Moods, Emotions, and Aging

Hormones and the Mind-Body Connection

By (author) Phyllis J. Bronson With Rebecca Bronson

Publication date:

05 July 2013

Length of book:

156 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Dimensions:

235x160mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781442221017

Despite the backlash against hormone replacement therapy, the depletion of natural hormones in the female body continues to be a problem for women at middle age and beyond. Remedying the problem has proved difficult for women and doctors who are unaware of, or reluctant to prescribe, bioidential hormones—those that match identically the hormones made naturally in the human body. Moods, Emotions, and Aging: Hormones and the Mind Body Connection explains the vital link for women between hormones, mood, and wellness. It outlines the dramatic hormonal shifts that women undergo in the years before menopause, and presents an approach to combining bioidentical hormone therapy with nutrients to achieve mood balance during midlife and beyond. Phyllis Bronson explains the differences between synthetic and bioidentical hormones, and offers vignettes of women who have used bioidentical hormones to help them deal with the changes that accompany natural hormone loss.

This is a groundbreaking book for general readers written by a scientist who is able to take the mystery and the hype out of the hormone controversy. It is intended to empower women, along with their doctors, to make better and more informed choices about their health and well-being as they approach a time in their lives when things can seem like they are spinning out of control. The link between hormones, mood, emotions, and overall wellbeing is a powerful one, and when women are aware of it, they can take steps to bring themselves into better balance physically and emotionally. Here, Bronson shows them how.


For many years, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was standard practice for women with pre-menopausal symptoms. But HRT fell out of favor after studies showed that women on these drugs were developing decreased vascular function and slight increases in the incidence of breast cancer, stroke and dementia.

According to “Moods, Emotions and Aging,” by Phyllis J. Bronson, a Colorado-based researcher who advises women with hormone-based mood disorders, this “set off a wave of misinformation.” Doctors began advising patients to stop HRT, and as a result, Bronson writes, “many women started feeling lousy without their hormones.”

Bronson attributes HRT’s side effects to the fact that commonly prescribed hormones are synthetic. She argues that women would respond better to bioidentical hormones, which are chemically identical to the hormones women make in their bodies. Such hormones, Bronson says, can improve a woman’s mood and sense of self without the negative consequences of synthetic versions.

Bronson builds her case using her own story and those of the women she advises who have had success with bioidentical hormone therapy. She breaks down what happens to various hormones as women age, and how they can affect sexuality, emotional well-being and overall health, particularly age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s.