What Stored Trauma Does to Your Hormones?What Stored Trauma Does to Your Hormones?
The Biology of Trauma™ With Dr. Aimie
Dr. Aimie Apigian and Dr. Betty Murray link stored childhood trauma, stress and hormone changes to the intensity of menopause symptoms. Their conversation focuses on how ACE scores, mood shifts and bioidentical hormones fit together, and why women deserve careful, individualised care in midlife.
41:16•7 Apr 2026
Hormones, Menopause and Stored Trauma: Why Your Past Hits Hard at Midlife
Episode Overview
- Childhood adverse experiences and stored trauma are linked in studies to more severe menopause and perimenopause symptoms.
- Falling oestrogen levels can intensify PTSD symptoms, anxiety, irritability and depression, rather than these issues appearing “out of the blue.”
- Standard practice often mislabels hormonal shifts as simple depression, leading to antidepressants instead of checking hormones, thyroid, stress and blood sugar together.
- Bioidentical hormones, used with careful lab testing and a start-low, go-slow approach, are presented as an option for women even later in life.
- Women are encouraged to expect individualised care and to change providers if they are dismissed, gaslit or denied a genuine say in their treatment choices.
“Your childhood did not magically stay in the past. It is a prediction of how hard perimenopause will be for you.”
How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober? For anyone dealing with stress, trauma, or midlife changes, this conversation between Dr. Aimie Apigian and hormone metabolism expert Dr. Betty Murray offers a candid look at what stored trauma can do to your hormones – especially around perimenopause and menopause. The focus is clear: your childhood experiences and long-term stress patterns may shape just how rough your menopausal symptoms feel. As Dr.
Aimie puts it, **"Your childhood did not magically stay in the past. It is a prediction of how hard perimenopause will be for you."** The two doctors link adverse childhood experiences (ACE scores), PTSD symptoms, and mood struggles like rage, anxiety and depression with shifting hormone levels, particularly oestrogen. Dr. Murray shares her own health struggles and frustration with the gaps in women’s research, joking that this is the “hill” she’s willing to die on.
She explains why women are often mislabelled as simply “depressed” and handed an antidepressant when the real issue can be changing hormones, thyroid function, stress chemistry and blood sugar problems all colliding at once. You’ll hear practical explanations of lab testing, why “one-size-fits-all” hormone doses don’t work, and what makes bioidentical hormones different from synthetic ones. Dr.
Murray argues that **“bioidentical hormones are on the table for every woman”**, while stressing the importance of starting low and going slow – a gentle, trauma-aware approach that respects a sensitive nervous system. This episode speaks especially to women in their 30s–60s who feel like they’re “losing it” emotionally, or whose symptoms have been brushed off or minimised. It also offers comfort to anyone who wonders why old trauma is suddenly breaking through during midlife.
If your mood, memory or body feel unfamiliar these days, could your hormones and history be teaming up behind the scenes?
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