Summary

Struggling with anxiety, brain fog, low mood, or feeling “not like yourself”—and not getting answers? In this webinar, Dr Louise Newson joins Katy Whalen to break down how hormones drive symptoms across the brain, body, and mood, and what evidence-based treatment options actually look like.

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What you’ll learn:

Beyond “menopause”
- Why focusing only on menopause misses PMS, PMDD, postnatal depression/psychosis, and perimenopause
- How hormonal shifts at any age can trigger severe mental and physical symptoms

Hormones & the brain
- Roles of estradiol, progesterone, testosterone in mood, memory, focus, and sleep
- How low hormones impact serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline and can mimic depression, bipolar, BPD, ADHD

Real women, real cases
- Laura: 10+ years of symptoms, multiple meds, misdiagnosed—then transformed with tailored hormones
- Mary (22): intrusive thoughts, heavy psych meds, labeled with multiple mental health conditions—later found to have PMDD

Risks of not treating hormones
- Increased risk of suicidal thoughts, self‑harm, heart disease, osteoporosis, dementia, autoimmune conditions
- Why only a small minority of women globally receive appropriate hormone therapy

Natural vs synthetic hormones
- Key differences between body-identical hormones and synthetic hormones (contraceptives / older HRT)
- Why risks like clots and breast cancer relate mainly to synthetic formulations

Testosterone for women
- Benefits for energy, joint and muscle pain, physical activity, focus, libido, and suicidal ideation
- Why small daily doses often work better than “every other day” dosing

Practical symptom support
- Vaginal DHEA/estrogen for pelvic floor, UTIs, vulvodynia, painful se at any age
- Progesterone for sleep and calm, waking at 3–4 a.m., plus where magnesium and meditation fit in
- Using hormones alongside autoimmune treatments

Hormones after cancer
- Why a blanket “no” after breast cancer can harm future health and quality of life
- Nuanced, shared decision‑making, sometimes starting with testosterone only

Younger women & contraception
- Mirena IUS plus add‑back natural hormones
- Pills that use estradiol instead of ethinylestradiol
- Natural micronized progesterone for teens with heavy, painful periods
- Non‑hormonal contraception options (e.g., copper coil)