The Female Brain, by Louann Brizendine is definitely worth reading. Brizendine completed her degree in Neurobiology at UC Berkeley, graduated from Yale School of Medicine and did her internship and residency at Harvard Medical School. She founded the Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic in 1994 and continues to serve as the clinic’s director. The Female Brain is her first book and she has just published The Male Brain. Though she comes from a research background, she makes the book accessible and fun to read.
Brizendine walks the reader through all the phases of a woman’s life and how her hormones and brain chemistry are affecting her at each stage. Her research is particularly valuable because it helps to explain what is going on biologically. When we see women at the Center they have often been told by previous practitioners that their ailment is all in their head. What is particularly frustrating is the countless women that put off getting treatment because they feel if it is in their heads and they should be able to cope with it themselves. This book proves that women’s symptoms are frequently not caused by something psychological or emotional.
Brizendine beautifully explains how interconnected all the systems of the body are. When the hormones peak and drop the chemicals in the brain are also affected. This is part of what happens when women go through menopause, the estrogen drops, sometimes making sleep impossible and possibly dopamine drops which can lower one’s mood and make orgasms more difficult. Women should know this information; the more educated we are about our bodies the easier it is to manage the constant flux these hormones and neurochemicals are putting us through.
Brizendine also treats women with hormones and psychopharmaceuticals. At the Center, we find these treatments are extremely effective in managing issues from low desire to premenstrual syndrome. The first step towards a healthy sexual relationship with yourself and anyone else is through knowledge. I highly recommend it!
