“For me, knowing how my monthly cycle is likely to impact my internal world in terms of emotions and my level of energy is very helpful. I used to go through each month wondering if the “normal me” was the high-energy socially active me at week 2, or if “normal me” was the more irritable me who would stand for no injustice in week 3, or the calm and reflective me of week 4. I used to wonder why I just couldn’t muster the energy to be outgoing at the end of the month when I was all tired out.
Understanding how the monthly cycle works was a real “Ah-ha” moment for me because I finally knew that all of those changes were not only predictable, but it was the *changes* of the cycle that were normal. It would be strange if women felt the same way on every day of the cycle. It’s reassuring to know that I am not imagining things, these changes in the cycle are normal, and it’s not the end of the world if I need to have a quiet day at the end of every month. And if I can’t have a quiet day at the end of the month, at least I’m not “kicking myself” for not being super-powered that day.
As for changing my schedule to suit my cycle, I have managed to do that once so far. In the summer, I actually booked a trip to go windsurfing in my week 2. It was a blast! I couldn’t believe how easy it was, and I knew that my confidence was at a monthly-high, bolstered by my best reflexes of the month. It was definitely the best time to schedule a fun new activity.”
I want to start by thanking you for the wonderful service you provide for the women lucky enough to have discovered your site. Being an amateur scientist/doctor/veterinarian I started my quest for info on hormones by searching the internet for a chart that might show me how our hormones fluctuate from week to week so that I may identify and possibly eliminate or counteract the one that makes me go from a motivated, happy, quick-thinking go-getter to a moody-bipolar semi-mean but lethargic, cake-eating sissy. When I stumbled upon your website and read the descriptions for each week and how the hormones affect not just me but all women I was stoked and relieved to know that all this is totally normal. Your site saved me a ton of research (and guesswork). Many years ago, I even had a doctor prescribe me an anti-depressant for treatment of PMS symptoms (which I totally did not need) because I just figured something was wrong with me and I had some kind of extreme PMS situation. I love how your site helps me to know what’s coming from week to week and be ready to take it on, maybe even ward it off I learn something new almost daily with the tips you offer and I’m also learning to control or at least counteract the food cravings/ binge eating that plagues me during week 3. So again thank you sooo much for your work. It helps more than you know 🙂
“Brava to you! I truly appreciate all your hard work and passion you put into your app/blogs. I am a 50 year old woman who has learned more about her cycle within the past three months since signing on to your app. then when I should have learned all this potent knowledge.
Two things I’ve recently discovered for me- I really understand now the struggle with eating clean in my weeks 3 and 4. I always knew it was hormonal and PMS…. But knowing why is helping me push through it to get to my weight loss goal.
And lastly and most importantly, my daughter Sophia (age 12.9 years old) just got her first period a few weeks ago. Thank you for all your great information. She has your teen app and is years ahead of me in her knowledge of her cycles.
I am thrilled too because I want her to feel empowered by knowing her hormone cycle and not throw around the PMS excuses. Knowledge is power, and I hope she will know what and why her moods and body are responding to her hormonal changes and therefore be better prepared to handle them.
Brava again for your off-the-charts- amazing observations, and research on hormones!”
Your book, 28 Days, is one of the most informational and entertaining book I have ever owned. I refer to it often.
I went through a post-college depression and was looking for solutions to my problem. I came across to a newspaper article about periodic cycles and how hormones affect our everyday life which led to discovering 28 Days in 2006.
I read the book day by day for my first cycle in the morning so I know what to expect. Most likely it was accurate. Then for my second cycle I read the book before I went to bed to see if the theories came true. Most of it was accurate. I had so much fun with it and wasn’t disappointed.
I didn’t know the hormones caused me to have bouts of depression and sadness. I really overcame my depression as a result of reading 28 Days because I know what to expect and how to avoid my bouts of sadness. I tell my friends about it. We are truly what we secrete!
Thank you, Gabrielle!
Just wanted to tell you that I am really enjoying Hormonology. I subscribed to it last week in search of best time to become pregnant and also why I feel so smart sometimes and at other times, can’t put my sentences together…lol but it’s true. Now I am not so hard on myself anymore. My gynecologist a couple of years ago told me, she didn’t know why my PMS made me feel that way and I felt trapped. But now, thanks to your website about Hormonology, I’m learning to discover and appreciate who I am in a whole new way. Thank you for helping all of us women out there struggling with our hormones every month!
“Hormonology has brought peace to my life! I knew about PMS, but I never realized the ups and downs that happen in the entire cycle! Not only do you explain what is likely to happen—you explain why! And with that knowledge, I am able to plan and act accordingly. Now instead of using the excuse that I’m just crabby and having PMS, I feel empowered to work around my emotions. Rather than making everyone miserable while feeling justified that there is nothing I can do about it or spending out of control and feeling guilty about it, I now am aware of the trends and can make logical decisions about my feelings and impulses. So incredibly helpful!
My husband also loves it—he no longer feels like I am a contradiction where one week I’m happy and confident, the next introverted and insecure. He always told me he was aware of how powerful hormones are, but now he understand what the relationship is. Very powerful information—thank you so much for sharing it with us! Every mom, dad, wife, husband, sister, brother and teenager should have this information! Thank you!”
“This site is awesome!
I’m so appreciative that you created it. I check weekly with your site now, just to back up what I’d already suspected/knew was going on. Listening to our bodies can be challenging at best, but having the communication validated is such a relief!
The older I’ve gotten the more aware of my mood swings I’ve become. The high and low swings we women experience can often leave us wondering if we are even sane or perhaps a bit bi-polar! I know I certainly thought my Mother was a bit crazy when younger, but I certainly know better now!
Thank you SO much for doing this work and helping women everywhere!”
“Hormonology has helped me to be more confident in the many phases of my womanhood. The daily Hormone Horoscope is always accurate! I have been a cycle charter since age 11 and when I came across Gabrielle Lichterman’s work in 2006 it was as if I found an answered prayer—someone else who got it! Gabrielle’s solid research gave me permission to hug my hormones my and capitalize on my cycle.
Thank you! Keep on making it great for us all!”
“Hormonology has been life changing. PMS has been a real problem for me. The daily emails help provide an awareness and an understanding of my moods. It also is a reminder of when to take my supplements. Just knowing that hormones are to blame helps me to cope, put my thoughts in check, and makes me a happier person overall. My family has noticed a difference, too! I don’t know how I did it before the emails!”
I went in search of information to explain my crazy moods swings. I thought I had bi-polar disorder! I ran across Gabrielle Lichterman’s Hormonology website and signed up for the daily Hormone Horoscope and quickly realized there was nothing wrong with me, I just needed to understand my hormone cycle and its effects on my daily life. It’s been a HUGE help in knowing why my mood, coordination, level of extroversion, and memory are functioning at their varying levels. To the extent that I can, I plan vacations, presentations, and major events around my cycle.
I bought copies of the book for both of my sisters and have all of my girlfriends signed up for the daily Hormone Horoscope. My older sister has also become as obsessed with knowing “where” she is in her cycle. I’m sure this will help her out as her two daughters enter their teen years.
Thanks for the great work!
I love reading your newsletter. It’s full of so many interesting facts.
I truly never understood the connection between my emotions and hormonal cycle until reading Gabrielle’s Hormonology articles. I always knew that I felt vastly differently throughout the month and attributed it to “moodiness”, wondering if I wasn’t a bit crazy. I grew up with three brothers, no sisters, and a mother who viewed hormonal information as highly personal information never to be discussed. Your blog finally taught me the role of hormones and my moods, and I concluded I was not crazy after all. I really appreciate all the great coping strategies for the second half of the cycle, with latest findings on everything from gingko biloba to zinc. Thank you for providing this very helpful information!
These great Hormone Horoscopes have helped me realize when to apologize. Sometimes I get argumentative and after consulting your page I realize it’s my hormones. It’s really helped my relationship grow and develop in a good way by understanding cravings and mood swings.
“I love getting my Hormone Horoscope every day! Not only does it help me be prepared for my own day, it’s beneficial in helping me deal with my teenage daughter and her cycle. LOL!”
“Reading your Hormone Horoscope has helped me become more aware of the physical and emotional ups and downs of my cycle. Before I was able to do this in retrospect, after the fallout from a hormonal emotional meltdown. Now I am able to pay more attention to the calendar as well as take advantage of physical and creative energy waves. Thank you for your different ways of looking at this phenomenon and helping others be aware of it, too!”
“I love reading these every day and plan my life according to the ups and downs.”
“I read my hormonoscope every day—it keeps me from feeling like I’m crazy! I used to know I had PMS when I would cry during a commercial, but now I can understand why I’m feeling the way that I am every day. Yay for science!”
Not only do I love it, but my husband enjoys it as well. It has helped us both understand and prepare for almost anything. It’s really amazing how accurate and helpful the Hormone Horoscope is in planning your days and weeks. I look forward to it every single day and I thank you for shedding light on some really odd behaviors 😉
When it comes to how Hormonology has impacted my life, I don’t even know where I begin—I feel like I have secret super-powers with my sneaky hormone scheduling tips.
Here are a few examples:
Side note: I’ve also noticed that my Hormonology is more on point as long as I’m letting my body find its own base energy—if I drink coffee, eat too much sugar, or go too many nights with not enough sleep, everything gets out of whack! So it’s even more of a motivation to eat well and practice self-care so I can tap into the secret powers of my hormones.
Thank you for such a fantastic guide and for giving me this ‘edge’!
“I usually use Hormonology because of a few reasons. It makes keeping my calendar more fun. Also I use it to keep track of when I will be grumpy and I should put extra effort to be nice to my boyfriend, coworkers, etc. Also I try not to buy new clothes on week 2 or on week 4; because in week 2 I often buy very uncomfortable things that I don’t wear again, and on week 4 the work clothes I buy look like PJ’s!”
“I love the new app (loved the old one too). I ESPECIALLY love the graph! I’m referring to it all the time. Sometimes (day 27, today) pictures are easier to follow than words! Thank you kindly, again and again!!”
“I just wanted to send you a great big thank you for my daily Hormonology updates. You see, I knew it was Day 8, I’d even put it on my desk calendar, the day I should flirt with that hottie I sometimes see on my commute.
And guess what? I saw him, we said hello, and parted ways as we’ve done the last 5 times we’ve happened to run into one another. But then I remembered what day it was in my cycle and I gathered up my confidence, did an about face (mid-crosswalk!), and went into that Starbucks where he waited in line for coffee. We ended up chatting and walking together a little before breaking off to our respective offices.
After a sleepless night of worry over unfinished projects in other aspects of my life, today I’m on cloud 9. And you really did have a lot to do with it! So, thank you again!”
I have found the Hormonology website and newsletter immensely helpful this year. I have never had a regular cycle. My “week 1″ has only shown itself twice since I was 20 (I am now 30) since last December. I have been working with an alternative medicine doctor using all-natural supplements to help get me on track. At first, I was shocked at how different I was. I couldn’t believe how I was acting. I thought I was a very mellow person until the hormonal crazies kicked in. I had no idea what was going on with me. In February, I was trying to figure out what was going on and I found your website. It really did explain everything I was going through to the T. On my first week 2 in years, I found myself buying all sorts of stuff at Target and then returning it during week 3. I was speaking up about my complaints to my husband that I normally kept silent on during week 4 (he was so pleased). During my week 1, I felt renewed hope that I would conceive another baby eventually. We kept trying to conceive, but it wasn’t working out so I am on Clomid right now and it is making everything you talk about in your newsletter true, but then times 100 in intensity.
One definite difference understanding the cycle has made for me happened last month. I realized I was scheduled to visit my parents’ house when I would be at the end of week 4, and since we aren’t exactly bff, I sent my kids without me, and my husband and I stayed home and spent time together. I decided not to inflict my week 4 self on more people other than necessary. I was so glad for the insight into what would be happening with me.
Thanks so much for all you do! I look forward to my update daily!
I bless the day that I found Hormonology because it has helped me personally build my self-esteem and appreciate my week one every month rather than hate it.
My self-esteem has gotten a boost because I could never figure out why my interests are never consistent from one week to the next.
I formed the opinion of myself that I was a flake and just flighty because I would be wildly confident one week of the month and wanting to join social networks and clubs and sign up for events only to find that a week “or so” later I would become almost hermit-like and avoid everything I had signed up for previously! Now, I can enjoy being a socialite, but I stop and check my calendar and the week of the month I am in before I sign up for anything that seems like a great idea at the moment. And I am trying to plan future parties to be during my first/second week so that I can be ecstatic about them when they come around—rather than trying to cancel them!
Also, at times I am wildly creative (I scrapbook and make cards and generally enjoy playing with pretty paper as a hobby) only to “later” become completely uninterested in crafting, and can only enjoy the retail therapy of buying supplies, but have no creative ideas of what to use the supplies for… Now, I know to avoid retail therapy like this because I have enough stuff to create with… and during my week one and two I am VERY interested in retail therapy, but during weeks 3 and 4 I can’t even find anything in the store that I don’t already have… strange…
I have days when I can go almost all day without even thinking about food, especially chocolate and then I have days when I would almost commit a crime to get my hands on chocolate and I feel like I am starving all day… Of course, every time I give in to my cravings (and I do it pretty much every time), I feel completely defeated and think poorly of myself because of my lack of willpower thus beginning a negative inner dialog. But now I know to expect the days that I am going to be having cravings and I bring 1 chocolatey/salty thing along on my ventures (1 snickers is usually all it takes) so that I can meet the craving head on and end it… rather than eat 5 sweet things then 5 salty things trying to avoid eating 1 single 280 calorie Snickers, thus taking in thousands more calories than necessary. I eat it slow and enjoy every morsel and have lost 5 stubborn pounds over the past 2 months!
This list could go on for days. So I will end with my new found appreciation of week one, which I never had before in my life.
It is a gift to be a woman and to be able to do the things that a woman can do and to be all of the different people that a woman can be in approximately 28 days. And that 28 day miracle includes week one which I have come to realize isn’t all that bad since I have changed my attitude toward it and started appreciating the energy that it brings as well as the social interest that I honestly have during that week when I want to be a part of everything I encounter. And it also has helped knowing that I should not seek retail therapy during this week or week 2, which has resulted in more money in the bank, yet another upside to knowing my hormones!
I feel like I am truly beginning to “know thyself.” At age 38, I am wishing I had found Hormonology sooner.
Thank you for what you do.
“I enjoy your daily Hormone Horoscopes because I will be experiencing a symptom that will be frustrating and worrisome, like irritability or insomnia, and I will check my HH and see that my symptoms match up with the week I am in, and that makes me feel better. I also love the tips you give to alleviate the symptoms for that week. It puts my mind at ease knowing there’s an explanation and a solution, so THANK YOU! :)”
“I can wholeheartedly attest to the goodness that Hormonology, the Hormone Horoscope, has meant to me and my family.
It began as just a ha ha excuse for PMS. It quickly became the catalyst that began further research. I began forwarding the emails with the proper week to my husband. He noticed how accurate they described me. He began to use them as a tool to know when I would need extra support, need to cancel plans, NOT to go clothes shopping, etc. While newlyweds, this information was incredibly invaluable and severely curbed the insanity that ensues those first years of figuring things out!
Barely out of my teens, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. This was a devastating stigma and I was unable to do many things because of the diagnosis. Hormonology and my husband’s support fueled a search for answers.
I no longer have the diagnosis. It was discovered that I had a hormone imbalance that is currently being treated by Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy. I am a NEW woman!
Thank you, Gabrielle, for all of your efforts. You have helped set this woman free.”