Mind, Body, Balance: Dr. Katarina Meister's Insights on Managing Stress and Hormones [Re-Release]

Episode 56 · Laurie Groh, MS LPC SAS with Dr. Katarina Meister, naturopathic doctor, Lakeside Natural Medicine · 2025-06-30

Stress comes up in my office almost every single day. A client comes in with anxiety or a low mood, and what we're really talking about, underneath, is what happens to the body when it's been under pressure too long.

Show notes

For this episode I sat down with Dr. Katarina Meister, a naturopathic doctor at Lakeside Natural Medicine, to walk through how the stress response works, what it does to women's hormones, and what you can do about it. If you've been feeling tired, wired, moody, foggy or just off, this one is for you.

What cortisol is doing in there

Cortisol is the body's main stress hormone, made by the adrenal glands when the brain sends the signal. Emotions like fear, sadness and even happiness can trigger it. We used to need it to run from a bear. Now it's triggered by our boss, our friends, our partner.

Katarina's key point is that stress has stages. Acute stress, like a wedding, a breakup or a death in the family, produces short bursts of high cortisol. When stress becomes chronic, the body's brakes wear down, it overcorrects, and cortisol can end up low. That's the stage where people feel burnt out and wiped out. The body isn't broken. It's responding to signals, and how we perceive and move through stress is the part we can influence.

Cortisol isn't the villain, either. It gets us up in the morning, drops at night so we can sleep, and helps manage inflammation. The trouble is too much or too little.

Why the second half of your cycle feels different

This part was new to me. According to Katarina, high cortisol can delay ovulation or burn through progesterone quickly. Progesterone is linked to GABA, the calming neurotransmitter, so when it's low in the week before your period, you may notice more irritability, anxiety and trouble sleeping. Estrogen is tied to serotonin, which is part of why lower estrogen in perimenopause and menopause can feel like a low mood.

Stress can also make someone miss a period. Her explanation: when you're stressed, your body doesn't want to create life, so it protects itself. That can show up as irregular or heavier periods, headaches, weight changes, lower libido and mood changes.

In perimenopause, as ovulation becomes less regular, progesterone drops and the adrenals take over more of the job of making female hormones. That's why she looks at adrenal health and cortisol when supporting women through that stage.

When to look at your hormones

Katarina suggested tracking symptoms daily. If your irritability, anxiety or insomnia shows up on a cycle, that's a clue. If you can't see a pattern, or the main picture is burnout, brain fog, digestive issues and headaches, a hormone test can help. She also mentioned that vitamin D and iron are very commonly low in Wisconsin, and that basic blood work is a reasonable first ask if you're exhausted and don't know why.

The 3-2-1 routine

The advice I keep coming back to is what she calls three, two, one:

• Three or more restorative things a week. Time with pets, yoga, sauna, meditation, family time. Build them into the schedule because they don't happen on their own.
• Two strength workouts a week. Bodyweight is fine. Lunges, squats, overhead press, 20 minutes.
• One hour or more of walking. Daily if you can. She specifically recommended a walk after eating and after work to help with blood sugar and with cortisol that runs high at night.

Start with one and build. She calls this loving discipline: keeping small promises to yourself every day. Exercise is usually the first thing to go when we're overwhelmed, and it's what keeps us strong through the stress.

Food, sugar and caffeine

Blood sugar and cortisol are connected, so Katarina recommends consistent meals with fiber, fat and protein, at least 20 grams of protein per meal. If you're craving sugar two hours after eating, you probably didn't get enough of those three. Her reset for cravings is two weeks without added sugar (berries are fine) to let your taste buds recalibrate. My husband and I did something similar and ate blueberries like they were dessert.

On caffeine: some people metabolize it slowly, and for anyone with anxiety or high nighttime cortisol she suggested tapering toward green tea.

Adaptogens, supplements and medication

Katarina uses adaptogens such as ashwagandha (balancing) and rhodiola (more energizing) depending on what testing shows, and looks at methylfolate, B vitamins and vitamin D. She was clear that she isn't anti-medication and that there's a time and place for it. Her approach is to start with the lowest level of intervention and move up if needed. None of this replaces a conversation with your own provider.

Key takeaways

1. Chronic stress can flip cortisol from too high to too low. Burnout is often that second stage.
2. Cortisol affects progesterone and estrogen, so stress can show up as mood changes, sleep problems and irregular cycles.
3. Track symptoms across your cycle before assuming it's "just anxiety."
4. The 3-2-1 routine: three restorative activities, two strength sessions, one hour of walking each week.
5. Protein, fiber and fat at every meal steady blood sugar and cravings.
6. Loving discipline, small promises kept daily, is the foundation.

If this one hit close to home

If the anxiety, low mood or exhaustion has been going on longer than you'd like, Shoreside Therapies offers therapy in Wisconsin and online in several other states. Our intake coordinator will help you find the right fit, even if it isn't us.

More on this topic: Burnout & Nervous System hub · Tired All Day, Wired at Night · Exhausted but Can't Relax: Your Nervous System · Is It ADHD, Burnout, or Perimenopause?

This episode is for education and entertainment. It is not therapy and does not create a therapeutic relationship. Hosted by Laurie Groh, MS, LPC, SAS.