4 Useful Tips if you Want to Recover from Hypothalamic Amenorrhea
That don’t involve food, stress and exercise
We all know the drill, if you want to recover from HA you need to:
- Increase your caloric intake
- Reduce the amount of time you spend exercising
- Keep stress at bay, whenever is possible
To get to the core of it, and as explained wonderfully in Nicola Rinaldi’s book “No period, now what?”, amenorrhea is defined as a lack of period. This can be either primary or secondary, and it is normally caused by changes in the hypothalamus.
The hypothalamus regulates the menstrual cycle; this vital part of the brain releases GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone), which stimulates the release of LH (luteinizing hormone) and FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone).
When a woman develops HA, the hypothalamus stops releasing enough GnRH, which in turn slows down LH and FSH production, ultimately preventing ovulation.
In simple words, it’s our body’s way to tell us than we are not ready to procreate.
And it’s not only about the lack of having a regular menstrual cycle; suffering from HA can in fact leads to:
- infertility
- mood swings and irritability
- osteopenia and osteoporosis
- chronic injuries
- altered sleep quality
- lack of libido
- hair loss and anemia
just to name a few lovely things that are normally present in the life of an HA warrior.
You can find more about how I recovered from HA in this article:
But today, I would like to discuss 4 Incredible tips that are overlooked when trying to get your period back.
Find WHY and WHAT
Before embarking on your HA journey, it is fundamental to understand WHY you are doing it. It doesn’t suffice to say “I want to get healtier” or “I want to have a baby”. It would help if you were more specific, or your newly found motivation will dive down two months into the process when things start getting tough.
I invite you to write down at least five reasons why you want to recover and have them on a post-it note you can attach in your bathroom mirror. Every morning, when you brush your teeth, I invite you to read the note and say out loud why you are in it.
After being sure of your whys, you need to identify the “how-to”, meaning the steps you need to take to make it happen. Do you need to have food in your pantry, do you need to buy a journal, start a blog, get rid of the scale.
Find the tools you need to get to where you want to be without hesitance.
Change the Conversation in your head
It is easy to get stuck in the scarcity mentality and pitying yourself because life is unfair, and “why can’t I have babies when all my friends do.” You will be fertile again, but for now, you need to focus on the steps ahead of you.
Instead of getting miserable over the idea of what you DON’t have yet, bring the awareness to the abundance that is already surrounding you and start from a joyful and positive mindset.
Ask for help and Share you Story
You don’t need to do recovery alone. No one expects it from you. Recovery is a rollercoaster, and it moves from exciting to hard, as soon as the body starts changing, or unwanted comments creep in.
“The Biggest realisation is that it was only me Who expected this of myself”
Find support, someone that you can rely on and let them know what they are for you; if you don’t have that person in your life, reach out to a paid professional (like a Nutritionist specialised in HA as I am), to a forum, or an online group. There are so many resources and help out there.
And while you are at it, share your story, as it may help someone else that is starting out or in the thick of it.
Bring Awareness to your habits
It is fundamental to get to know all the habits that brought you into the HA rabbit hole, as you need to unlearn them. One at the time.
Also, you need to be proactive and start adding in new and positive habits, along with soulful affirmations that can bring you where you want to go.
Let’s say for example that you tend to skip breakfast in the morning, because you leave the house at the last minute or because you want to exercise on an empty stomach. From now on, you may consider sleeping in instead of exercising, and having a small meal as soon as you wake up. Or you may want to have a snack and enjoy a leisurely walk in nature, before coming back home and have a proper, energy sustaining and delicious breakfast.
I invite you to carry a piece of paper with you in the next 7 days and write down all the habits you need to avoid if you want to recover once and for all. After you have completed the exercise, you need to create another column and replace your old habits with new one.
For example in the left column you may have “Do no eat carbs after 7pm” and on the right side “Have dinner when hungry and enjoy carbs as they are filling, delicious, and so good for my body”
I hope you can get some useful tips that you can apply into your real life x
Claudia is a Qualified Nutrition & Dietetic Consultant (BHSC) specialised in hormonal balance, women’s health, and disorder eating behaviors. She sees clients online and in clinical practice; you can find more about her or the Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery program by following her on Instagram, Facebook, or by checking her website.
