HORMONAL HEALTH IN WOMEN. By Falilat Oreoluwa Dikko

HORMONAL HEALTH IN WOMEN

This week, while listening to a group of women share their personal stories, I was reminded yet again of something many of us live with but rarely talk about openly, how our bodies sometimes begin to feel unfamiliar, and how what we call “just tired” or “just stressed” is often much deeper than that. One woman said she cries for no reason, another confessed to constant fatigue, and yet another wondered how she keeps gaining weight despite eating less than ever. These are not just everyday complaints, they are quiet signals from within, hints that the orchestra of hormones in a woman’s body might be playing out of tune.

For generations, women have been praised for their strength and resilience, and we have earned our place in boardrooms, politics, science, art, and homes; yet within all that triumph, there are silent struggles that go unnoticed, struggles like hormonal imbalance that affect how we feel, how we think, and how we function daily. The body, is like a well-arranged symphony, and hormones are the musicians playing a rhythm that keeps everything moving smoothly, but when one hormone starts to play off-key, the music falters, and the rhythm of life becomes disjointed.

Hormones are not just about reproduction or menstruation; they control our energy levels, sleep patterns, weight, mood, appetite, memory, and even how well we handle stress or love. When these hormones are balanced, we feel like ourselves—confident, clear-headed, and emotionally stable, but once imbalance sets in, the same woman who was once full of life may feel like she’s suddenly walking in shoes that don’t fit anymore. I remember a woman named Teniola, a brilliant professional in her thirties who led major campaigns and had the world at her feet, yet quietly battled unexplained anxiety, poor sleep, and emotional crashes until she was told her hormones were out of sync and needed attention, not dismissal.

Estrogen, one of the most well-known female hormones, is like the queen of the hormonal court; it’s responsible for our curves, our skin’s glow, and a steady mood, but when it becomes excessive compared to progesterone, what experts call estrogen dominance—it can lead to heavy periods, fibroids, breast tenderness, irritability, and bloating. This kind of imbalance is more common than we think, and I recall Mojisola, a vibrant caterer whose face constantly broke out in acne while her body retained water and her emotions stayed on edge, she thought it was just part of getting older until she made a few lifestyle changes like reducing plastics in her kitchen, eating more vegetables like broccoli and cabbage, and giving herself time to rest properly, and in less than four months, she began to feel like herself again.

What many people overlook is how stress plays a major role in this entire picture, because stress isn’t just emotional but biological, and when a woman is constantly under pressure, the body starts to produce more cortisol, the stress hormone that can suppress reproductive hormones, disturb sleep, increase belly fat, and trigger anxiety. Women are often expected to carry the world on their shoulders, to multitask without complaints, and to stay strong no matter what, but that strength sometimes comes at a cost, and the body, in its quiet wisdom, will always try to alert us through symptoms, those very ones we’re often too busy to notice or too ashamed to discuss.

There are stories around the world that echo this truth, Beyoncé once opened up about the toll pregnancy and health issues took on her body, while Michelle Obama, in one of her podcast episodes, talked about hot flashes and hormonal changes during menopause that she never expected would hit her as hard as they did, and these are women with access to top care, yet they too had to pause and listen to what their bodies were saying. It’s a powerful reminder that hormonal imbalance doesn’t recognize class or fame, and it can happen to anyone, even the woman who looks perfect on the outside.

Another area often ignored is the thyroid gland, a tiny butterfly-shaped organ in the neck that controls how fast or slow everything in the body works, from your heartbeat to how much energy you burn daily and when it becomes underactive or overactive, it can mimic other issues like depression or panic attacks, and many women get misdiagnosed or misunderstood. I once met Funmi, a woman in tech who couldn’t understand why she was gaining weight despite eating healthy and working out regularly, and it wasn’t until she pushed for deeper testing that she discovered her thyroid was sluggish, and her body was simply reacting to what it couldn’t process.

Hormonal health is not a niche subject; it’s a life topic that affects every woman from adolescence to menopause and even beyond, and it’s time we give it the same attention we give to career development, skincare, or fashion trends, because when your hormones are balanced, everything else begins to align, and the version of you that shines brightest becomes visible again. This is not just about diagnosis or medicine, it’s about lifestyle, and it starts with little things like getting enough sleep, eating less sugar, drinking more water, moving your body, checking your stress levels, and paying attention to what your body tells you before it starts to scream.

Women have done so much for society, and we will continue to rise and break barriers, but in doing so, we must also prioritize our own well-being, because what good is a brilliant mind or a strong will if the body it lives in is constantly overwhelmed? Hormonal health is not weakness… it’s wisdom, and the more we learn to embrace it, the better we can support ourselves and others through every stage of life.

So, as we close this week’s column, I leave you with a thought “your body is always speaking, not in words but in signs, and once you learn to listen, you won’t just feel better, you’ll live better”.

Let’s normalize the conversation, share more stories, and create space for women to thrive in both public success and private wellness, because both matter, and both are worth protecting.