Last night I was reading when I came across a quote...

"Having outlived their ovaries, they have outlived their usefulness as human beings."

Wait... what? This quote was from 1969. Not the 1800s. 1969.

Our mothers were being born then—or becoming mothers themselves. It's no wonder previous generations often don't talk about menopause, hormonal health, or many of the struggles women are simply expected to endure in silence. For generations, women who spoke up about physical or emotional symptoms were labelled "hysterical"—a term derived from the Greek word for uterus. Conveniently, the very organ unique to women became the reason not to listen to them.

Thankfully, women are no longer commonly referred to as "useless." But, have we stopped being dismissed?

Today, the language just sounds different...

"It's stress."

"It's anxiety."

"It's just your hormones."

Different words. Same full stop at the end of the conversation.

For years, I found myself asking: Why do I feel like this? Why does no one seem to be joining the dots? Is this it?

It wasn't until around two years ago that I came across information about Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). Later, I was formally diagnosed. PMDD has been described as a wave that arrives before every cycle, knocking down the healthy habits and emotional stability you've spent the rest of the month trying to build. It can feel like becoming a different person every few weeks. For years I was told it was depression. Take these tablets. Learn to live with it. Full stop.

So understanding what was actually happening in my body didn't make my symptoms disappear overnight. But it changed my relationship with them. Instead of asking, "what's wrong with me?" I began asking "what's the pattern?", "what is my body trying to tell me?" That shift changed everything.

For many years, women's health received far less research attention than men's. Historically, women were often excluded from clinical research because hormonal fluctuations were considered too complicated to account for. As a result, much of what we know about health and disease has been built around the male body as the default. Thankfully, that is beginning to change. Research is finally starting to ask many of the questions women have been asking for decades. We're learning more about how hormones don't simply influence reproduction. They communicate with the brain, the nervous system, the immune system and mental wellbeing throughout a woman's life. Researchers are exploring how hormonal changes may influence conditions such as PMDD, ADHD, migraine, autoimmune conditions, inflammation and the experiences of perimenopause and menopause. We don't yet have all the answers, but we're finally beginning to ask better questions.

Unfortunately, when you're repeatedly told by your doctor, a family member, a partner, "it's just your hormones," it's easy to begin doubting your own reality. Many women are still left wondering whether what they´re experiencing is normal. You might look around at other women and think... She's managing just fine. She's raising children, working full-time, exercising, smiling. She always seems to have it together. So why can't I? Instead of asking what might be happening in your body, you begin questioning yourself. That's why these conversations matter. Not because every symptom has a simple answer. But because every woman deserves the opportunity to explore what's happening in her own body without feeling dramatic, weak or dismissed.

Whether it's PMDD, endometriosis, adenomyosis, PCOS, perimenopause, menopause, ADHD becoming more noticeable through hormonal change, or living with inflammatory conditions that seem to ebb and flow, these experiences deserve more than a passing comment or a prescription. They deserve time. They deserve curiosity. They deserve understanding. Because when we understand what's happening in our bodies, we stop asking "What's wrong with me?" and begin asking, "What do I need?"

That's where healing begins.

A space to ask questions.

A space to be heard.

A space to understand.

Not because every answer exists yet.

But because every woman's experience is worthy of being explored, not simply endured.

The Authentic Space