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Christian Women, their Hormones, and their Mental Health

You feel crazy. And your man is CERTAIN that you’re crazy. You feel as though you are a victim to your raging hormones, and you never know what to expect from one day to the next.

If only I could get my hormones under control!

You’re not the only woman who feels this way. Questions about women, their hormones, and their mental health is one of the most frequent health issues I am asked about by my patients, their husbands, radio listeners, readers, or audience members when I speak. If you feel crazy, you’re not alone. And there IS hope!

You don’t have to feel crazy and out of control. There are things you can do to master your hormones instead of letting them master you. Don’t be a victim any longer!

I’m happy to share with you this video in which I talk about women, their hormones, and their mental health. In this video you’ll discover:

The three times during a woman’s life when hormones impact mental health most dramatically.
The single most important factor that determines how and when hormones cause mental health symptoms.
7 Specific Steps that will allow you to take charge of your hormones rather than letting your hormones master you – ALL WITHOUT A DOCTOR’S VISIT OR PRESCRIPTION!

Are your hormone issues affecting your mental health and wellbeing?

Then you’ll want to download my FREE checklist of the 7 Specific Steps to Mastering your Hormones right away.

Punish Your Wife or Husband the Right Way

Your spouse is completely exasperating you, and you can’t put up with it any longer. Perhaps if you punish your wife or husband long enough they’ll get the message and shape up. What can you do to get them to change? (We’re not talking physical violence; that could get you thrown in jail, and you don’t want that!) You could nag and complain, or give them the silent treatment, or stop doing what you usually do for the family, or withhold money or information, or refuse sex, or talk bad about them to your friends. Eventually you can force him or her to do what you need and want, right?

I received a note a few days ago from a desperate wife. “Would it be alright if I stopped cooking dinner for my husband? It’s become obvious to me that he is no longer interested in even trying to find a solution for our relationship.” She went on to describe what she had tried in the past to get him to change – to no avail. Something had to change.

If you’ve been trying to punish your wife or husband for some time, let me ask you Dr Phil’s question: “How’s that working out for you?” Totally aside from the Biblical directive to love your spouse, perhaps by now you’ve discovered that punishing them only serves to make your life worse. They either don’t understand and start punishing you in return, or they dig in, become defensive, and create an even thicker wall between you.

After a while you wake up and think, If they are the one who’s doing everything wrong, why am I the one who is miserable?

7 Mistakes to Avoid When You’re Worked Up

It’s a rare person who never gets emotionally flustered. And I’m not sure such a person truly exists. Some people get worked up over the smallest things – the coffee maker didn’t start on time, or your coworker pulled into your favorite parking spot just as you were about to grab it. But there are plenty of big things that can cause even the toughest person to temporarily lose their emotional footing, such as a serious illness, a major financial loss, the death of a loved one, or a friend’s betrayal.

Reacting out of your emotions when you’re worked up is natural. And we each have our favorite ways of doing so: withdrawing into isolation, lashing out in anger, or dissolving into tears or anxiety. Strong emotions affect our decision-making ability, and it’s easy to say or do things out of those emotions that we will later regret. One of the first steps in emotional maturity is understanding yourself well enough to know when you need to slow down long enough for your rational mind to catch up.

When you feel the heat of being emotionally worked up churning in your being, press PAUSE. Here are several mistakes to avoid at those high-temperature times.

Don’t make big decisions. Making wise decisions that will have long-lasting consequences requires a clear mind. Most of us can’t do that when we’re worked up. Quitting your job or your marriage, throwing away a friendship, selling or buying something expensive, moving to a new church or city, bailing out on a challenging project – none of those decisions can wisely be made out of fear, anger, disappointment, frustration, or any other strong emotion. Wait until your mental temperature cools somewhat, and include your rational mind in the decision-making process.

40 Safe and Healthy Ways to Feel Better

Have you ever felt like you’re stuck down in the dumps and can’t think of a way to get out? That happens to all of us sometimes. Your “usual” way of coping when you’re in a funk may have been to veg in front of the TV, grab some unhealthy snack, or even worse drown your feelings in booze or some other illicit activity.

What you need are some safe and healthy ways to feel better.

Here are a bunch of suggestions. Have you tried these out?

Go for a 20 minute walk
Call a friend who will listen to you talk
Take a long hot shower
Think of something you can truly be grateful for
Stand outside and feel the sun – or the rain – on your face
Enjoy a juicy piece of fruit
Sit down with a good book
Turn on your favorite music
Enjoy a hot cup of tea or a cold glass of lemonade
Stop everything and take a 15 minute nap
Wash your face with cold water – or warm water
Do stretching exercises for 10 minutes
Make a list of 5 things you have a choice about
Look at pictures on your phone of people you love
Walk barefoot in the grass
Book lunch with a good friend – and then turn off your cellphone
Try out a new healthy recipe
Take a drive down a road you haven’t been on before
Read the Verse of the Day from your favorite app (such as the Bible app)
Give someone a sincere Thank You
Take your dog for a walk, or go to the dog park
Comb your hair, brush your teeth, and clean your fingernails
Feed the ducks, or the pigeons, or some other animals
Dig in your garden or flowerbed
Get your car washed
Lie on your back and watch the clouds
Dangle your feet in the water at the lake
Do something nice for someone who will never know it
Talk to God about what you’re feeling, and then listen
Find a church or chapel that’s open, and just sit there
Write an email or call someone who needs encouragement
Give someone a hug
Spend an hour with a child
Light some candles
Draw or write or sing about something you care about
Enjoy your favorite fragrance – perfume, flowers, nature
Join a support group for people with problems like yours
Wash your sheets, blankets, and pillows – and enjoy them clean tonight
Write a letter letting someone you care about know how much they mean to you
Decide to let something go that you cannot change

These activities are all free of side effects – except that you won’t be able to feel sorry for yourself much longer. Even on your really bad days, one or more of these steps will help you feel better and pull through.

What’s your favorite “feel better” tip?

Your Turn: Do you have something safe and healthy that you do to feel better? What is it? Leave a comment below.

Tweetables: why not share this post?

40 Guilt-free and (mostly) Calorie-free ways to feel better. Tweet that.

Do you want to live FULLY ALIVE?

There are simple steps you can take EVERY DAY that will propel you forward in experiencing the kind of life you want, and that God wants for you physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.

Get your FREE Resource Guide now: 7 Keys to Living Fully Alive – from the Inside Out.

I Want to be Fully Alive!

5 Ways to Better Sleep When You’re Stressed

Have you ever struggled to get a good night’s sleep? If so you’re not alone. And you may have contributed to the more than $30 billion dollars spent each year on sleep aids. But what you really need are ways to get better sleep that don’t break your bank account – or your health.

Most adults know they feel better when they get enough sleep. But more than that, getting 7-8 hours of sleep most nights will actually help you live longer, according to a consensus of 16 studies including more than 1 million participants.

Adequate sleep helps you handle stress better. Both your body and your mind need those hours to repair themselves physically and mentally. Regularly losing sleep impairs your judgment, makes you more susceptible to certain illnesses, and leaves you emotionally vulnerable. I seriously wonder about either the truthfulness or the mental health of those who say they need only three or four hours of sleep a night.

There are many things that may be contributing to your lack of sleep.

Christian Women, their Hormones, and their Mental Health

Punish Your Wife or Husband the Right Way

7 Mistakes to Avoid When You’re Worked Up

40 Safe and Healthy Ways to Feel Better

What you need are some safe and healthy ways to feel better.

Do you want to live FULLY ALIVE?

5 Ways to Better Sleep When You’re Stressed

7 Keys to Living Fully Alive from the Inside Out

Healthy Relationships