Cortisol Spikes Are Normal and Useful

PCOS symptoms often intensify after 30 due to compounding insulin resistance, adrenal stress patterns, and brain–ovary signaling changes. As estrogen and progesterone begin subtle shifts in the mid-30s, many women experience more anovulatory cycles, higher cortisol responses, and worsening androgen symptoms.

This episode takes a whole-system view of PCOS across the lifespan and reframes the condition not as a failure—but as a genetically programmed survival adaptation interacting with a modern environment that our biology wasn’t built for.

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