Jodie Watson Naturopath

Jodie Watson Naturopath Women's Health: Perimenopause, Stress, Anxiety, Burnout, ADHD, Sleep & Metabolic Health

Day 13 for my fermented garlic honey! 🧄🍯
22/12/2025

Day 13 for my fermented garlic honey! 🧄🍯

Weight gain, or a long term struggle to lose excess weight, can be about far more than just how many calories you've eat...
10/12/2025

Weight gain, or a long term struggle to lose excess weight, can be about far more than just how many calories you've eaten and how much exercise you've done. Many people carry extra weight because their body is responding to deeper imbalances, not a lack of willpower.

Stress is a major one...when the nervous system has been activated for years through chronic stress, trauma, burnout or long term fight or flight, the body shifts into protection mode. It stores energy, slows metabolism, alters appetite signals and holds onto weight as a safety response.

Inflammation also plays a role. An inflamed system struggles with insulin sensitivity, blood sugar regulation and healthy energy production, all of which affect how the body stores fat.

A high toxin load is another piece of the puzzle. Fat cells can store toxins, so if detox pathways are sluggish or the body is overwhelmed, it may hold onto weight to keep those toxins 'locked away' rather than circulating in the blood.

Hormone and thyroid imbalances can create the same pattern, even small shifts in cortisol, thyroid function, s*x hormones or insulin can influence how easily you gain or release weight.

This is why so many people feel like they 'do everything right' yet see little change. Weight is deeply connected to the health of your stress response, gut, detox pathways, hormones and metabolism.

I have been trying to make a move over to SUBSTACK for while now, to allow me a bit more space for my blogging and conte...
08/12/2025

I have been trying to make a move over to SUBSTACK for while now, to allow me a bit more space for my blogging and content.
With the imminent social media changes in a couple of days, I won't be taking any steps to maintain access to mainstream platforms if it involves any ID upload.
So if you'd like to carry on sharing in my posts & updates, I would love & be very grateful to see you over on my SUBSTACK page!
I'll continue to post on here too if I can.

See you there, Jodie :)

Substack Link: https://substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page

Many women are told their painful or heavy periods are 'normal,' but inflammation is often a major driver behind both.In...
07/12/2025

Many women are told their painful or heavy periods are 'normal,' but inflammation is often a major driver behind both.

Inflammation doesn’t just affect joints or the immune system, it can directly impact your menstrual cycle, the intensity of your cramps and how heavy your bleeding becomes.

When inflammation is high, the body produces more prostaglandins – the compounds that trigger the uterus to contract. In healthy balance, they help the lining shed, but in excess, they can worsen period cramps.

In perimenopause, prostaglandins often rise because oestrogen surges are more common and progesterone is lower, removing the natural anti-inflammatory balance that keeps period pain and heavy bleeding under control.Progesterone is anti-inflammatory by nature, and helps to stabilise the uterine lining and help keep prostaglandins in check.

As progesterone drops, oestrogen becomes relatively higher and more dominant. This combination makes the lining thicker, more sensitive and more inflammatory.

So the body begins producing more prostaglandins, which means:
• More cramping
• More clotting
• Heavier flow
• Longer periods
• Pain that spreads into the pelvis, lower back or legs

Add chronic inflammation from stress, poor sleep, gut issues, blood sugar swings or toxin load, and the symptoms can intensify.

What raises inflammation?
• Chronic stress or nervous system dysregulation
• Poor sleep
• High sugar intake or irregular blood sugar
• Gut irritation or bloating
• Environmental toxins
• Under-supported liver detox pathways
• Endometriosis, adenomyosis or fibroids
• Low magnesium, zinc or omega-3s

When you reduce inflammation and support progesterone’s natural role, periods can often change dramatically.

Your period is a monthly inflammation report card - if it’s consistently painful or heavy, your body is asking for support, not just symptomatic treatment like painkillers.

We hear so much about high cortisol, but low cortisol can be just as disruptive - and it often goes unnoticed!Cortisol p...
06/12/2025

We hear so much about high cortisol, but low cortisol can be just as disruptive - and it often goes unnoticed!

Cortisol plays a major role in keeping you awake, regulating blood sugar, stabilising blood pressure, supporting your immune system and giving you the energy to get through the day.

When cortisol has been pushed too hard for too long, through chronic stress, trauma, burnout, sleep deprivation, long term inflammation or a nervous system that’s been switched on to survival mode for years, it can eventually drop below healthy levels.

This is when you may start to feel:
• Exhausted no matter how much you sleep
• Dizzy or light-headed when standing
• Craving salt
• Struggling with low blood pressure
• Waking unrefreshed
• Afternoon crashes or feeling 'flat' all day
• Feeling overwhelmed by even small stressors
• Low motivation, low resilience
• Increased anxiety or feeling emotionally fragile
• Gut issues, nausea or low appetite
• Sensitivity to noise or stimulation

It’s a sign that your body has been running in survival mode for too long and may now be depleted, and your system is trying to protect you by slowing everything down.

For anyone wanting deeper insight into what is happening hormonally, functional testing is available. These tests can assess your cortisol rhythm across the day, as well as other hormones that influence energy, stress, sleep and metabolism. If you’d like to explore your full hormonal status, DM me for more information.



Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice.

Oestrogen has left the building… oh wait, she’s back!Welcome to your 40s, where oestrogen stops behaving like a steady, ...
04/12/2025

Oestrogen has left the building… oh wait, she’s back!

Welcome to your 40s, where oestrogen stops behaving like a steady, predictable hormone and starts acting more like a rollercoaster!

In perimenopause, oestrogen doesn’t just gently decline, it can fluctuate wildly. One week it’s low and you feel flat, anxious, unmotivated or extra tired. The next week it surges and you may feel moody, overwhelmed, weepy, irritable or wired.

These fluctuations can affect almost every part of your month:
• Mood changes
• Heavier or more painful periods
• Shorter cycles
• Breast tenderness
• Sleep disturbances
• Increased anxiety
• PMS that hits harder than it used to
• Weight changes, especially around the middle
• Sensitivity to stress
• Changes in libido

For women with thyroid issues, Hashimoto’s, PCOS or long term stress patterns, these hormonal shifts can feel even more intense because the nervous system and endocrine system are already working harder to stay balanced.

But perimenopause isn’t a sign that something is 'wrong,' it’s your body naturally transitioning. When you support your stress response, stabilise blood sugar, nourish the liver, and care for your nervous system, these changes become far more manageable.

Oestrogen may be unpredictable right now, but your well-being doesn’t have to be.

Perimenopause is a new season of transition that can last anywhere from two to ten years. It's a season for prioritising YOU and your health, and supporting your body to navigate this time as gently as possible.

What is cortisol?You may hear a lot of talk about stress and cortisol, but many people don’t actually know what it is or...
03/12/2025

What is cortisol?

You may hear a lot of talk about stress and cortisol, but many people don’t actually know what it is or why it matters.

Cortisol is a hormone made by your adrenal glands. Its job is to help you wake up in the morning, regulate energy, stabilise blood sugar, support inflammation control and keep you alert when you need to focus. It's a super important hormone!

The problem isn’t cortisol itself, it’s when cortisol stays chronically elevated due to long term stress, trauma, burnout, sleep deprivation or a constantly activated nervous system.

When cortisol is high for too long, the body begins to change and you may notice:

• Anxiety or feeling 'tired but wired'
• Trouble sleeping
• Weight held around the middle
• Blood sugar swings
• Fatigue and brain fog
• Hormonal imbalances
• Changes in gut health, bloating or diarrhoea
• Weakened immunity and slower healing

Chronic stress keeps your body in protection mode, so digestion slows, detoxification is affected, hormones become disrupted and inflammation rises. Over time this can lead to exhaustion, mood issues, thyroid shifts and metabolic changes.

So when you're working on your healing journey and trying to optimise your health, you literally cannot discount the affect stress and nervous system dysfunction is having on your body.

It's time for sleep, but your feet have got other ideas...are you rhythmically rubbing your feet together right now? Tha...
27/11/2025

It's time for sleep, but your feet have got other ideas...are you rhythmically rubbing your feet together right now? That’s called cricketing, and it’s one of the body’s natural ways of calming the nervous system.

Most people do it without realising. When your feet move, press, or create gentle friction, it gives your brain sensory feedback that you’re safe and grounded. It helps quiet the stress response, slow the thoughts, and bring you back into your body instead of floating in your head.

Cricketing is especially common in people who grew up in high-stress homes, people with ADHD traits, anxiety, and anyone whose nervous system is overwhelmed...it’s a built-in regulation tool...your body found a way to soothe itself long before you understood why.

You don’t just 'get over' the things that your nervous system never had the chance to process. Chronic childhood stress,...
25/11/2025

You don’t just 'get over' the things that your nervous system never had the chance to process. Chronic childhood stress, anxiety, growing up in survival mode, or experiencing trauma or abandonment doesn’t just stay neatly in the past...the body remembers what the mind tries to move on from.

When a child spends years in fight or flight, their body learns that it is normal. Their cortisol stays high, their muscles stay tight, their jaw stays locked, hands stay coiled, their breath stays shallow, and their brain becomes wired to scan for danger, even when life is calm. This shapes how they think, feel, react, sleep, digest, and connect with others. It becomes the foundation their adult body builds itself upon.

This is why some people struggle with fatigue, anxiety, sleep disturbance, gut issues, inflammation, weight gain, hormone imbalance, or emotional overwhelm for decades. Their nervous system was trained to survive rather than rest. The body holds the story, and the patterns created in childhood can echo through adulthood until they are brought into the light.

Healing starts when you recognise that the reactions that once protected you, are no longer serving you now. When you learn to slow the breath, calm the body, release the tension and soften the constant alertness. When you create safety from the inside out with gentle nervous system work, nutrition, herbs, prayer, community, and the steady presence of God, the body can relearn peace.

You've spent your whole life thinking that you're just too sensitive, feeling things more deeply than everyone else arou...
24/11/2025

You've spent your whole life thinking that you're just too sensitive, feeling things more deeply than everyone else around you. You’ve tried to toughen up, to stop taking things to heart. Then one day you come across RSD, and it all makes sense.

Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria isn’t a diagnosis, it’s a pattern. A fast, intense emotional response when you sense criticism, disapproval, or being left out. Your whole body reacts before your mind catches up, and even small comments can feel heavy.

RSD is often seen in people with ADHD and ASD traits, and it can sit alongside anxiety or long-term stress. Years of feeling misunderstood or judged can train the nervous system to stay on high alert, always scanning for signs of rejection.

It can look like feeling hurt over tiny things, replaying conversations in your head, avoiding situations where you might fail, or shutting down when someone seems disappointed. It can also look like deep empathy, strong loyalty, and a heart that cares intensely.

RSD doesn’t mean you’re weak or dramatic. It means your nervous system is sensitive to connection, safety, and belonging. With self-awareness and support, that intensity becomes easier to manage, and you begin to respond rather than react.




“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

A light 11 page read for your Sunday...!! 😜You've probably heard plenty of talk about fasting and it's benefits for meta...
23/11/2025

A light 11 page read for your Sunday...!! 😜

You've probably heard plenty of talk about fasting and it's benefits for metabolism, cellular health & longevity.

If you're a nerd like me & enjoy reading research articles, then have a look at this one:https://www.anataramedicine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Effects-of-Intermittent-Fasting-on-Health.pdf

**Not medical advice. For educational purposes only. Individual health needs must always be considered.**

Intermittent fasting isn’t just about skipping meals. It shifts the body into a different metabolic rhythm. When we pause calorie intake for set periods, insulin drops and the body switches from using glucose for energy to tapping into stored fat and producing ketones. This shift is often called the metabolic switch or metabolic flexibility shift. This 'metabolic switch' supports cellular repair, lowers inflammation, improves insulin sensitivity, and may benefit weight, mood, and overall metabolic balance.

Research shows promising results, although many human studies are short term and fasting must always be personalised. It doesn’t need to be extreme. Even a gentle 14/10 rhythm can create benefits, for example finishing dinner at 6pm and breaking the fast at 8am.

Pre-clinical studies and clinical trials show broad-spectrum benefits for many health concerns including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and neurological conditions. Animal studies even show improvements across the lifespan.

The simple takeaway: the body thrives when given regular space to rest, repair, reset & heal between meals.

“Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” Daniel 9:3

Sleep is one of the body’s greatest healers, yet it’s often one of the first things to be disrupted when we’re stressed,...
04/09/2025

Sleep is one of the body’s greatest healers, yet it’s often one of the first things to be disrupted when we’re stressed, overwhelmed, or out of balance.

Herbal medicine has been used for centuries to support the body’s natural rhythms, helping calm the mind, ease tension, and encourage a state of rest. Instead of 'forcing sleep,' it works with the body - gently supporting the nervous system, digestion, and stress response, all of which play a role in how well we drift off and stay asleep.

Good sleep isn’t just about feeling rested. It’s about:
• Repair and restoration
• Hormone balance
• Emotional resilience
• Cognitive clarity
• A stronger immune system

When sleep is broken or disrupted, the body misses out on the deep repair it needs. Over time this can affect mood, focus, immunity, and overall resilience. Rest isn’t just a luxury, it’s a foundation for health. If broken sleep is impacting you or your family, I’d love to help you explore gentle, natural support options. Send me a message or book a consultation to start finding your way back to restorative rest.

Not medical advice. For educational purposes only.

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Bilambil, NSW
4225

Website

https://substack.com/@jodiewatsonnaturopath

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