Menopause is not just a decline in hormones, it is a full-body recalibration. At the heart of this lies the neuroendocrine system, the HPTAO axis (Hypothalamic, Pituitary – Thyroid – Adrenal – Ovarian).

This delicate hormonal network governs stress, energy, metabolism, and reproductive function.

As this axis shifts in midlife, the body may express signals of imbalance: sleep disturbances, anxiety, mood changes, fatigue, thyroid irregularities, adrenal depletion, and emotional intensities that often seem to arise from nowhere. From a somatic and trauma-informed perspective, these symptoms are not random. They are intelligent communications from a body asking to be heard.

During this transition, stored stress, early attachment imprints, and long-held survival responses can surface, no longer buffered by reproductive hormones.

This is where reflexology becomes a powerful pathway for healing.