It began as a moment of curiosity while working alongside colleagues in the functional medicine world.
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to collaborate with a nutritionist who began teaching me about the profound ways hormones influence both physical and mental health. As a therapist, that conversation opened a door that I hadn’t fully explored before. I began learning more about how hormonal rhythms influence mood, appetite, sleep, energy, and emotional regulation.
The deeper I went, the more I realized how little most people—including many clinicians—had ever been taught about this.
Together we began offering a webinar series exploring the relationship between hormones and mental health. During one of those presentations, I had a simple thought: people need a way to see these patterns in their own bodies.
That idea led to the very first concept for what would eventually become the Mood & Moon tracker.
At first, the plan was simple. I would create a tracker that allowed individuals to observe how mood, appetite, sleep, and energy shifted alongside hormonal rhythms. But as I began designing it, I realized that simply handing someone a tracker without explanation would only take them so far.
So I started writing a short description to explain how to use it.
That short explanation turned into a few paragraphs.
Those paragraphs led to deeper explanations about the specific hormones involved.
And once those hormones were part of the conversation, it became impossible to ignore another key piece of the puzzle—the nervous system.
Because if we are going to talk about hormones and mood, we also have to talk about how the body responds to stress, safety, and regulation.
Little by little, what started as a simple tracking tool grew into something much larger. The ideas expanded, the science deepened, and eventually the project evolved into the workbook Mood & Moon: A Body-Led Guide for Cycling Bodies.
The tracker remained the heart of the project, but the workbook grew around it—helping people understand not only whatpatterns they might see, but why those patterns exist.
Since releasing the workbook and presenting these ideas at conferences and trainings, something else has become increasingly clear.
People want more.
Clinicians regularly ask what resources might exist for adolescents learning about their cycles for the first time. Others ask about resources for individuals navigating perimenopause and menopause. Some ask about hormone literacy within gender-affirming care.
What began as a tracker—and then a workbook—has begun to reveal itself as something bigger.
A movement toward hormone literacy.
Hormones influence far more than reproduction. They interact with neurotransmitters, influence the nervous system, shape appetite and digestion, affect sleep cycles, and play a powerful role in emotional regulation.
Yet many people grow up with very little education about how these rhythms influence everyday life.
Without that understanding, individuals often misinterpret physiological changes as personal failures. Mood shifts are blamed on willpower. Changes in appetite are seen as lack of discipline. Emotional sensitivity is interpreted as instability.
Hormone literacy offers a different perspective—one that invites curiosity about the body rather than criticism.
When people begin to understand the biological rhythms influencing their experiences, many report a profound shift in how they relate to themselves.
As the ideas behind Mood & Moon have begun reaching clinicians and communities, the response has been both encouraging and energizing.
At conferences, clinician trainings, and workshops, therapists, dietitians, physicians, and other healthcare professionals consistently express a similar realization: many of them were never formally trained to understand how hormonal rhythms influence mood, appetite, sleep, cognition, and emotional regulation. Yet once the connection is explained, they immediately recognize the patterns in their clients.
During presentations, clinicians frequently share stories of patients whose mood shifts, anxiety, appetite changes, or emotional sensitivity suddenly make more sense when viewed through the lens of hormonal rhythms and nervous system regulation. Many describe feeling relieved to have language that helps them explain these patterns in a way that reduces shame and increases understanding.
The Mood & Moon workbook and tracker have begun serving as practical tools that clinicians can use with individuals who are learning to recognize these patterns in their own bodies. Instead of interpreting shifts in mood or appetite as personal failure, many people begin to approach their bodies with greater curiosity and compassion.
One of the most common questions that emerges during these conversations is simple:
Clinicians and individuals often ask about additional resources that could help expand hormone literacy across different life stages and communities—such as resources for adolescents learning about their cycles for the first time, individuals navigating perimenopause and menopause, or those exploring hormone-related changes in other contexts.
These conversations have made it increasingly clear that there is a growing appetite for education in this area. The Hormone Literacy Initiative exists to help meet that need by continuing to expand access to resources, trainings, and conversations that help people better understand the relationship between hormones, the nervous system, and mental health.
With the support of sponsors and partners, this work can continue to reach more clinicians, communities, and individuals who are eager to better understand the rhythms of their own bodies.
The Hormone Literacy Initiative continues to grow as more clinicians and communities ask for education about the relationship between hormones, mood, and mental health. Support from sponsors helps make it possible to expand this work through conference presentations, clinician trainings, community education, and the development of new hormone literacy resources.
Sponsors not only support this education, but also help bring greater awareness to the role physiology plays in mental health.
Supporters help expand access to hormone literacy education and contribute to the printing and distribution of educational materials.
Supporters receive:
Community Sponsors help fund educational materials and workshops that bring hormone literacy to clinicians and communities.
Community Sponsors receive:
Education Sponsors play an important role in expanding hormone literacy education across professional communities and conferences.
Support at this level helps fund conference presentations, clinician trainings, and the distribution of educational materials.
Education Sponsors receive:
Lead Sponsors help significantly expand the reach of hormone literacy education by supporting conference presentations, educational programming, and the development of new resources.
Lead Sponsors receive:
Founding Partners play a major role in helping expand the Hormone Literacy Initiative and bring this education to larger audiences.
Support at this level may fund the development of new educational resources (such as adolescent hormone literacy materials, perimenopause education, or clinician training programs) and support broader outreach efforts.
Founding Partners receive:
Sponsors may also choose to support specific aspects of the initiative, including:
If you are interested in partnering to expand hormone literacy education, please reach out to discuss collaboration opportunities.
The Hormone Literacy Initiative continues to grow through collaborations with clinicians, educators, and organizations committed to expanding hormone literacy.
At Healing Roots Wellness Center, we’re committed to supporting your mental well-being with professional care and guidance. The information provided throughout our website – including blog posts, articles, and other content – is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for personalized mental health support or professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. While we are qualified mental health professionals, we do not diagnose medical conditions. If you have specific concerns about your health or well-being, we encourage you to seek advice from the appropriate healthcare provider. Healing Roots Wellness Center does not endorse any specific tests, products, procedures, or opinions mentioned on our website. Reliance on the information provided is solely at your own risk. Remember, your mental health journey is unique, and the right support can make all the difference.
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