Are your Yin and Yang at war with each other? I don’t know about you, but as I got closer to that “certain age”, I became, well, someone ELSE! She had heard all about hormonal balance and hot flashes and night sweats and mood swings. What I hadn’t heard about was how you could essentially lose yourself. She had always been one of those women in control: prosperous career, supportive wife, responsible stepmother and grandmother, friend, sister, daughter, a well-balanced house of cards. Then suddenly I was a crazy woman; always on edge and barely able to force herself to drive to her job. And when I got to work, I couldn’t FORCE myself to do anything! Who WAS this woman?

Come on ladies. They know that some of you have also been there; or maybe you are in that place right now. A surprise corporate layoff at the time in life when I was approaching menopause was all it took to topple the house of cards. Maybe there was a traumatic triggering event for you too, maybe not. And a severe hormonal imbalance can occur at any age; a traumatic life event, illness, surgery, whatever, can get the ball rolling.

Fortunately, I have a very supportive family. I found a great therapist, we downsized our house to help make up for lost income, and most importantly, I discovered a lot of invaluable information on natural products to help with hormone balance that I’m happy to share with you here. Of course, I am not a doctor and this article certainly does not qualify as medical advice. I am simply sharing with you what worked for me as I did not want or need to use traditional chemicals.

Let’s start with the hormonal balance part. I found that over-the-counter Wild Yam Creme was very helpful. Talk to your local health food store or natural food store about the best option for you. Additionally, Clary Sage therapeutic essential oil is excellent for helping to achieve hormonal balance. Clary Sage oil contains phytohormones that will help stimulate your own body to increase production of the hormones it is lacking. Of course, whenever you buy essential oils for this purpose, make sure you buy them from a reputable company, and also make sure that the oils are therapeutic grade. Clary Sage Oil can be mixed with a carrier oil (such as Jojoba or Grapeseed) or natural lotion and massaged into the body or inhaled using a diffuser or nebulizer.

And then there are the hot flashes! As an herbal supplement, I have found Black Cohosh to be helpful in minimizing hot flashes and night sweats. Again, make sure you buy quality products from a reputable source. Also, as with any herbal supplement, make sure you are aware of possible side effects or allergic reactions. Ylang Ylang essential oil, especially when combined with the use of Clary Sage and other therapeutic essential oils that I’ll discuss in a moment, can help minimize hot flashes. It can be used in massage or inhaled as described above.

When it comes to mood swings and anxiety, nothing can beat the restorative powers of lavender. Lavender is truly a miracle from Mother Nature. Neroli essential oil is also beneficial for anxiety, but it can be quite expensive. Using these oils combined in a therapeutic essential oil blend is believed to help create hormonal BALANCE and minimize symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings, and anxiety.

There are many other things you can do to help Mother Nature and the natural products that I have outlined above. Avoiding caffeine, eating a low-fat diet, eating smaller meals more frequently instead of 2 or 3 large ones a day, avoiding hot tubs and hot showers or baths, using meditation, and much more. I continue to use many of the same natural and aromatherapy products to help me whenever I feel stressed or sad. The good news is that “bad” times don’t last forever, but your knowledge of how to heal your body naturally will.