I see, you know, a generation of women who don't know how to track their cycles, let alone know the follicular luteal phase.

The whole second half of the menstrual cycle is ignored and it's kind of mysterious. It's like our body and our brain are orienting themselves to prepare for the possibility of pregnancy. When you're a woman, you're a little bit of a moving target and to be able to move your treatment along with you. with you. Yeah, if you're cycling, we need to know that you're going to have different needs

at different times of your cycle. And and to be able to move your treatment along with you. Yeah, if you're cycling, we need to know that you're going to have different needs

at different times of your cycle, and you might have to advocate for yourself to get that care

to be different.

So many women I know have this narrative that their body is the enemy.

Welcome back to the As a Woman podcast.

I'm your host, Dr. Natalie Crawford, and today we are talking about something that affects

almost every woman, yet is still deeply misunderstood.

And this is how your menstrual cycle and your hormones impact your brain.

If you've ever wondered why your mood, energy, or motivation can shift from one week to the next,

or if you've ever wondered

if you struggle with PMS or PMDD. This episode's for you. Joining me today is Dr. Sarah Hill,

an award-winning researcher and psychologist, an author of the brand new book, The Period, Brain. Her work

dies into how our brains change across our cycle, why some women are more sensitive to hormonal

shifts than others, and what we can do about it all. In this episode, we're going to cover

what's really happening in the brain during PMS and PMDD, why some women experience severe

mood symptoms while others don't, and how to work with your hormones and not against them to protect your mental health and your well-being. If you've ever felt like your brain might be changing throughout your cycle, you're not imagining it. And this conversation is going to explain just why. Sarah, thank you so much for being here. I'm so excited to be here. I have been really waiting for this episode for a long time. I know it took a while to kind of

get you to town because you've been just so busy promoting your new book. Congratulations. Thank you.

What inspired you to write the period rank? You know, the whole second half of the menstrual cycle is

ignored and it's kind of mysterious. You know, there's all sorts of talk about estrogen and estrogen

does this and it makes you feel this and isn't it wonderful? And it's, you know, it's all sorts of talk about estrogen and estrogen does this and it makes you feel

...