So Here For It - Episode 2
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Amy Mingin: [00:00:00] Welcome to episode two of the So Here For It podcast. I am your host, Amy Mingin, and I'm so excited to get into today's episode, which is all about cortisol. This lovely stress hormone has wreaked so much havoc for so many women. And I am so excited to talk about it today so that you not only understand it.
But you also can get on top of it like how good is this gonna be? I want to get excited about it like I am because this is part of it This is part of you becoming more empowered to make great decisions for your health. Like I said to you last episode the more you're looking after yourself the more it becomes a self love tactic, a self love technique, a self love ritual throughout your life.
So, buckle up, we are just about to get [00:01:00] all about cortisol. And I am so here for it.
Now let's begin with, what the heck is cortisol? And why do we have it? And what are its benefits? And what happens when something goes wrong? Now, here's the thing. Cortisol cops such a massive bad wrap and it's only because it is doing its best to protect us and because of the modern day lifestyle things get a bit out of hand. So let's talk about how it fits in in our body. So if you can consider your kidneys, now your kidneys sit in your lower back just In the lower back of the rib cage.
And they're small and they filter our blood and sitting on top of the kidneys are little glands called the adrenal glands. Now the adrenals are really, really important. They help us respond to stress. They help keep us awake. They help keep us motivated, alert. They play [00:02:00] a really significant role in regards to our sleep wake cycle, in regards to being alert, being able to learn, being able to concentrate and being able to do hard things, being able to respond to life.
Now that in itself is not a bad thing, right? You want to be able to have great energy. You want to be able to concentrate and focus and be present with what you're currently doing. And no one ever said that they didn't want that. However, here is the thing, when we are overly stressed, burning the candle at both ends, like have a think about this. This is always a story that I love to tell because it really paints a really clear picture and I know that you're going to be able to relate to this. So think about, You were busy one night and then you got home and you're like, Oh, I just really want to watch some Netflix. And you watch Netflix, but you know, it's got that thing [00:03:00] where, I don't know about you, I really love Bridgerton. And if I'm watching Bridgerton, I really want to see the next episode, but it doesn't serve me to watch it past about nine o'clock at night. So I've had to get really, really firm with myself and be like at the end of one episode, I have to get off, but I totally get how addictive some of these shows are for us. They always leave it on a cliffhanger, don't they? So anyway, imagine staying up and you're watching Bridgerton. You're like, yep, I want to see what happens next. And before you know it, it's 1130, it's 12 o'clock. You get to bed. You're feeling so tired and you're not getting the quality sleep at nighttime, first and foremost. You might fall into bed. You might fall asleep, but that late at night. If you're getting to bed after midnight, you're not actually getting as much restorative and healing sleep as someone who's getting to bed before midnight. So that those hours leading up to midnight are our [00:04:00] most important for our adrenal glands.
So note that. The earlier you can get to bed, the better. And that's when we're going to go into our deep sleep first. So then, let's say, we're going to carry on with this. This is the one who stayed up past midnight. And she wakes up, she's got to get up at 5. 30, because she is going to go to the gym. She has good intentions of going to the gym, but the alarm goes off, she hits snooze, because she feels so tired. She's only had five and a half hours sleep, not even, between five and five and a half hours. She feels really tired, so she hits snooze. She wakes up 15 minutes later, hits snooze again. So she's coming in and out of sleep in the morning, and there's something called sleep inertia, which is totally normal, by the way.
Before she knows it, she's overslept. She jumps out of bed. She quickly goes to the toilet, gets her face done, races out the door, [00:05:00] coffee in hand, and jumps in the car to go to work. She hasn't been to the gym, she's rushing, she feels totally behind, and then because she's running a little bit late, she hits more traffic, so there's more stress.
And she's like, oh that's alright, I'll just drink my, I'll drink my coffee, I'll try and calm myself down. But she's drinking the coffee on an empty stomach. She's busy in her head already. That increases adrenaline.
Now, every time adrenaline gets pumped out, it affects every single cell of our body. Adrenaline comes from our adrenal glands. There's also another neurochemical called noradrenaline, which works alongside adrenaline. But for the purpose of today's conversation about cortisol, which we're getting to, let's talk about adrenaline and cortisol. Now, because the body knows how to protect itself, Number one, it's number one thing is to survive.
So it's [00:06:00] thinking right now, the body, the cells of the body are like, Oh my God, we are so stressed. We need to get something out here to protect us. So guess who is the actual savior in this? It is cortisol. Cortisol goes to the rescue. But can we consider that adrenaline is a bit like a sprinter and cortisol is kind of like the soft voluptuous grandmother.
So cortisol comes out and it engulfs and it hugs the sprinter and the sprinter slows down. And so therefore our nervous system can calm down. So you've probably noticed that before in the past, you have a stressful event and eventually you can wind yourself down. And that's because cortisol is at work.
Now, It's brilliant because cortisol knows exactly how to do this. Your body knows how to regulate it and bit by bit you go throughout your day [00:07:00] and if you're eating really well and if you're resting and you meditate and you get plenty of fresh air and you're hydrated, you can regulate your cortisol really really easily.
But here is the problem. Most people don't have these tools and resources in front of them. So that's why cortisol can be a little bit AWOL because, you think about that, this is just this lady on her way to work. She hasn't calmed down yet. She hasn't had anything to eat. She's probably on the phone.
She's probably scrolling social media while she's stuck in traffic. She's probably, not necessarily listening to anything that's going to be helpful at calming her down. So let's consider her adrenal glands are pumping out adrenaline and then pumping out cortisol. And by the time that she gets to work, she's feeling famished.
She's feeling stressed. She feels emotional. Because that's the other thing with cortisol is it causes our [00:08:00] emotions to be much more heightened. Everything feels like a big deal when cortisol has been high. So what is one of the best ways to get cortisol down? There's something called a physiological sigh.
Now I'm giving you so many tools and I really want you to use them because these are so phenomenal at helping to regulate your nervous system and therefore helping to regulate your adrenal glands and therefore cortisol. So all you need to do and you can practice it right now. Let's do three together.
You breathe in through your nose breathe in as much as you possibly can, fill your belly, fill your lungs, and then just breathe out with a sigh you go Breathe out through the mouth and sigh Breathe in, breathe out, sigh, let's do one more because it feels really good.[00:09:00]
Now what this does is it helps to take us out of the stress response and into what we call in a scientific term out of sympathetic dominance and more into parasympathetic. And there's two, so there's two arms of the nervous system and you're always going to have both happening all the time, but one is going to be more dominant than the other.
When you're in a high stress environment, you're wanting to regulate that sympathetic nervous system so that you can feel calmer. So that's what we're doing with that physiological side. If you can do that for a minute, literally just set a timer, do that for a minute. You will feel so much warmer, so much more in your body and so much more calm almost instantaneously. You're welcome. I'm so here for that. So then if this lady were to do that, that would be super helpful for her. The next thing that she needs to do is actually eat something. But the problem is [00:10:00] she forgot her lunch. She forgot her breakfast. So she's ordering something in, or she's just going to stop at the bakery on the way in.
What is there to eat that's actually going to be helpful for her? She's like, Oh, I'm just going to grab this cinnamon scroll. Bow, bow. Not so great. And so here's the reason why. Anytime that you're overeating sugar or you're getting your blood glucose super high by eating refined foods. It also causes a spike in adrenaline.
It also then causes a spike in cortisol. So you can see how this stuff adds up over a day, right? Then she walks into the office and it's drama all day long because she already feels sensitive to stress. So think about it that way. Her nervous system's already revved. She's just added sugar to the pile.
She's okay for a bit and then she's crashing later. So she's either gonna go stress out a bit more, she might go eat more sugar or more refined carbs, or she's [00:11:00] gonna go grab another coffee. This is what commonly, commonly happens. And by the time she gets to lunchtime and she actually has like her chicken salad, she's already been beside herself for several hours and whilst that's going to help calm her down a little bit because she'll be grounded with some of the protein and getting some micronutrients, it's still good, it's not going to be enough for her body to fully regulate cortisol if she's doing this every single day.
And this is what I mean. Our bodies are fully capable of regulating these hormones daily. Like, we are so dynamic and we are so innately gifted and talented to heal ourselves. But the problem is when things are overdone. The problem is when things become saturated in our body. So we're talking things like too much sugar, too much stress, not enough sleep, burning the candle at both ends, not knowing what to do with your emotions. There's so many different things that run through the whole cortisol pattern that [00:12:00] then therefore affect, as women age. So anyone who's over the age of 30, I've actually seen it in women younger than this, but I will say anyone over the age of 30 needs to protect their progesterone.
Now here's the next step of what happens with cortisol. If we're talking, this probably happens for years before it's actually a big problem, by the way. So if somebody realizes that they're cortisol dominant or they've got cortisol deficiency or there's something big that goes on in their nervous system and they're stressed all the time, then you're probably going to start noticing things like this.
So lots of sweet cravings in the afternoons, needing to have something sweet after every single meal. This isn't just a blood glucose thing. This is also a cortisol thing. So many people just blame the foods that they're eating. It's actually your nervous system. We need to regulate both. So the other thing here is when we're protecting progesterone, it's absolutely necessary because if you're not calm, your body is not going to [00:13:00] prioritize the release of that egg every month.
So think about it, anyone with polycystic ovarian syndrome, 100 percent of the time, you know what, I don't like to speak in absolutes, but I will say that there is a personality type here. They are super hard on themselves. So hard on themselves, in fact, that they don't allow themselves to ovulate because cortisol stays so high.
So they're very, very stress sensitive, these women with PCOS. Add to that, there's usually a personality type of they tend to be over masculine, so they're not allowing themselves to trust and be surrendering into their feminine. And quite often, I can't say this is 100 percent because probably back in the day I never asked this question to every single client with PCOS, but most of the time they've had troubles with their dad in their life.
Really interesting stuff. So if this rings true for you, then it's totally relatable. You're welcome. It is actually [00:14:00] so helpful to find these things out when you do because it gives you another track to actually help yourself, right?
So here's what happens. The body, when cortisol is high, it's not going to prioritize ovulation. If you do happen to ovulate, what tends to happen is the body's going to prioritize the stress hormones, i. e., adrenaline and cortisol, over progesterone. So when you're lower in progesterone, so it literally steals, it steals it as part of the process of ovulation. You're going to ovulate, it's fine, but it's stealing this part of progesterone that you actually need to create the hormone cascade, which is usually this anti anxiety feeling that we have and feeling so beautiful in the second half of our cycle, in that luteal phase.
So what happens then? PMS. What happens then? PMDD for some women. What is PMDD? [00:15:00] Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. Or it could be like the depressive style symptoms. And, oh gosh, I've treated so many women for this and most of the time it is related to their nervous system. Most of the time it is related to their stress patterns and their deficiencies as well.
You can't treat this stuff just with drugs. I'm just gonna say it right now. So many doctors will just give the pill or they will just give antidepressants and it is not enough. There is, this has to have a multifaceted approach and you are not deficient in the drugs, you're deficient in nutrients and it's a thinking pattern and a stress pattern that creates all of it.
So if we can go back and regulate the nervous system and regulate what's happening with cortisol, then this prevents those issues. Prevents PMS. It prevents PMDD. Women are like, Oh my God, I got my period. I didn't have any symptoms. Is this normal? I'm like, this is the normal period. This is, this is what you, this is what you aim for.
But you can't [00:16:00] get to that without knowing how to regulate yourself. And what I mean by regulate, regulate your nervous system first and foremost. So that's one aspect of cortisol. The other aspect of cortisol is as we age, cortisol tends to be higher and it tends to make us more stress sensitive naturally.
And naturally, as we're over 35, moving towards perimenopause, those in their 40s know exactly what this is all about. And those who are post menopause or probably in their 50s and 60s all know about this as well. There is a little bit of a belly that starts. There is a little bit of thigh thing that starts.
There's a little bit extra to love in the back department. There's a little extra to love in the arms. And they're like, I've never had this in my life. Where did this come from? It comes from cortisol. So the life that they used to live, where they could very easily push themselves and very easily go and do like hectic [00:17:00] workouts and not eat as much and have long fasts between their meals, that doesn't work when you get older.
I'm just gonna say it, it does not work when you get older. You need to be really specific about the timing of when you eat. You need to eat regularly. You need to eat a balanced meal that contains protein, complex carbs, healthy fats, fiber, lots of veggies. This is what I find works for these women, and you can find out more about that in Catalyst, and I'll put the description, put the link in the description for you.
Now, as far as these women who are that little bit older are concerned, What are some of these more regulatory things that we can do for cortisol? Yes, timing your meals is important. Yes, the type of food that you put in your body is important. Yes, regulating your nervous system is important. And also this, meditation.
They're finding in scientific studies [00:18:00] that Cortisol is lowering by about 70 percent after a three to five minute meditation. That is phenomenal. Again, we're talking about that parasympathetic innovation. We're talking about slowing the nervous system down and calming the nervous system down. So that's one thing.
Another thing you can do is go walking. I say this quite a bit on my social media. And it's not extreme. So people are like, are you for real? But I am, I am for real. I say this all the time that walking is the most underrated thing for your health. It actually is the thing that helps you burn fat. It is actually the thing that helps to decrease cortisol.
And most people really should be, and I'm going to use the word should, most people really should be doing two hours of walking a day. And most people don't and that's okay. And here's my suggestion. You can walk in the morning and you can walk in the evening and before you go, I don't have time. Give it a go.
What if you started with 10 [00:19:00] minutes and then you pushed it out to 20 and so on and so forth. You can take kids with you if you have kids, like there's so much more in this for you to be able to give to yourself in the long term, if you start the walk. Start the walk now and it is going to pay dividends later.
You'll notice it straight away. So think about this. If you were to walk, then you get home, you're feeling calmer. When you're calmer, then you go to bed, you sleep better. Then you wake up without having to touch the snooze. Then you actually get up and you actually go to the gym and then you do your weights and you actually maintain your muscle mass which is going to be really helpful for your blood glucose regulation.
And then you've already pre prepped your meals and then you go walking a little bit later and you're eating a balanced meal and you feel so much calmer. Like all of these are tools and all of these don't sound too out of this world, but how [00:20:00] many people trying to overcomplicate it? Like that is the big thing that I always say as part of Catalyst is this is about simplicity.
The key to your hormones, the key to you feeling less stress, the key to you feeling more yourself, is simplicity. So I want you to consider where are you adding in so many things that are so unnecessary. You think that the next supplement is going to be the thing that makes you feel better.
Or you think that the thing that worked for your aunt or your friend or the neighbor is going to be the thing that works for you. What if you actually just took some old fashioned advice, i. e. from me, and it's old fashioned because I've been doing this stuff for 20 years, by the way, and it works and this is the thing, like, women in Catalyst are decreasing, releasing about eight kilos in eight weeks.
Each and [00:21:00] every one of them, which is quite phenomenal, right? So if that is something that you want to do, go to the show notes, jump through, jump into it. It is one of the best things you could ever do for yourself, as well as your cortisol, as well as your hormones. It's going to get you on track. Now, I want to speak into something here, because this will be a little bit left of centre for some of you.
The reason why your cortisol stays high is because you're addicted to stress. And I say this in the most kind way possible, but I want you to consider the last time that things were going well in your life, what chaos came in to make you feel like it was chaotic. There's so many sabotage patterns that we have set up inside of our nervous systems that we think are keeping us safe, but it's actually just a familiar hell.[00:22:00]
It's just familiar. So what if you stepped out of that and you said, it's time to change? What if you said, it's time for me to have something different? What if you said, I want to feel calm and I want to have clarity and I want to look good and I want to feel good and let go of that addiction to the chaos or the addiction to the stress.
Because there's a thing called rushing women's syndrome. That these women are just rushing around, they're trying to sort out the kids, they're trying to sort out their partners, they're trying to sort out their work, they're trying to be everything to everyone, but who's looking after them?
Are you looking after you? As I say, it's the biggest form of self love. So if there's part of you that goes, I can't stick to something, I always fail, that is the sabotage pattern. And every single pattern is at one stage, [00:23:00] like it's been there to keep you safe. Now, here's the thing about the nervous system.
The brain, inside the brainstem, which is just at the back of the head where the spine enters into the skull. It doesn't care if we're happy. It doesn't care how rich we are. It doesn't care what we have. It doesn't care about any of the emotions. It just cares that we survive. So if you are someone who is in survival mode all the time, What is stopping you from having more?
It is those sabotage patterns. It is the chaos patterns and it is those addictions to negative emotions. Now I'm not going to go too much into the negative emotions today, but I can put a couple of journal prompts that will be a self reflection technique for you. And I want you to delve into them. I want you to share it on your [00:24:00] social media and tag me.
I want you to really get into this work because this is what I'm here for. I'm here for you becoming your best version. And it doesn't mean that the next version's gonna be better than your last year version. It's the more you like they talk about the scale of consciousness, which gives us the vibrationary amount in each emotion, and they used to think that the highest vibration was love, when in fact the highest vibration is authenticity.
So this is helping you become more authentic. Less apologetic. Like, I want you to be exactly who you are. And it comes from doing this work. Facing your fears. Getting out of survival. Putting yourself first. So, do the work. Ask yourself the hard questions. And do the work that actually feels hard. But it's only hard because it's [00:25:00] different to what you've been doing.
Don't mistake hard for different. It's a total different frame of reference and different will probably set off alarm bells in the brainstem, which is like threatening to survival. But what it actually really does is helps you grow. It helps change your mindset. It helps you be who you truly are. So I hope you enjoyed this episode.
I invite you to like, follow, subscribe, and share. If you got something out of this episode and you know someone who is going to benefit from it, I would absolutely adore if you shared it with them. It really helps me reach more people just like you, and I am so grateful that I have been in your ears today.
