In Conversation with Samantha Hadadi

Samantha Hadadi is a women’s health and hormone coach and recent author of the book Hormone Goddess, a guide to working in alignment with and celebrating the four stages of the menstrual cycle.

  Grace Cummins: Can you give us an introduction to you and how you came to work in the field of holistic women’s health? Samantha Hadadi: I’m Sam, and I’m a women’s health and hormone coach, journalist and mum of four boys – which often makes me wonder how I ended up working with women! But really, my journey here started with my own pain and struggles. Right from my first period, I struggled with my hormones – my periods were painful and heavy, and I also struggled terribly with this swollen, cystic acne. In all honesty, I hated being a girl. I was a bit of a tomboy, and I felt resentful of the fact that I had to have a period and suffer each month. In my late 20s and early 30s, I had a big wake-up call and everything came crashing down. I went through this time of high stress and trauma. I had kids and a miscarriage, my marriage broke down, I was struggling with PTSD – a lot happened in a fairly short space of time. I’m sure you can guess what happened – my health was in tatters. I went back and forth, back and forth to doctors. The problem was: no one could tell me what was wrong. No one could tell me what I needed to do to feel myself again, to feel at home in my body, and to stop living in pain. I heard it all: I was told to lose weight, go back on the pill, or get the coil. But a huge part of me knew that it shouldn’t be like this – that there had to be another way. And so, I decided to train in health and hormones myself. And the more I learnt, the more I realised just how much my stress and trauma had impacted my health. Thankfully, I was able to heal myself and feel better than ever. Now, I want to use that knowledge and help other women to learn about their own bodies – I believe we should all be given this information from a young age. We shouldn’t have to suffer and struggle. It isn’t the only way, and it shouldn’t be the norm.   GC: Why are you passionate about menstrual cycle awareness? SH: It’s crazy that we’re in 2025 and there’s still so much shame and stigma attached to women’s menstrual cycles – to periods, bleeding, and even our bodies. The sad thing is this hurts us in so many ways. Not only does it affect how we feel about our beautiful bodies, but it can also have a direct impact on our periods and hormones. Chronic shame and repressed emotions can all cause chronic stress and therefore inflammation and hormonal imbalances themselves. When I first got my period, I was mortified. I thought it was this awful, hideous thing, and I was scared to tell anyone. This continued for most of my adult life. I’d stuff my tampons down my sleeve, never talk about my period with anyone, and want to curl up and die whenever anyone mentioned their cycle. And I know this is true for so many of us, too. This stigma needs to change. It means so many women are embarrassed by their bodies or scared to talk about their health and issues affecting them. It means too many women don’t seek support or help. Alongside this, we’re usually taught very little about our periods and menstrual cycles at school. Our hormones affect everything – our metabolism, our sleep, our fertility and so much more – and yet we’re given so little information about them. I want all women and girls to know that they don’t have to suffer, and that they don’t deserve to suffer – when our cycles are painful or when we’re experiencing things like PMS, we deserve support, and we deserve help.   GC: Your upcoming book Hormone Goddess looks at supporting each hormonal change. How important is it for women to adapt their lifestyle to each menstrual phase? SH: I always say that we’re bio-individual: every single woman is a little bit different, and our needs are different too. So, the most important thing is finding what works for us. I teach my clients to ask themselves: how do I feel today? How’s my energy? What does my body need from me today? This is because we aren’t like men, whose bodies and hormones are similar day to day. Women’s hormones have what’s known as an infradian rhythm. They ebb and flow, shift and change over the course of our cycles. For example, there are some times – such as at ovulation – where oestrogen is riding high. For some women (not all!), this means we’ll feel energised and sociable, and more able to push ourselves and do more. Yet there are other times – like just before our periods – where our reproductive hormones taper off. Here, it’s normal to feel fatigued. It’s normal to have less energy, and to feel less sociable. What this means is that it’s unlikely you’ll feel the same every day. As your hormones shift and change, your energy levels will change, and your mood will change. Even our appetites, metabolism, sensitivity to stress and our ability to learn change with our cycles. Adapting to our cycle (for example, eating more just before our periods, or resting and giving ourselves more self-care when our hormones are low) can make a huge difference. But it also helps us to give our bodies more compassion and more love because we understand why we’re feeling the way we do. It helps us to feel more connected, and more at home in our bodies.   GC: How can connecting to our female rhythms empower and ground us? SH: It’s funny because I’ve gone from being a real tomboy to being so proud of being a woman! I truly think women are utterly magical – just as we are – and our bodies are incredible. Many of us have been taught to see our bodies and cycles through a lens of shame, but we really are magical. Ancient communities knew this (some cultures around the world still do): that women are the source of all life, that we hold the cycles of life, death and rebirth in our bodies. So, being a woman means being a cyclical being. In this, we’re connected to the seasons, the moon cycles and Mother Earth. When we learn to listen to our rhythms and to connect to this cyclical nature, we can feel huge shifts and changes – not just in our own bodies, but in how we connect to all of life, and to all that surrounds us.   GC: Many women nowadays struggle with hormone imbalances and issues with their cycle. For someone struggling with this, what would you suggest they try? SH: It’s difficult as it depends on the specific hormonal imbalances and underlying issues – it’s important to address the root cause rather than the imbalance itself. For example, many women I see struggle with low progesterone and high oestrogen (in relation to progesterone). There may be other things going on that are triggering this imbalance – this might be chronic stress or repressed emotions, or it might be a sluggish liver. It could be poor gut health, or the body struggling to process excess oestrogen. So, it’s important to find the underlying issue. But, for many women I see, chronic stress is at the root of many of their hormonal issues and period problems. As women, we’re often conditioned to do it all. To be all things to everyone, to drop everything and tend to everyone else’s needs. But, if you’re struggling with hormonal issues, please take it from me: your body is often asking you to slow down and do less. Your body is asking you to put yourself first, and to do things to refill your cup. Most of us need more compassion toward ourselves, more love and more self-care. Many women also find that when they live in synchronicity with their cycles and hormones, they can naturally start to heal a lot of imbalances anyway. So, another tip is to use your menstrual cycle as your guide: when you need rest, can you listen to that? What can you say no to? What can you put off? Can you give yourself any extra self-care?   GC: Within your work and on your social media, cyclical living is discussed frequently. Can you explain what this term means and how you can try incorporating cyclical living into daily life, especially for those that may not have a ‘traditional’ cycle? SH: Cyclical living essentially means honouring your body and hormonal changes through the month. For example, oestrogen rises and then falls and then rises and falls again. This means that we’re not the same from week to week or even day to day – and many women find it helpful to adapt to these hormonal shifts. It’s important to realise that there’s no model menstrual cycle. While most women will find ovulation gives them plenty of energy, and then they feel more depleted on their periods, this isn’t true of everyone. Some women find ovulation incredibly difficult and even painful. So, this means exploring your own cycle and finding out your own individual needs. For those who don’t have a traditional cycle or no longer bleed, you can still do this. Instead of following your menstrual cycle, you can live in alignment with the moon cycles. Simply start to connect to your body more. Before you get out of bed in the morning, place your hands on your womb space. Touch and connect to your body, take a few full breaths, and then ask: what is it I need today? How am I feeling?   GC: What is your one tip for all women? SH: Give yourself more love and try to slow down where you can! We’re conditioned to be all things to everyone. Many of us must juggle work, family, social diaries, booking appointments, hopping from meeting to meeting, keeping up with social media and replying to emails. Yet, this a lot. I know it’s hard because it’s also a struggle for me, but this chronic busy-ness and constant pushing can do catastrophic things to our hormones. Essentially, chronic stress leads to hormonal imbalances and inflammation. It means we may not ovulate, or we may experience low progesterone and symptoms of high oestrogen. So, give yourself some love and prioritise yourself. Find ways to nurture and nourish yourself every day if you can. It doesn’t have to be complicated, or involve booking days at the spa and running luxurious bubble baths – you can start small. But you do need to prioritise yourself!   GC: How can we go about reframing the way that we, as a society, view the menstrual cycle? SH: This is difficult as there’s so many layers. We need huge changes in the workplace, in government, in education and in medicine. For example, very little health funding and research goes into women’s health, and there’s a real lack of knowledge about chronic conditions such as endometriosis as a result. Just last year, there was a report in the UK which showed the extent of medical misogyny and how women suffer and struggle as a result. But, we all have more power than we realise – and it starts with us. When we change our own relationship with our menstrual cycles, there’s a ripple effect. When we’re able to see our cycle through a more empowering perspective, or when we’re able to have conversations about our periods or share about how we’re feeling with our partners, friends or children, that stigma starts to break down. When we learn about our cycles and share what we’ve learnt with our daughters, sisters or friends, we also start to spark change. So, always remember that you have much more power than you realise!   If you enjoyed this article you may also enjoy: Cycle Syncing