAS, forever chemicals, parabens, pesticides, microplastics, plastic exposure, reducing plastic, plastic free living, environmental toxins, environmental wellness, environmental health, healthy home, non toxic living, low tox living, food storage, glass food storage, plastic cutting boards, cookware, nonstick cookware, personal care products, fragrance, fragrance free, cosmetics, household chemicals, water filtration, organic food, pesticide exposure, children’s hormone health, pet health, preventive wellness, lifestyle medicine, healthy habits, intentional living, wellness education, Wellness in Every Season, Autumn Carter

For more wellness tips and exclusive content, join my newsletter! Sign up now at https://wellness-in-every-season.kit.com/5-days-to-mastering-mornings-and-evenings receive a free 5-day guide called "Awaken and Unwind: 5 Days to Mastering Life's Mornings and Evenings."

Childhood neglect often leaves invisible wounds. There may not be bruises or obvious signs, but the absence of emotional connection, safety, encouragement, or support can shape how we see ourselves, build relationships, and move through the world for decades.

In Episode 237 of Wellness in Every Season, Autumn sits down with Severin Lang—artist, hairstylist, coach, director, and writer—to have an honest conversation about growing up with emotional neglect, addiction, trauma, recovery, and the lifelong journey of healing.

Severin shares his deeply personal story of being raised by a father living with schizophrenia, losing his brother at a young age, surviving abuse, developing autoimmune disease, and eventually struggling with alcoholism before finding sobriety. Now more than a decade into recovery, he reflects on how childhood neglect shaped his sense of worth, relationships, emotional expression, and identity.

Together, Autumn and Severin explore why neglect is a form of abuse, how trauma is stored in the body, the connection between childhood experiences and chronic illness, and why healing rarely happens through one single approach. They discuss therapy, EMDR, meditation, somatic healing, recovery groups, spirituality, self-awareness, and learning to recognize the patterns that no longer serve us.

The conversation also explores how trauma affects our ability to trust, connect, communicate emotions, and believe we are worthy of love. Rather than offering quick fixes, this episode reminds listeners that healing is a journey of layers—one that becomes possible through curiosity, support, self-compassion, and a willingness to keep taking the next step.

If you’ve ever wondered why certain emotional patterns keep repeating, why your body reacts before your mind understands, or why childhood experiences continue to influence adult relationships, this episode offers hope that awareness can become the beginning of healing.

Connect with Severin Lang

Website: https://www.severinlang.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/severinlang/

Follow Severin for conversations about recovery, healing from childhood neglect, personal growth, creativity, addiction recovery, and emotional wellbeing.

Books & Resources Mentioned

• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
• Vipassana Meditation
• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

For more wellness tips and exclusive content, join my newsletter! Sign up now at https://wellness-in-every-season.kit.com/5-days-to-mastering-mornings-and-evenings receive a free 5-day guide called "Awaken and Unwind: 5 Days to Mastering Life's Mornings and Evenings."

High-stress seasons can make it feel like your nervous system has forgotten how to slow down. You may still be functioning, working, parenting, helping other people, and checking things off your list—but underneath it all, your body can be carrying a constant hum of tension.

In Episode 236 of Wellness in Every Season, Autumn talks with Harmony Slater, somatic business coach, mentor, breathwork practitioner, yoga teacher, and energy-based coach, about practical tools for staying grounded when life feels relentlessly busy.

Harmony shares how decades in yoga, meditation, spiritual wellness, and entrepreneurship eventually taught her an unexpected lesson: even people who teach wellness can lose connection with their own wellbeing. After experiencing significant burnout and an autoimmune flare, she had to rethink the way she worked, rested, and listened to her body.

Together, Autumn and Harmony explore simple ways to interrupt the stress cycle before it becomes burnout, including using longer exhales to calm the nervous system, building short breathing practices into transition points throughout the day, recognizing when productivity has turned into pushing, and using movement to counteract the effects of hours spent sitting.

They also discuss yoga poses and movements that can help open areas commonly tightened by modern life, including the hips, psoas, chest, shoulders, and spine; why spending time in nature can act as a nervous-system reset; and how everyday waiting periods—traffic lights, long lines, slow technology, or the few minutes between meetings—can become opportunities to reconnect with yourself instead of automatically reaching for your phone.

You do not necessarily need another hour-long wellness routine. Sometimes the most powerful changes begin with a few intentional breaths, a stretch while you wait for your coffee, five minutes outside, or simply noticing that your body is asking you to slow down.

Connect with Harmony Slater

Website: https://harmonyslater.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/

Learn more about Harmony’s work with breathwork, somatics, energy healing, spinal energetics, yoga, mentoring, and creating a life and business that work with your energy rather than constantly draining it.

For more wellness tips and exclusive content, join my newsletter! Sign up now at https://wellness-in-every-season.kit.com/5-days-to-mastering-mornings-and-evenings receive a free 5-day guide called "Awaken and Unwind: 5 Days to Mastering Life's Mornings and Evenings."

Living with chronic illness, chronic pain, injury, or unpredictable health symptoms can completely change the way you think about energy. Some days you may feel capable of doing almost everything on your list, while other days your body forces you to slow down. Learning how to work with those fluctuations instead of constantly fighting them can make a huge difference.

In this episode of Wellness in Every Season, Autumn talks with Gaylene Gomez of Compass Rose Nutrition & Wellness about managing your energy when your health doesn’t always cooperate.

After navigating her own health challenges—including a neck injury, spinal surgery, and a cerebellar stroke—Gaylene had to rethink what wellness looked like for her. The strategies that once helped her stay active and productive had to evolve as she learned how to listen to her body, recognize signs of overdoing it, and build routines around the energy she actually had.

Together, Autumn and Gaylene explore four interconnected pillars of health:

• Nourishment
• Movement
• Sleep
• Mindset and stress management

You’ll hear how weakness in one pillar can ripple into the others, why pushing through fatigue or pain isn’t always the answer, and how chronic illness may require redefining movement, productivity, and progress.

Gaylene also walks listeners through a simple Four Pillars self-assessment to help you identify where your body may need the most support right now. Rather than trying to overhaul your entire life at once, you can start with the area that needs the most attention and allow those changes to create a positive ripple through the rest of your wellness.

This episode is especially helpful if you are navigating chronic illness, chronic pain, injury recovery, fatigue, unpredictable energy, burnout, or simply a season where the routines that used to work for you no longer do.

Your body changing does not mean you have failed. Sometimes wellness means learning how to support the body you have today while continuing to build toward the life you want tomorrow.

Connect with Gaylene Gomez & Compass Rose Nutrition + Wellness

Website: Compass Rose Nutrition & Wellness

Free Resource: Four Pillars of Health Quiz — discover which pillar may need the most attention to help you improve your energy and overall wellness.

Instagram: @compassrosenutrition

LinkedIn: Gaylene Gomez | Compass Rose Nutrition & Wellness

For more wellness tips and exclusive content, join my newsletter! Sign up now at https://wellness-in-every-season.kit.com/5-days-to-mastering-mornings-and-evenings receive a free 5-day guide called "Awaken and Unwind: 5 Days to Mastering Life's Mornings and Evenings."

Living with a chronic illness, disability, medical condition, or special need can feel incredibly isolating—but finding people who understand your experience can change everything.

In this episode of Wellness in Every Season, Autumn talks with Kevin and Henry, co-founders of WeFayo, a free online community designed to connect people facing medical conditions, disabilities, chronic health challenges, and special needs, along with their families, friends, caregivers, and supporters.

Kevin and Henry share the deeply personal experiences that inspired WeFayo and explain how the platform is helping people find community, resources, encouragement, employment opportunities, assistive technology, advocacy support, and practical tools without requiring users to disclose extensive personal or medical information.

The conversation also explores something much bigger: what can happen when we stop expecting everyone to function the same way. From neurodivergent employees whose unique strengths can make them exceptional at certain jobs to entrepreneurs with disabilities building businesses of their own, this episode challenges the idea that different automatically means limited.

You’ll also hear about WeFayo’s specialized AI tools, communication resources, Blue Envelope program for interactions with first responders, child advocacy support, workplace resources, virtual communities, and inspiring stories from people creating meaningful lives while navigating significant challenges.

Whether you’re living with a chronic condition yourself, caring for someone you love, employing someone with different needs, or simply trying to better understand another person’s experience, this conversation is a reminder that belonging matters.

Learn more and explore the free community at WeFayo.com.

For more wellness tips and exclusive content, join my newsletter! Sign up now at https://wellness-in-every-season.kit.com/5-days-to-mastering-mornings-and-evenings receive a free 5-day guide called "Awaken and Unwind: 5 Days to Mastering Life's Mornings and Evenings."

Many people assume self-harm is simply "attention-seeking" or that it only happens to teenagers from troubled homes. The reality is far more complex.

In this powerful episode of Wellness in Every Season, Autumn sits down with therapist, author, and DBT specialist Katie K. May to explore what self-harm really is, why it happens, and how parents, caregivers, friends, and professionals can respond in ways that create connection instead of shame.

Together, they also share something deeply personal: both of them struggled with self-harm as teenagers. Their conversation offers hope that healing is possible and that understanding the "why" behind the behavior is often the first step toward lasting change.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why self-harm is often an attempt to regulate overwhelming emotions rather than a desire to die
• The difference between self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and other self-destructive behaviors
• What it means to be a "big feeler" or biologically sensitive person
• Common misconceptions that keep parents and loved ones from offering effective support
• Why validation is one of the most powerful tools for helping someone who is struggling
• How emotional regulation in parents and caregivers influences teenagers
• Warning signs that may indicate someone needs additional support
• How to help a friend who may be self-harming
• Why repair matters more than perfection in parenting
• How unhealthy coping strategies can continue into adulthood if the underlying pain is never addressed
• The role of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in treating self-harm and emotional dysregulation
• Why creativity, empathy, and emotional depth can become incredible strengths when paired with healthy coping skills

Whether you're a parent, educator, therapist, teenager, or someone who has quietly carried these experiences yourself, this conversation offers practical guidance, compassion, and hope.

Connect with Katie K. May

Website: katiekmay.com

Explore Katie's books, therapy resources, clinician training, and additional support through her website.

If you or someone you love is struggling with self-harm:

You do not have to face it alone. Reaching out for support is a sign of strength, not weakness. A qualified mental health professional—especially one trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)—can help you build healthier ways to manage overwhelming emotions and begin healing.

For more wellness tips and exclusive content, join my newsletter! Sign up now at https://wellness-in-every-season.kit.com/5-days-to-mastering-mornings-and-evenings receive a free 5-day guide called "Awaken and Unwind: 5 Days to Mastering Life's Mornings and Evenings."

Fertility support can be expensive, time-consuming, and emotionally overwhelming—but what if more individualized guidance could become accessible at a much lower cost?

In this episode of Wellness in Every Season, Autumn speaks with fertility expert and Conceivable founder Kirsten Karchmer about a new approach to fertility support that combines decades of clinical experience, personalized health data, and AI-powered guidance.

Kirsten draws from her work as a fertility acupuncturist who treated more than 10,000 patients experiencing infertility, PCOS, endometriosis, and recurrent pregnancy loss. She explains why she believes fertility care should look beyond isolated hormone levels and ovulation dates to consider the full picture of a person’s health—including energy, sleep, digestion, stress, menstrual patterns, nutrition, and daily habits.

Together, they discuss:

• Why fertility treatment remains financially inaccessible for many families
• The limitations of relying solely on ovulation trackers and hormone monitors
• How menstrual cycles, bleeding patterns, temperature, energy, digestion, and stress may offer useful health information
• Why identifying underlying patterns may be more helpful than addressing one symptom at a time
• The role of sleep, nutrition, blood sugar, stress resilience, and heart rate variability in overall wellness
• How personalized AI tools may make fertility education and support more affordable
• The importance of privacy when sharing sensitive health information with technology
• Why male fertility should also be part of the conversation
• The emotional impact of infertility, miscarriage, IVF, and recurrent pregnancy loss
• How everyday habits can support health before pregnancy, during pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond

Kirsten also introduces Conceivable, an AI-supported women’s health platform designed to provide personalized guidance, education, supplement recommendations, and ongoing support based on each user’s individual patterns and goals.

This conversation is also a reminder that fertility does not exist in isolation. The habits that support reproductive wellness—sleeping well, eating nourishing foods, managing stress, improving digestion, and paying attention to your body—can continue to support health throughout every season of life.

Connect with Kirsten Karchmer and Conceivable

Website: conceivab.com

TikTok: @yourfertilityexpert and @conceivablefertility

Please verify that you are following Kirsten’s official accounts, as impersonator accounts may reuse her content.

Important Health Note

This episode includes personal experiences, professional opinions, and discussion of fertility, supplements, menstrual health, thyroid function, miscarriage, and pregnancy. It is for general educational purposes and should not replace individualized medical care. Do not begin, stop, or change medications or supplements based solely on this conversation. Speak with a qualified healthcare professional before making decisions related to fertility treatment, pregnancy, abnormal bleeding, thyroid health, miscarriage, or other medical concerns.

For more wellness tips and exclusive content, join my newsletter! Sign up now at https://wellness-in-every-season.kit.com/5-days-to-mastering-mornings-and-evenings receive a free 5-day guide called "Awaken and Unwind: 5 Days to Mastering Life's Mornings and Evenings."

How often do you find yourself moving through the day on autopilot?

Autopilot isn't always a bad thing. It can reduce mental load, help us build healthy habits, and make everyday tasks feel effortless. But when autopilot begins to disconnect us from our relationships, our health, our purpose, or ourselves, it may be time to pause and take back the driver's seat.

In this solo episode of Wellness in Every Season, Autumn explores how to recognize when you're living on autopilot and offers reflective coaching questions to help you reconnect with what matters most.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The benefits—and hidden costs—of living on autopilot
• How stress, overwhelm, and burnout can leave us feeling disconnected from ourselves
• Why noticing friction in your life is often the first step toward meaningful change
• Simple ways to become more present throughout your day
• How mindfulness, body awareness, breathing, and nature can help regulate your nervous system
• Why optimization is about small, intentional improvements rather than perfection
• Questions to help you identify what needs your attention right now
• How delegation, boundaries, and daily self-care can create more space for what truly matters

Autumn also invites you to reflect on where you may be operating on autopilot—not with judgment, but with curiosity.

What feels out of alignment?

What is creating unnecessary friction?

What is one small change that could help you feel more present, connected, and intentional?

Sometimes the biggest transformation doesn't come from doing more. It comes from slowing down long enough to notice what your life has been trying to tell you.

If you've been feeling disconnected, overwhelmed, or like you're simply going through the motions, this episode offers a gentle invitation to pause, reflect, and begin creating a life that feels more like your own.

For more wellness tips and exclusive content, join my newsletter! Sign up now at https://wellness-in-every-season.kit.com/5-days-to-mastering-mornings-and-evenings receive a free 5-day guide called "Awaken and Unwind: 5 Days to Mastering Life's Mornings and Evenings."