Confessions of a Male Gynecologist

Still getting regular periods but suddenly struggling with anxiety, poor sleep, brain fog, exhaustion, or feeling like you're not yourself? It might not be PMS. And it doesn't mean you're imagining things.

Perimenopause is often described as PMS on steroids, but that explanation barely scratches the surface of what women experience during the transition to menopause.

In this solo episode of Confessions of a Male Gynecologist, Dr. Shawn Tassone breaks down the difference between PMS and perimenopause, why hormonal changes can affect far more than your menstrual cycle, and why so many women struggle to get meaningful answers about their symptoms.

From hot flashes and irregular bleeding to sleep disturbances, mood changes, joint pain, and changes in sexual health, perimenopause isn't always obvious. And having a regular period doesn't necessarily mean your hormones aren't changing.

Dr. Tassone also explores what he calls the "hormonal identity crisis" — the emotional and psychological shifts that can leave women feeling disconnected from themselves during midlife, because this transition isn't just about estrogen and progesterone. It can also affect how you feel, how you function, and how you see yourself.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why perimenopause is a natural life stage, not a diagnosis that explains every symptom.
• The differences between cyclical PMS symptoms and the broader changes of perimenopause.
• Why regular menstrual cycles don't necessarily rule out hormonal fluctuations.
• Commonly overlooked symptoms, including anxiety, brain fog, fatigue, sleep disruption, and joint pain.
• How progesterone interacts with GABA pathways involved in relaxation and sleep.
• Why hormone testing can be useful in some circumstances but shouldn't replace a thorough symptom history.
• How nutrition, strength training, sleep habits, and individualized hormone therapy discussions fit into menopause care.
• Why advocating for yourself and finding a clinician who actually listens can change your healthcare experience.

Dr. Tassone also discusses his SHINES protocol and the importance of supporting women through the physical, emotional, and personal changes that can accompany this stage of life.

The takeaway? You don't have to accept feeling miserable as an inevitable part of getting older. Perimenopause deserves thoughtful evaluation, informed conversations, and individualized care.

As Dr. Tassone reminds you: "You don't have to suffer."

If this episode resonates with you, share it with a woman who's been told her symptoms are just stress, aging, or something she has to live with, and subscribe to Confessions of a Male Gynecologist for evidence-informed conversations about perimenopause, menopause, hormone health, and the issues affecting women's healthcare.

Episode Resources:

Work with Dr. Tassone | Tassone Advanced Gynecology

Please contact the clinic directly at (512) 956- 0296 with all scheduling inquiries.

Purchase Dr. Tassone's Best-Selling Book | The Hormone Balance Bible

Dr. Tassone's Integrative Hormonal Archetype Quiz | Discover Your Hormonal Archetype

Medical Disclaimer This podcast and website represent the opinions of Dr. Shawn Tassone and his guests. The content here should not be taken as medical advice and is for informational purposes only. Because each person is so unique, please consult your health care professional for any medical questions.

Is that wellness influencer helping you understand your health or turning your symptoms into a sales pitch?

Today, Dr. Shawn Tassone welcomes board-certified family medicine physician Dr. Ibrahim, known online as Dr. Antihero, for a candid conversation about wellness influencers, supplement marketing, unnecessary lab testing, and medical misinformation.

From "root cause" promises and parasite cleanses to hormone testing, Hashimoto's testimonials, and peptides, they examine how persuasive health content can blur the line between education and advertising, and why a confident delivery doesn't establish medical expertise.

They also confront the part conventional medicine plays in this problem. When patients feel dismissed, rushed, or unsupported, especially during perimenopause and menopause, it makes sense that they look elsewhere for answers. The question is how to find meaningful help without being pulled into another expensive promise.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How fear, distrust, and personal testimonials make wellness marketing persuasive
• Why "I healed myself" is a starting point for questions, rather than proof a protocol works for everyone
• What to consider when an influencer recommends lab testing and sells the supplements that follow
• How vague claims about toxins, inflammation, and "root causes" can obscure what's actually being promised
• Why credentials, relevant training, and financial transparency matter — even when someone uses the title "doctor"
• How DUTCH testing, cortisol testing, and broad biomarker panels enter the wellness sales conversation
• Why Dr. Tassone questions peptide marketing built around confidence rather than adequate human research
• How physicians can challenge misinformation while respecting patients who have had disappointing healthcare experiences

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by competing health claims, share this episode with someone navigating the same confusion and subscribe to Confessions of a Male Gynecologist for more candid conversations about women's health, hormones, and the evidence behind the advice.

About Dr. Antony Ibrahim

Known online as Dr. Antihero, Dr. Ibrahim is a board-certified family medicine physician and medical educator who challenges medical misinformation on social media. In this conversation, he shares experiences from clinical practice, teaching medical students, and helping patients navigate conflicting health advice.

Find Dr. Antihero on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube under @doctor.antihero or @doctor.antihero.md.

Episode Resources:

Work with Dr. Tassone | Tassone Advanced Gynecology

Please contact the clinic directly at (512) 956- 0296 with all scheduling inquiries.

Purchase Dr. Tassone's Best-Selling Book | The Hormone Balance Bible

Dr. Tassone's Integrative Hormonal Archetype Quiz | Discover Your Hormonal Archetype

Medical Disclaimer This podcast and website represent the opinions of Dr. Shawn Tassone and his guests. The content here should not be taken as medical advice and is for informational purposes only. Because each person is so unique, please consult your health care professional for any medical questions.

Is it perimenopause, poor sleep, or the exhaustion of being the person who remembers everything?

If your patience feels shorter, your nights feel longer, and you keep thinking, "I don't feel like myself," this episode is for you.

On this episode of Confessions of a Male Gynecologist, Dr. Shawn Tassone explores irritability, perimenopause rage, anxiety, disrupted sleep, and the mental load with an approach that considers both your health and your everyday life.

From hormone fluctuations and menstrual-cycle patterns to invisible household responsibilities, Dr. Tassone explains why similar symptoms can have different causes and why "just relax" rarely moves the conversation forward. He also addresses an important distinction: wanting relief from symptoms doesn't mean you need to return to saying yes to everyone.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why perimenopause belongs in the conversation even when you're still having periods. • How to describe mood changes beyond "I'm hormonal" or "I'm always angry." • Why the timing of symptoms matters when discussing PMS, PMDD, and premenstrual mood changes. • How night sweats, insomnia, and limited time for sleep call for different approaches. • What CBT-I is and why it comes up in conversations about chronic insomnia. • Why thyroid disease, sleep apnea, and iron deficiency may deserve consideration when fatigue is part of the picture. • What normal lab results can—and cannot—tell you about how you feel. • How Dr. Tassone evaluates hormonal, nonhormonal, and supportive approaches within integrative care. • What recent observational research on hormone therapy, mood, and sleep can tell us—and where its limits are. • How partners and families can take responsibility for tasks without leaving women to manage the help.

You'll leave with a simple framework for your next appointment: when symptoms started, the pattern you've noticed, what's happening with sleep, and how your daily life is affected.

Two questions to bring: "What are we treating first?" "When do we reassess?"

"The goal of treating a woman's symptoms is not to make her easier for everyone else to live with. It's to help her sleep, function, and feel more like herself." — Dr. Shawn Tassone

Follow Confessions of a Male Gynecologist for honest conversations about women's health, hormones, and the evidence behind your options. If this episode gives you words for what you've been experiencing, share it with someone you'd like to understand.

Episode Resources:

Work with Dr. Tassone | Tassone Advanced Gynecology

Please contact the clinic directly at (512) 956- 0296 with all scheduling inquiries.

Purchase Dr. Tassone's Best-Selling Book | The Hormone Balance Bible

Dr. Tassone's Integrative Hormonal Archetype Quiz | Discover Your Hormonal Archetype

Medical Disclaimer This podcast and website represent the opinions of Dr. Shawn Tassone and his guests. The content here should not be taken as medical advice and is for informational purposes only. Because each person is so unique, please consult your health care professional for any medical questions.

Still having periods, but dealing with brain fog, disrupted sleep, or changes in how you feel? The perimenopause conversation needs to go beyond estrogen.

In this episode of Confessions of a Male Gynecologist, I welcome back Dr. Deanna Minich, nutrition scientist and Chief Science Officer at Symphony Natural Health, to explore an overlooked part of the hormone conversation: follicle-stimulating hormone, or FSH.

Most of us were taught to think of FSH as a reproductive hormone. But emerging research is exploring its connections to bone, fat tissue, and the brain—and what those connections might mean during the menopause transition.

We discuss why symptoms can appear while estradiol remains within the reference range, what "endocrine recalibration" means, and why menopause deserves a broader conversation than estrogen deficiency alone.

Then we dive into maca and Femmenessence, a supplement I've used in my practice for years. Deanna explains how maca varieties and formulations differ, what the published trials have examined, and why a product that contains no hormones can still affect hormone levels.

We also address important safety questions, including hormone-sensitive breast cancer, and separate emerging research from established clinical guidance.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Why FSH may change before periods stop and why a single result has limitations • How the endocrine system adapts during perimenopause and menopause • Emerging research on FSH, bone loss, and brain health • What associations with amyloid and cognitive changes can, and cannot, tell us • Why cardiovascular findings remain mixed • How maca varieties, sourcing, and formulations differ • The research behind Femmenessence and its life-stage-specific products • Using supplements alongside menopausal hormone therapy in individualized care • Why "hormone-free" does not necessarily mean "no effect on hormones" • Safety considerations for women with a history of hormone-sensitive breast cancer

About Dr. Deanna Minich

Deanna Minich, PhD, MS, CNS, FMCP, is a nutrition scientist, educator, author, and functional medicine practitioner with more than 25 years of experience at the intersection of nutrition, endocrine health, and systems biology. She serves as Chief Science Officer at Symphony Natural Health, where she leads scientific strategy, research, education, and clinical translation focused on women's endocrine health across the lifespan. At Symphony Natural Health, Dr. Minich's work centers on advancing a whole-systems understanding of hormonal health—one that extends beyond individual hormones to consider the interconnected roles of the endocrine, metabolic, neurological, and skeletal systems. Her current research and education focus extensively on the menopausal transition, endocrine resilience, and the emerging systemic biology of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). In 2026, Dr. Minich and colleagues published a comprehensive review in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, "Is Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) Misnamed? Rethinking Its Role in Menopause as a Systemic Regulator of Bone, Brain, Metabolism, and Aging," examining emerging evidence that FSH biology may extend beyond its traditional reproductive role. Dr. Minich has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed scientific publications, four book chapters, and seven consumer books, including The Rainbow Diet and Whole Detox. She has been a faculty member with the Institute for Functional Medicine since 2013 and received the 2025 Linus & Ava Helen Pauling Award in Functional Medicine. Across her research, teaching, and work at Symphony Natural Health, Dr. Minich is helping expand the conversation around women's hormonal health from a focus on individual hormones and symptoms toward a more integrated understanding of endocrine resilience, nutrition, lifestyle, and healthy aging.

Connect with Dr. Deanna Minich:

www.deannaminich.com

Episode Resources:

Symphony Natural Health: https://symphonynaturalhealth.com Femmenessence: https://femmenessence.com

Work with Dr. Tassone | Tassone Advanced Gynecology

Please contact the clinic directly at (512) 956- 0296 with all scheduling inquiries.

Purchase Dr. Tassone's Best-Selling Book | The Hormone Balance Bible

Dr. Tassone's Integrative Hormonal Archetype Quiz | Discover Your Hormonal Archetype

Medical Disclaimer This podcast and website represent the opinions of Dr. Shawn Tassone and his guests. The content here should not be taken as medical advice and is for informational purposes only. Because each person is so unique, please consult your health care professional for any medical questions.

IMPORTANT CONTEXT

FSH research discussed here includes observational and preclinical findings; it does not establish that lowering FSH prevents dementia or other diseases. Femmenessence may affect hormone levels and is not appropriate for everyone. Anyone with hormone-sensitive cancer or taking cancer treatment should consult their oncology team before use. Monitoring estrogen levels alone does not establish cancer safety.

This episode is educational and does not replace individualized medical care. Dr. Minich works for the company that produces Femmenessence; Dr. Tassone discusses his clinical experience and work with its team.

What happens when popular alternative health practices are put under the same microscope as conventional medicine?

In this episode of Confessions of a Male Gynecologist, Dr. Shawn Tassone takes a deep dive into the history, science, and evidence behind four widely used alternative health practices: chiropractic medicine, naturopathy, homeopathy, and applied kinesiology (muscle testing).

Millions of people use these approaches every year, and many patients encounter claims about them while searching for answers about hormones, women's health, chronic symptoms, nutrition, allergies, pain, and overall wellness.

But where did these practices actually come from? And what happens when their original theories are tested in randomized controlled trials?

Rather than simply labeling alternative medicine as "good" or "bad," Dr. Tassone examines the origins of each practice, what its founders actually claimed, and what modern research does, and does not, support.

• The surprising origins of chiropractic medicine and the story of founder D.D. Palmer • How the original chiropractic theory of vertebral subluxations and disease developed • What research actually says about chiropractic adjustments for back pain and neck pain • The controversy surrounding cervical manipulation and vertebral artery dissection • The history of naturopathic medicine and the "healing power of nature" • Astrology, hydrotherapy, phrenology, and other ideas found in early naturopathic medicine • What modern evidence reviews say about naturopathy as a healthcare system • How homeopathy began and why "like cures like" became one of its core principles • What a 30C homeopathic dilution actually means • Why major systematic reviews have struggled to find evidence that homeopathy performs beyond placebo • The difference between homeopathy and herbal or natural medicine • What applied kinesiology or "muscle testing" claims to diagnose • Studies examining muscle testing for allergies, nutritional deficiencies, toxins, and sensitivities • Why legitimate clinical muscle-strength testing is different from applied kinesiology • How anecdotes, testimonials, placebo effects, and randomized controlled trials can produce very different conclusions • Why asking "compared to what?" is one of the most important questions in healthcare

Dr. Tassone also addresses an important distinction: criticizing the evidence behind a medical theory is not the same thing as claiming every person practicing within that profession has nothing useful to offer.

For example, research suggests spinal manipulation may provide modest benefit for certain types of acute and chronic low back pain and may perform similarly to other conservative approaches such as physical therapy or exercise.

But claims that spinal manipulation can treat internal organ dysfunction, allergies, hormone problems, nutritional deficiencies, or systemic disease require a very different level of evidence.

The same standard should apply everywhere.

Whether something comes from conventional medicine, functional medicine, integrative medicine, naturopathy, chiropractic, social media, or the supplement industry, patients deserve to understand:

Where did the claim come from? Has it actually been tested? What happened when it was tested? What are the potential risks? And compared to what?

The goal of this episode isn't to tell you what you're allowed to believe or which practitioner you're allowed to see.

It's to give you the history and evidence so you can make more informed decisions about your health—and about where you spend your time and money.

Episode Resources:

Work with Dr. Tassone | Tassone Advanced Gynecology

Please contact the clinic directly at (512) 956- 0296 with all scheduling inquiries.

Purchase Dr. Tassone's Best-Selling Book | The Hormone Balance Bible

Dr. Tassone's Integrative Hormonal Archetype Quiz | Discover Your Hormonal Archetype

Medical Disclaimer This podcast and website represent the opinions of Dr. Shawn Tassone and his guests. The content here should not be taken as medical advice and is for informational purposes only. Because each person is so unique, please consult your health care professional for any medical questions.

Heart disease is often treated like something women need to start thinking about later in life, but what if some of the earliest clues about your cardiovascular risk appeared decades earlier — during pregnancy?

In this episode of Confessions of a Male Gynecologist, Dr. Shawn Tassone sits down with cardiologist Dr. Abeer Berry for a wide-ranging conversation about women's heart health, menopause, cholesterol, cardiovascular risk, and some of the most persistent heart-health misinformation circulating online.

One of the most important takeaways: a woman's reproductive history is part of her cardiovascular history.

Pregnancy places significant stress on the cardiovascular and metabolic systems. Conditions such as preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, and delivering a baby who is small for gestational age can become important pieces of the cardiovascular risk conversation years later.

Then comes another major transition: menopause.

Dr. Tassone and Dr. Berry discuss how changing estrogen levels intersect with blood pressure, cholesterol, metabolism, and cardiovascular risk and why menopause, hormone therapy, and heart health shouldn't automatically be treated as separate conversations.

But the discussion goes much further than hormones. They tackle one of the biggest debates currently happening in the wellness space:

Does LDL cholesterol actually cause atherosclerosis — or is cholesterol being unfairly blamed?

Dr. Berry breaks down LDL cholesterol, inflammation, ApoB, lipoprotein(a), HDL, triglycerides, and why particle size doesn't necessarily tell the story people on social media claim it does. They also discuss statins and the growing amount of misinformation surrounding cholesterol-lowering medications, including claims that statins barely extend life, cause dementia, or are prescribed simply because pharmaceutical companies want to sell more medication.

You'll also hear an important conversation about coronary artery calcium scoring — including why a CAC score of zero doesn't necessarily mean you have zero cardiovascular risk, the difference between calcified and soft plaque, and how calcium scores can influence conversations around treatment.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Why heart disease risk in women is often underestimated • Pregnancy as a cardiovascular and metabolic "stress test" • Preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and future heart health • Gestational diabetes and long-term cardiovascular risk • Why reproductive history still matters decades after pregnancy • Menopause, estrogen, and cardiovascular health • Hormone replacement therapy in women with cardiovascular risk factors • Whether LDL cholesterol actually causes atherosclerosis • LDL-C vs. ApoB and what each measurement tells you • What lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), can reveal about inherited cardiovascular risk • Why extremely high HDL isn't necessarily protective • Triglycerides and metabolic health • Statin myths and misinformation on social media • Why a coronary calcium score of zero doesn't tell the entire story • Soft plaque vs. calcified plaque • When lipid-lowering therapy may involve more than statins • The cardiovascular numbers women should know • Why high blood pressure can go unnoticed • Heart attack symptoms in women • Why women's healthcare needs to look at the whole medical history, not individual systems in isolation

This conversation is about more than cholesterol numbers or whether someone should take a statin. It's about understanding cardiovascular risk across a woman's entire lifetime — from pregnancy through menopause and beyond.

Because sometimes the information that matters at 50 was already beginning to show itself at 30.

Subscribe for weekly conversations about women's health, hormones, menopause, evidence-based medicine, and the topics women deserve to understand more fully.

Episode Resources:

Work with Dr. Tassone | Tassone Advanced Gynecology

Please contact the clinic directly at (512) 956- 0296 with all scheduling inquiries.

Purchase Dr. Tassone's Best-Selling Book | The Hormone Balance Bible

Dr. Tassone's Integrative Hormonal Archetype Quiz | Discover Your Hormonal Archetype

Medical Disclaimer This podcast and website represent the opinions of Dr. Shawn Tassone and his guests. The content here should not be taken as medical advice and is for informational purposes only. Because each person is so unique, please consult your health care professional for any medical questions.

"I don't feel like myself anymore."

Dr. Shawn Tassone hears some version of that sentence from women all the time. But what does it actually mean?

Is it perimenopause? Low estrogen or progesterone? Testosterone? Thyroid dysfunction? Chronic stress? Burnout? Postpartum changes? A struggling relationship? Loss of identity?

Or is it possible that more than one of those things can be true at the same time?

In this episode of Confessions of a Male Gynecologist, Dr. Tassone connects three seemingly unrelated conversations — Dolly Parton, the Lindsay Clancy case, and the recent pastor's wife documentary — to explore one much larger issue:

What happens when a woman spends years carrying things no one else can see?

Women's health is often divided into separate boxes. Hormones go here. Mental health goes there. Libido becomes another problem. Sleep becomes another. Your thyroid gets another doctor. Your relationship is considered completely separate.

But the woman experiencing all of those things is still one person.

Dr. Tassone breaks down why your hormones do not exist in a vacuum and how chronic stress, relationships, caregiving, motherhood, identity, sleep and hormonal changes can interact. He also explores why perimenopause can become the point where all of these worlds collide.

Maybe menopause changed how you feel, but did it create every problem — or did changing hormones, worsening sleep and decreased stress tolerance make an already unsustainable situation harder to tolerate?

• Why "I don't feel like myself" deserves to be taken seriously
• How estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and thyroid health can affect how women feel
• Chronic stress, cortisol and what social media gets wrong about "hormone imbalance"
• Why relationship stress and emotional safety can affect physical and sexual health
• The invisible mental and logistical load many women carry
• Why low libido is not always simply a testosterone problem
• Motherhood, identity loss and postpartum recovery
• Postpartum depression, anxiety and postpartum psychiatric illness
• Why postpartum healthcare needs to extend beyond a single six-week visit
• How caregiving can gradually push a woman's own needs aside
• Why perimenopause can magnify problems that were already there
• The overlap between hormones, sleep, metabolic health, stress, mental health and relationships
• Why normal-looking labs do not automatically mean a woman feels well
• What holistic women's healthcare should actually mean
• The questions Dr. Tassone believes we should ask when a woman says she no longer feels like herself

The answer isn't that everything is hormones, but it also isn't that your hormones have nothing to do with what you're experiencing.

Good medicine should be capable of holding more than one truth at the same time.

Your estrogen may be low and your relationship may be affecting your nervous system.

Your thyroid may need treatment and you may be profoundly burned out.

You may be experiencing postpartum hormonal changes and need specialized mental-health care.

Your testosterone may be low and increasing testosterone may not repair emotional intimacy.

You are not an estrogen level. You are not a testosterone level. You are not a TSH, BMI or age on a chart.

There is a human being attached to those ovaries.

And sometimes the better question isn't simply: "What symptoms are you having?"

It's: "What have you been carrying?"

If you've found yourself saying, "I haven't felt like myself in years," this conversation is for you.

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to be notified when a new episode drops and share this episode with a woman who needs to hear it.

Episode Resources:

Work with Dr. Tassone | Tassone Advanced Gynecology

Please contact the clinic directly at (512) 956- 0296 with all scheduling inquiries.

Purchase Dr. Tassone's Best-Selling Book | The Hormone Balance Bible

Dr. Tassone's Integrative Hormonal Archetype Quiz | Discover Your Hormonal Archetype

Medical Disclaimer This podcast and website represent the opinions of Dr. Shawn Tassone and his guests. The content here should not be taken as medical advice and is for informational purposes only. Because each person is so unique, please consult your health care professional for any medical questions.

When does the "baby blues" become postpartum depression? What separates an intrusive thought from an intention to cause harm? And what does postpartum psychosis actually look like?

In this episode of Confessions of a Male Gynecologist, Dr. Shawn Tassone sits down with psychiatrist Dr. Kristin Lasseter for an important conversation about the mental health conditions women can experience during pregnancy, postpartum, and throughout their reproductive lives.

They break down the differences between postpartum blues, postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, and postpartum psychosis — including why these conditions can sometimes be misunderstood, overlooked, or misdiagnosed.

Dr. Lasseter explains the relationship between postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder, why a person experiencing psychosis may still have periods of lucidity, and why intrusive thoughts, although frightening, are not the same thing as wanting to act on those thoughts.

The conversation also tackles one of the most complicated parts of psychiatric care: medication. Dr. Tassone and Dr. Lasseter discuss psychiatric medication management, polypharmacy, changing diagnoses, and the importance of understanding the complete clinical picture instead of treating individual symptoms in isolation.

But postpartum mental health is only part of the discussion.

Dr. Lasseter also shares how the field of reproductive psychiatry has evolved, why there still aren't enough specialists to meet the demand, and why mental health screening should be a more routine part of women's healthcare — not something addressed only after a woman reaches a crisis.

They also explore the difference between psychiatrists and psychologists, the role of therapy alongside medication, the connection between mental health and libido, and the stigma that still prevents many women—especially during pregnancy and postpartum — from admitting that they are struggling.

Women are routinely monitored physically throughout pregnancy and after delivery. This episode asks an equally important question:

Are we paying enough attention to what is happening mentally and emotionally?

• The difference between baby blues, postpartum depression, and postpartum psychosis

• Why postpartum mental health disorders can be difficult to recognize

• Whether current diagnostic definitions adequately reflect the postpartum experience

• How bipolar disorder can intersect with postpartum psychosis

• What intrusive thoughts actually mean and why they should not automatically be confused with intent

• Why someone experiencing psychosis may still appear completely lucid at times

• Psychiatric medications during the reproductive and postpartum periods

• How polypharmacy can complicate symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment

• Why communication between patients and psychiatrists matters

• The growing field of reproductive psychiatry and why access still falls short

• How women are typically referred for reproductive mental health care

• The difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist

• Why psychiatrists may use both medication and psychotherapy

• How women's mental healthcare has changed over the past several decades

• The connection between mental health, sexual health, and libido

• Why better mental health screening is needed during reproductive transitions

• The stigma that still keeps pregnant and postpartum women from asking for help

Postpartum mental health exists on a spectrum. Temporary emotional changes after delivery are common, but persistent or worsening symptoms deserve evaluation rather than being dismissed as part of becoming a mother.

Postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis are not the same condition. Understanding the distinction matters because the symptoms, risks, and level of intervention can be dramatically different.

Intrusive thoughts do not automatically equal intent. Unwanted, disturbing thoughts can occur in postpartum mental health disorders and can be terrifying for the person experiencing them. The clinical context matters.

Postpartum psychosis can be associated with bipolar disorder. A woman's psychiatric history, symptoms, sleep, behavior, and changes over time can all be important pieces of the diagnostic picture.

Psychosis does not always look the way people imagine it does. Someone experiencing severe psychiatric symptoms may still have periods where they appear lucid, organized, or completely like themselves.

Medication management requires context. Adding medication after medication without continually reassessing the diagnosis and full clinical picture can make psychiatric care more complicated.

Reproductive psychiatry remains an underserved field. Interest and training have grown, but access to clinicians specifically trained in women's reproductive mental health still does not meet the need.

Mental healthcare should be part of reproductive healthcare. Pregnancy, postpartum, fertility changes, PMDD, perimenopause, menopause, sexual health, and libido can all intersect with mental wellbeing.

Screening needs to happen before a crisis. Mental health should be discussed routinely throughout reproductive transitions instead of waiting until symptoms become severe enough that a woman is forced to ask for help.

Stigma still keeps women silent. Fear of judgment—particularly during pregnancy and postpartum—can prevent women from admitting what they are experiencing and seeking appropriate care.

Postpartum mental health deserves the same seriousness, attention, and follow-up we give physical recovery after pregnancy. Whether the issue is depression, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, psychosis, medication, libido, or simply feeling unlike yourself, women should not have to reach a breaking point before someone starts asking the right questions.

A note from Dr. Lasseter

I'm Dr. Kristin Lasseter, a board-certified psychiatrist and the founder of Reproductive Psychiatry & Counseling (RPC). Since starting RPC in 2018, it has grown to be a practice devoted to expert, compassionate care for individuals navigating mental health concerns across the reproductive lifespan—including pregnancy, postpartum, infertility, pregnancy loss, premenstrual mood disorders, and perimenopause.

My interest in reproductive mental health began in college, when I took a course in reproductive endocrinology and became fascinated by the powerful influence of sex hormones on both physical and mental well-being. That curiosity—paired with my love of medicine and commitment to improving mental health care—led me to the field of reproductive psychiatry.

When I moved to Austin in 2014, I was surprised and disheartened to find a lack of local services for patients experiencing hormone-related psychiatric symptoms. That gap inspired me to build RPC—now one of the leading reproductive psychiatry clinics in Texas. Since founding RPC, I've been committed to increasing access, awareness, and education around reproductive mental health through clinical care, professional training, and community advocacy.

My clinical work focuses on helping patients find clarity, relief, and confidence through personalized, evidence-based care. Whether you're navigating perinatal anxiety, postpartum depression, PMDD, pregnancy loss, or medication decisions during pregnancy or lactation, I take time to understand your values, your goals, and your story. My approach is collaborative and nonjudgmental—centered on helping you make informed decisions that feel right for you.

I believe the mental health needs of women and birthing people—especially during reproductive transitions—have been historically overlooked. At RPC, we're working to change that.

‍Please help break the stigma: Share a resource, start a conversation, and join us in raising awareness about maternal and reproductive mental health.

Connect with Dr Lasseter

Instagram | @the.reproductive.psychiatrist

Work with Dr Lasseter | rpcaustin.com

Episode Resources:

Work with Dr. Tassone | Tassone Advanced Gynecology

Please contact the clinic directly at (512) 956- 0296 with all scheduling inquiries.

Purchase Dr. Tassone's Best-Selling Book | The Hormone Balance Bible

Dr. Tassone's Integrative Hormonal Archetype Quiz | Discover Your Hormonal Archetype

Medical Disclaimer This podcast and website represent the opinions of Dr. Shawn Tassone and his guests. The content here should not be taken as medical advice and is for informational purposes only. Because each person is so unique, please consult your health care professional for any medical questions.