Exploring Seasons, Cycles & Motherhood: Insights from a Women-Centered Therapist
Exploring hormones and mental health in pregnancy, motherhood and menopause
As a woman-centered counsellor & psychotherapist supporting women in life transitions, the connection between hormones and mental health lies at the heart of my daily private practice. Increasingly, I am interested - both personally and professionally - with cycles and seasonality. This shows up in two contexts; externally in terms of living in connection to the natural world and the seasons of the year, and internally, in bringing awareness to our menstrual cycles and phases of motherhood as we age.
Many of my clients are grappling with mental health challenges that are interwoven or underpinned by hormonal upheaval. Whether it’s the anxieties of pregnancy, the paradigm-shifting challenges of early motherhood, or looking into the horizon of perimenopause and all that it brings, the women I see in the therapy room often come to me to make sense of their experience, understand themselves better and live a life more attuned to their needs.
Understanding your menstrual cycle
Something I have become incredibly passionate about in recent years is menstrual cycle tracking. This can be such a transformative practice in understanding the ebb and flow of moods, understanding sensitivities, bringing awareness to energy levels and social capacity. These are all things that vary over the course of a cycle.
The benefits of understanding your menstrual cycle and engaging in practices like cycle tracking are myriad. Fundamentally, I find it helps to bring compassion and understanding to any peaks and troughs in mental health challenges in a non-pathologizing lens. When we understand the biology of our own cycles, the function and purpose of each phase of the menstrual cycle, my sense is that these times and symptoms become less a problem to fix or be ashamed of, and more just an unmet need to tend to.
Rites of passage: the four seasons of womanhood
Alongside our own internal menstrual cycles, there are also the wider meta cycles or phases of life governing our lives as women and mothers. These transitions mark ancient rites of passage, no longer acknowledged in our modern, Western cultures which map against hormonal shifts and seasons of the year. Each phase also has its own challenges, lessons, and unmet needs which we often see in the therapy room as mental health issues.
Many of the clients I work with in my private practice are grappling with the transition between seasons (often maiden to mother, or mother to maga) and everything existentially, psychologically and emotionally that this brings up.
Maiden: 0- 25 years old (related to the season of spring and follicular phase in the menstrual cycle)
This is a phase of exploration, curiosity, and new beginnings. Psychologically, there’s a drive towards learning and growth. When needs for autonomy aren’t met, this can feel like restlessness or frustration.Mother: 25 - 50 years old (related to the season of summer and ovulation in the menstrual cycle)
This phase is all about creation, connection, and outward energy. When needs for connection, safety and expression aren’t met, we can see anxiety and depression and stress or overwhelm as mental health presentations.Maga: 50 - 75 years old (related to the season of autumn and luteal phase in the menstrual cycle)
This is a phase of discernment, truth, and refinement. It often involves a turning inward to evaluate what’s working. Unmet needs often include boundaries, honesty, and space to process emotions. This upheaval often prompts people to seek therapy for support.Crone: 75 years & beyond (related to the season of winter and the menstrual phase)
This is a phase of release, rest, and inner wisdom. Energy drops, and there’s often a pull toward reflection and creating a legacy for the next generation. Deep rest is necessary in this phase.
Reading recommendations
Some great books on the topics of seasons and cycles in all aspects of womanhood (including pregnancy, motherhood and menopause) include:
Lucy Jones – ‘Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis Of Pregnancy, Childhood and Motherhood’
Dr Claudia Welch – ‘Balance your hormones, Balance your life’
Maisie Hill - ‘Period power: Harness your Hormones and Get Your Cycle Working For You’
Katherine May – ‘Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times’
Sharon Blackie – ‘Hagitude: reimagining the Second Half of Life’.
Are you seeking therapeutic support?
If you’re looking for a Counsellor/Psychotherapist to support you through your own mental health challenges or a life transition that’s feeling overwhelming right now, then please get in touch. I offer a free 15 minute intro call to check if I’m the right therapist for you, or you can book in a first appointment and get started straight away.
