Perimenopause isn’t a disease. It’s a transition. In fact, one of the most sacred shifts in a woman’s life.
Yet we’ve been taught to fear it, fight it, medicate it, and believe that our best years are behind us.
The truth?
Your body holds deep intelligence. Plants can help you reconnect with it.
Perimenopause isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of a more grounded, powerful, deeply aligned version of you.
Let’s break down the most common myths keeping women stuck and feeling terrible about themselves… and what’s actually true.
Myth #1: HRT is the only “real” solution.
Truth: HRT can mask symptoms, but it doesn’t create true balance.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is often presented as the “gold standard” and everything else as “alternative.” But hormones are only part of the story - your nervous system, liver, stress levels, inflammation, gut health, and emotional body are all involved.
How herbs help:
Herbs don’t force the body - they support it. Adaptogens, nervines, liver herbs, and hormone-supportive herbs help your body restore its own rhythm instead of outsourcing it. Herbs work with you, not over you.
Myth #2: Herbs are weak compared to medicine.
Truth: Herbs are powerful… just in a different way.
We expect instant results because we live in a quick-fix culture. But perimenopause didn’t happen overnight - and neither does deep healing.
How herbs help:
Herbs work on the root: regulating the stress response, restoring mineral levels, nourishing glands, supporting detox pathways, rebuilding resilience. Their strength lies in long-term transformation, not short-term suppression.
Myth #3: Perimenopause symptoms are “just hormones.”
Truth: Hormones respond to the environment inside the body.
Hot flashes, mood swings, anxiety, fatigue - yes, hormones are involved. But WHY are they dysregulated? Because of stress, inflammation, blood sugar imbalance, liver overload, trauma patterns, and more.
How herbs help:
Herbs reduce stress load, support the liver in processing hormones, calm the nervous system, regulate blood sugar, and cool internal heat. When the body is supported, hormones naturally fall back into harmony.
Myth #4: Feeling awful is just part of being a woman.
Truth: Common does not equal normal. And it most certainly doesn’t have to be this way.
Millions of women struggling doesn’t mean it’s supposed to be this way. It means we’ve normalized burnout and ignored women’s health for decades.
How herbs help:
Herbs remind the body how to come back to balance. When we combine herbal support with rest, nourishment, boundaries, and emotional healing - symptoms can drastically improve. You truly aren’t meant to suffer.
Myth #5: Life goes downhill after 40.
Truth: This is the most powerful, intuitive, sovereign phase of your life.
Perimenopause is the initiation into Wise Woman energy. Your body is shedding old versions of you that were built around survival, people-pleasing, and self-abandonment.
How herbs help:
Herbs like motherwort, mugwort, and milky oats support emotional transition, heart healing, intuition, and nervous system clarity. They hold you while you evolve.
Myth #6: You lose your identity.
Truth: You actually find it.
Many women feel lost because the roles they’ve lived in (caretaker, achiever, perfectionist) stop working. This isn’t failure - it’s awakening.
How herbs help:
Herbs create space: mentally and emotionally. They soften the noise so you can hear your own voice again. They help you rebuild from authenticity, not obligation.
Myth #7: Weight gain is inevitable and impossible to fix.
Truth: It’s not about calories - it’s about stress and inflammation.
Perimenopause weight gain is often hormonal resistance, not lack of willpower. Cortisol, insulin, and estrogen imbalances make fat storage a survival response.
How herbs help:
Metabolic herbs support blood sugar balance, reduce inflammation, calm the stress response, and support the liver in clearing hormone metabolites. When the body feels safe, it releases the weight naturally.
Myth #8: Your libido just disappears.
Truth: Your body still wants pleasure. She just needs safety, connection, a slower pace and circulation.
Low libido often comes from stress, exhaustion, resentment, hormonal shifts, or lack of self-connection. It’s not that desire is gone - it’s that your nervous system is in survival mode.
How herbs help:
Herbs improve circulation, relax tension, boost mood, support hormone production, and reconnect you to your sensuality. When your body feels nourished and safe, desire can return.
Myth #9: Mood swings mean you're “crazy.”
Truth: Your emotions are communication, not dysfunction.
Your body is releasing suppressed energy, stored emotions, and outdated identities. Mood changes are invitations to listen - not signs you’re broken.
How herbs help:
Nervines and adaptogens soothe anxiety, stabilize mood, and support emotional processing. Herbs help regulate the nervous system, making you more resilient to stress and triggers.
Myth #10: There's nothing you can do naturally.
Truth: There is SO much you can do - and your body is begging you to.
Nutrition, herbs, mineral repletion, liver support, nervous system healing, boundaries, rest, emotional processing—these aren’t “alternative.” They are foundational.
How herbs help:
Herbs are one of the oldest, most trusted forms of medicine on the planet. They help restore the body’s natural ability to heal - not by overriding symptoms, but by guiding you back to balance.
Perimenopause isn’t the end. It’s an invitation.
To slow down.
To live cyclically.
To honor your energy.
To step into your wisdom.
To remember who you really are.
You do not need to “power through.”
You do not need to medicate your body into silence.
You do not need to settle for feeling exhausted, anxious, disconnected, or overwhelmed.
There is a natural way.
You just haven’t been taught it.
Herbs are not a trend… they’re an ancient partnership between women and the Earth.
And when we return to that relationship, everything changes.
Ready to feel like yourself again - naturally?
This is the work I do. I help women use herbal medicine, emotional support, and nervous system healing to navigate perimenopause with clarity, calm, and confidence.
If you're ready to feel supported instead of dismissed, I’d love to walk this journey with you.
Perimenopause isn’t a breakdown. It’s a breakthrough.
Let herbs, Earth wisdom, and deep support guide you home to yourself.
About the Author:
Taylor Short, of Harmonious Return is a Perimenopause Herbalist, Writer & Earth Intuitive. She’s passionate about starting a natural perimenopause revolution and tap into the wisdom of the earth and your body’s natural healing abilities so you can step out of barely hanging on… to fully blossoming and thriving in your full, authentically balanced self!