You’re Not Lazy — Your Energy Is Just Fighting a Hormonal Battle

If you’ve been feeling like you’re dragging yourself through the day — no matter how much sleep you get, how “healthy” you try to be, or how much coffee you pour — I want you to hear this loud and clear:

💗 You are not lazy.
💗 You are not broken.
💗 Your body is not betraying you.

You’re just running on a different operating system now — one that’s navigating major hormonal shifts, stress load, and a lifetime of doing all the things for everyone else.

Fatigue in perimenopause and menopause is real. And it’s not because you’re not trying hard enough — it’s because your body is working overtime just to stay balanced.

Let’s talk about why this happens and how you can start to feel like yourself again — without pushing harder or adding one more thing to your to-do list.

🤷‍♀️ What’s Really Going On?

One word: Hormones.

As estrogen and progesterone start to decline, your body leans more heavily on cortisol — your primary stress hormone — to keep things moving. And when cortisol is constantly being called in to help because your other hormones are all over the place? You burn out fast.

Add in poor sleep (hello, 3am nite sweats), blood sugar swings, the mental load of midlife, and a culture that tells women we need to be “on” all the time… no wonder you feel like your battery’s dead before lunch. 🪫

Common Causes of Perimenopausal Fatigue:

💤 Cortisol Dysregulation
Your stress response is overworked, and it’s taking a toll on your energy, sleep, and mood.

🩸 Blood Sugar Imbalance
Fluctuations in blood sugar can leave you on an energy rollercoaster (especially if your meals are mostly carbs or you’re skipping meals altogether).

🌙 Poor Sleep Quality
Hot flashes, night sweats, and increased anxiety can mess with your ability to get deep, restorative sleep.

🧠 Mental Fatigue
Decision fatigue, emotional labor, shifting identity in midlife — all that invisible load is exhausting.

How to Restore Energy Without Pushing Harder

📉 Stop running on empty.
Listen, pushing through, muscling your way forward, and ignoring your body isn’t a badge of honor. You’re not weak — you’re overdue for rest. Real rest. Not “sit on the couch while scrolling and worrying about your to-do list” rest.

🥑 Fuel your body better.
Protein, healthy fats, fiber — especially in the morning — can help stabilize your blood sugar and keep your energy more consistent.

🌿 Work with your stress response.
Try small, consistent practices to calm your nervous system: 5 minutes of breathwork, walking outside, journaling, even pausing in your car for a moment of quiet before going inside.

🛌 Prioritize sleep (and stop blaming yourself for bad nights).
Your body is literally wired differently right now. A supportive nighttime routine, a cooler bedroom, magnesium, mindfulness — these can help, but also give yourself grace. You’re not doing sleep “wrong.”

👯 Find community, not isolation.
So many women are silently struggling with this and thinking it’s just them. (It’s not.) Being part of a community where you can talk openly, learn, and feel supported can make a huge difference in your energy and outlook.

💡 Bottom Line: You’re Not Lazy. You’re Human.

You’re not lazy. You’re human. You are doing an incredible job navigating a complicated life stage with grace and grit. Your body is asking for support, not shame. You don’t have to push harder. You get to heal smarter.