What Every Woman Needs to Know About Hormones, Stress, and Feeling Like Yourself Again

Written By Angela Sinnett

Spend five minutes scrolling Instagram, and you’ll be bombarded with all sorts of advice for fixing your hormones. Lower your cortisol, treat estrogen dominance, boost your progesterone . ..

The tips are endless, and the supplements? Expensive. 

But how do you know if any of it is actually what you need? And how do you know you’re not throwing off the rest of your hormones by focusing on just one?

Because here’s the thing: your hormones don’t work in isolation. They’re all connected. When one is out of balance, it can trigger a domino effect that leaves you feeling completely off. 

So instead of chasing quick fixes or stocking your kitchen with supplements you’ll forget to take, what if you took a step back and really understood how your hormones work? 

Here’s the part no one’s telling you: there’s a hidden hormonal imbalance that could be sabotaging everything—from your sleep to your cycles to your sanity. 

And it’s called the pregnenolone steal.

What Is Pregnenolone (and Why Should You Care)?

Let’s start with the basics. Pregnenolone is a hormone made primarily in your adrenal glands (the tiny organs that sit on top of your kidneys). It’s also produced in smaller amounts in your brain, liver, and ovaries. 

Think of it as the “mother hormone” because it’s the raw material your body uses to create many other hormones that keep you functioning and feeling your best.

Here’s how it works: pregnenolone is the starting point for a cascade of hormones, including:

  • Progesterone: The hormone that helps you ovulate, sleep, and stay pregnant.

  • Cortisol: Your stress hormone, which helps you survive when life feels overwhelming.

  • Testosterone: Important for energy, libido, and muscle tone.

Pregnenolone’s main purpose is to act as a precursor. It doesn’t do much on its own, but it’s absolutely essential for producing the hormones your body relies on every day.

Day in and day out, your body is constantly deciding what to do with pregnenolone. It has two main options:

  1. Use it to make cortisol, your stress hormone, which helps you power through when life is really lifing (fellow moms, you know exactly what I mean).

  2. Use it to make progesterone, the hormone that supports ovulation, sleep, fertility, and pregnancy—and serves as the foundation for other important hormones like estrogen and testosterone.

When you’re under chronic stress, your body prioritizes cortisol production above all else. 

Why? Because cortisol is essential for survival. Progesterone, on the other hand, is more about thriving, and your body can’t focus on thriving if it thinks it’s in danger.

Why Everyone Assumes They Have High Cortisol (and Why That’s Not Always True)

Cortisol gets a bad rap. It’s often blamed for everything from stubborn weight gain to sleepless nights and constant anxiety. But here’s the thing: cortisol isn’t the enemy. In fact, you need cortisol. It’s the hormone that gets you out of bed in the morning, helps you focus, and keeps you going when life throws curveballs.

The real issue isn’t cortisol itself—it’s having too much or too little at the wrong times.

When you’re under chronic stress, your body floods you with cortisol like a firefighter dousing a five-alarm blaze. It’s an all-hands-on-deck response to keep you safe in the moment, but over time, your adrenal glands can’t keep up with the demand.

Eventually, cortisol levels can drop too low, leaving you feeling exhausted, foggy, and unable to handle even minor stressors.

This is why it’s so important to test your cortisol levels. Many women assume their cortisol is high (especially when they have “Cortisol Belly”), but after years of stress, it might actually be low. And the only way to know for sure is to test it.

How to Test Your Cortisol (the Right Way)

Before you even think about taking supplements, testing your cortisol is the first and most important step. Why? Because guessing can backfire. If your cortisol is already low and you take something to lower it further, you’ll end up feeling even more drained, foggy, and exhausted.

The best way to understand your cortisol levels is with a diurnal cortisol test. This test measures your cortisol at multiple points throughout the day—typically 3–4 times (morning, afternoon, evening, and sometimes bedtime)—to show how your levels rise and fall.

Why is this important? Because cortisol isn’t static. It follows a natural rhythm, peaking in the morning to help you wake up and tapering off at night so you can sleep. 

A diurnal test can reveal patterns like:

  • High cortisol in the evening: Making it hard to wind down and fall asleep.

  • Low cortisol in the morning: Leaving you groggy and struggling to get out of bed.

  • A flatline pattern: Where cortisol is low all day, leaving you feeling drained and unmotivated.

Without getting these lab results, it’s impossible to know if your cortisol is working properly.

You can order a diurnal cortisol test online (yes, even on Amazon!) or ask your doctor to run one for you. It’s a simple test that uses saliva samples, and it gives you a clear picture of whether your cortisol is high, low, or out of rhythm.

How the Pregnenolone Steal Creates Hormonal Chaos

So, what happens if your cortisol is out of balance? This is where the pregnenolone steal comes into play. When your body is under chronic stress, it prioritizes making cortisol over everything else. And since pregnenolone is the raw material your body uses to make both cortisol and progesterone, this means less pregnenolone is available to produce progesterone.

Here’s why that’s a problem:

  • Low progesterone: Progesterone is the hormone that keeps estrogen in check. When progesterone levels drop, estrogen can take over, leading to . . .

  • Estrogen dominance: This imbalance can cause symptoms like heavy or irregular periods, mood swings, weight gain, and even issues like fibroids or endometriosis.

In short, stress doesn’t just affect your cortisol—it disrupts your entire hormonal system. And that’s why your hormones feel like a big, fat mess . . . because they are!

Why Fixing Hormonal Imbalance Starts with Stress, Not Supplements

At this point, you might be tempted to reach for a supplement to “fix” your hormones. But here’s the thing: taking something to lower your cortisol, raise your progesterone, or balance your hormones won’t do much good if you don’t know your actual levels.

Testing is key. And when it comes to progesterone, timing matters. 

You need to test your progesterone levels during your luteal phase—the time after ovulation and before your period starts. This is when progesterone should naturally peak, giving you the most accurate insight into your hormonal health. 

Unfortunately, many doctors don’t account for this and will test your levels at random points in your cycle, which can lead to incomplete or misleading results. Knowing your luteal phase numbers is essential for understanding what’s really going on.

Now, let’s talk about stress. 

Here’s the hard truth: if you don’t address how your body perceives and responds to stress, nothing else will stick. 

And if your body is used to being in fight or flight, it will naturally default back to that state—even when the immediate stressor is gone. This means you’ll need to reset your nervous system more often to create a new, calmer baseline.

You can’t sell your husband on eBay, ship your kids off to Grandma’s (you’d miss them!), or quit your job without living in a cardboard box. Stress is a part of life, but it needs to be managed effectively.

That said, there are tools that can help. One supplement I do recommend is Daytime HPA. It’s designed to support your body’s stress response by helping to regulate your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the system that governs how your body reacts to stress. Think of it as a way to help your body handle stress more effectively while you work on creating a calmer baseline for your nervous system.

But remember: supplements are just one piece of the puzzle. The real work lies in teaching your body how to shift out of survival mode and into a state of balance.

How to Handle Stress and Reset Your Hormones

If your body is stuck in fight or flight, it’s not just your cortisol that’s affected. It’s your entire hormonal system. Chronic stress can lead to low progesterone, high estrogen, and a cascade of imbalances that impact everything from your sleep to your ability to ovulate or get (and stay) pregnant.

The good news? You can reset your nervous system and help your body shift into rest and digest mode. Here are some simple, effective ways to start:

  1. Reset Your Vagus Nerve
    Your vagus nerve is like the control center for your nervous system, and resetting it can help bring your body back to a calm baseline. Try these techniques:

    • Eye-rolling exercise: Roll your eyes from 12 to 3 o’clock and hold until you sigh or swallow.

    • Sing it out: Put on your favorite music (Taylor Swift’s new album, anyone?) and sing along. Singing stimulates the vagus nerve and helps calm your system.

    • Kazoo karaoke: Not into singing? Grab a kazoo and hum along to your favorite song! It stimulates the vagus nerve and is a fun way to calm your system. Bonus: it’s almost impossible to kazoo without smiling, which is a stress reliever in itself!

    • HRV training: Boost your heart rate variability (HRV) with the Elite HRV app and Leah Lagos’s 10-week resilience-boosting program. All you need is a Polar heart monitor and the free app to start training your nervous system to handle stress more effectively. A higher HRV is a sign of a healthier, more balanced nervous system.

    • Deep breathing: Slow, deep belly breaths can quickly shift your body into rest-and-digest mode.

  2. Spend Time in Nature
    Forest bathing, or simply spending time in nature, has been shown to lower cortisol levels and reduce stress. Take a walk in the park, sit under a tree, or just step outside and breathe in fresh air.

  3. Limit Blue Light Exposure
    Blue light from screens can disrupt your circadian rhythm, throwing off your cortisol levels and making it harder to sleep. Consider wearing blue light-blocking glasses in the evening or setting your devices to “night mode.” Read more about blue light and its effects here.

  4. Acupuncture for Stress Relief
    Acupuncture is a powerful tool for calming your nervous system and supporting hormonal balance. It helps regulate cortisol, improve sleep, and reduce the physical effects of stress. If you’re ready to get a handle on your stress, we’d love to help you at Magnolia Wellness. You can book an acupuncture appointment online here.

Next Steps: Test, Reset, and Feel Like Yourself Again

If you’re ready to take action, here’s where to start:

  • Test your hormones: For cycling women, check progesterone during the luteal phase (days 18–22 of your cycle). For cortisol, opt for a diurnal test to see how your levels fluctuate throughout the day.

  • Reset your nervous system: Try vagus nerve exercises, forest bathing, HRV training, singing, or even playing a kazoo..

  • Address environmental factors: Reduce your exposure to plastics to support your hormonal balance. Plastics, especially microplastics, are a big deal when it comes to hormone health. Dr. Shanna Swan has been studying this for years, and her research shows that these chemicals are turning men more feminine, women more masculine, and seriously harming fertility. Learn more about how chemicals impact your hormones and fertility.

  • Limit blue light exposure: Blue light doesn’t just mess with your sleep—it throws off your circadian rhythm and cortisol levels too. Consider wearing blue light-blocking glasses in the evening or setting your devices to “night mode.” Discover how blue light affects your hormones and sleep.

  • Support your stress response: Consider supplementing with Daytime HPA to teach your body to better handle stress while you work on creating a calmer baseline for your nervous system with the tips above.

For more tips and insights, check out these resources on our blog:

And if you’re looking for personalized support, we’re here for you.

Acupuncture at Magnolia Wellness is a powerful way to calm your nervous system, balance your hormones, and feel like yourself again.

Book your acupuncture appointment online today.

We can’t wait to help you feel your best!

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Angela Sinnett
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