Billed as “An Emergency Guide for Women Who Feel Like They Are Falling Apart,” Mia Lundin’s Female Brain Gone Insane is a mix of science, diagnostic aid, treatment plan worksheet, self-help measures, and talking points that should help perimenopausal and menopausal women have a more informed conversations with their doctors so that they can begin to feel good again.

It’s always reassuring to know that it’s not all in your head, isn’t it? Mia Lundin is the Founder and Director of The Center for Hormonal and Nutritional Balance, Inc. Her new book, Female Brain Gone Insane, tackles the emotional symptoms and issues associated with hormone and brain-chemistry imbalances and provides the wisdom, advice, and results that Mia shares with her private practice patients.

One of the strengths of this book is that Mia Lundin explains the biochemical processes that women naturally experience, and she explains how that delicate dance of hormones affects brain chemistry, which in turn affects mood and physical well-being – and how it sometimes gets out of whack, and why. Reassuringly, she lays out the medical, nutritional, and behavioral changes that can help to recover the proper balance.

After my children were born, I developed postpartum thyroiditis. I can vouch for the fact that when your thyroid’s out of whack, you can easily come to question your own sanity.After my daughter was born, three doctors – my OB/GYN, an Internist, and a Family practitioner all said basically the same thing: “It’s just the normal adjustment to new mommyhood. It’ll be fine. Just try to rest more.” They should be strung up by their thumbs.

Eight years later, after the birth of my son, I experienced the same symptoms. I cried all day – for no reason. I found everyone irritating, like raw wool against my skin. I was hot and bothered – literally—all the time. I was revved up but exhausted, all at the same time. I said to my doctor, “You have to find out what’s causing this. Either figure it out and fix it, or lock me in a padded cell and feed me all the crayons I can eat.” My son was nearly four months old, and I was perfectly happy with “mommyhood” – it was everything else that got on my nerves and made me crazy. “It could be post-partum depression,” he said without conviction, “but let’s rule out physical causes first, before we jump to psychological ones.”

A few days later, he called. “I’ve got good news and bad news.”

“Give me the bad news, first.”

“Your thyroid levels are elevated.”

“So…what’s the bad news?” I mean, high thyroid levels meant I wasn’t going insane, right? The good news was, it was “very treatable.” Just knowing that (a) it’s not all in your head; and (b) it’s treatable – and not fatal, can make you feel better immediately.

I think that Mia Lundin’s book would be more authoritative and credible if it were not also tied to her own Web site and supplement sales. It can all seem overwhelming – while most of the recommended supplements could be purchased elsewhere, it may be tempting just to go to the Female Brain Gone Insane site, order everything, and spend hundreds of dollars a month in hope of a “cure.” On the other hand, the site and store provide a convenient shopping option for women who opt to follow Lundin’s recommendations with regard to nutritional supplements, and the Web site offers additional information and support.

I felt that the tone of Female Brain Gone Insane alternated a bit jarringly between hard science and psychological fluff, like “Mia’s Mantra: You are a wonderful human being.” While different people respond better to one approach than the other, the comingling of the two got on my nerves a bit. But if you can focus on the tone that works best for you, you’ll probably get something useful from this book.

Personal stories, including Mia’s own “female brain gone insane” experience, help to illustrate the conditions Mia Lundin describes, making this anything but an impersonal, clinical treatise. She doesn’t dumb down the science, but she’s writing for women from all walks of life – and she makes the information accessible.

Female Brain Gone Insane empowers women by giving them some solid information about why they feel the way they do, that they can use in talking more knowledgeably and comfortably with their doctors. In addition, it gives women some practical self-help measures they can try on their own – part of an overall “emotional rescue plan” that is tailored to specific symptoms.

About the Author Holly Jahangiri

Holly Jahangiri has decades of experience in tech writing, freelancing, fiction, poetry, and editing. Writer, wife, and mother, Holly is the creator of Trockle and instigator of the Puppy-Guppy Rebellion.

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