A short clip from Natalie Jill's 'Midlife Conversations' series introduces a discussion about whether anxiety and depression in women—particularly in midlife—are related to cortisol/adrenal fatigue or to nervous system deregulation. The guest notes high prevalence linked to decreased estrogen and offers practical breathing guidance, challenging common assumptions about 'deep breathing' as relaxation.
For years, women have talked about anxiety and depression and if they go together. But lately it seems to be this conversation around cortisol and adrenal fatigue. Are they the same thing? Are they different? And what about nervous system regulation or deregulation? Where does that tie in? And what can we actually do about it? And why does it get worse around the holidays? This week's episode is all about that on Midlife Conversations. Here's a little clip from the episode, and if you comment pod499 and check your inbox, I'll send you the whole episode.
For women in midlife, we know that one out of two women struggle with anxiety and depression and that it's directly related to a decrease in estrogen. Most people who hear the word anxiety believe it has to be panic. They believe it has to be I'm sweating, I'm having trouble breathing. You know, I feel like I'm having a heart attack. Do you push your stomach out when you breathe in? Because if you don't and if you go all the way up with your chest, it's not going to do anything. Too many people think it's the deep breath that's actually relaxing. It is not.
