Depression in women over 40. Hormonal depression. Perimenopause and mood. Menopause and mental health. Estrogen and depression. Progesterone and mood. Cortisol and mental health. If you have been exhausted, emotionally empty, and told you are fine — your hormones may be at the root of everything.

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with Jessica Crespo — a Physician Assistant with 26 years of clinical experience spanning cardiology, emergency medicine, psychiatry, and over a decade in primary care — for the conversation most doctors are not having with their patients.

Depression in women over 40 does not always look like depression. It looks like exhaustion. Irritability. Brain fog. Joint pain. Zero sex drive. Going through the motions as a mom and a wife while quietly disappearing on the inside. And for most women — nobody ever connects it to their hormones.

Jessica knows this firsthand. Not just as a clinician — but as a woman who experienced a devastating hormonal crash that sent her into a severe depression. Her story is one of the most powerful proofs you will ever hear that hormones drive everything.

She breaks down exactly what is happening in a woman's body after 40 — how declining estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol directly impact mood — and why so many women are being handed antidepressants when the root cause is hormonal. She shares exactly what to say to your doctor, what tests to ask for, and what to do if you get dismissed.

This episode is for the woman who has been telling herself she is fine.

You are not broken. Your hormones are.

In this episode you will hear:

• What depression actually looks like in high functioning women over 40
• Why women do not recognize they are depressed and what symptoms they are dismissing
• The direct connection between hormones and mood after 40
• Why perimenopause and menopause are triggers for depression nobody warns you about
• Why so many women are on antidepressants when the root cause is hormonal
• What to say to your doctor and what tests to ask for
• The cost of putting yourself last for too long

Get Jessica's Free Checklist: Am I Depressed? A Self-Assessment for Women Over 40

👉 https://www.facebook.com/jessica.crespo.colamaria

Connect with Jessica Crespo: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.crespo.colamaria

Connect with Christine: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cortisol_coach

If this episode helped you:

1. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it takes 60 seconds and helps other women find this show
2. Follow the Cortisol Coach Podcast so you never miss an episode
3. Share this episode with one woman in your life who has been telling herself she is fine

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One in five married couples is living in a sexless marriage right now. And 27% of women reported having no sex at all in the last twelve months.

Not because they don’t love their husbands. Not because their marriage is broken.

Because nobody ever told them the truth — that what they are experiencing is hormonal. It is biological. And it is not their fault.

In this episode of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, Christine Marie sits down with physician associate Josh Reiners — a clinician with over 20 years of experience in orthopedics, sports medicine, and hormone therapy — for the conversation that your doctor and your pastor have both been avoiding.

Josh breaks down exactly what happens to estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol in a woman’s body after 40 — and why perimenopause and menopause are quietly destroying intimacy in marriages everywhere.

He explains why so many women spend years blaming themselves, their marriages, or their mental health — when the root cause is hormonal. And he gives your listener the exact words to say to her doctor, the specific tests to ask for, and what to do if she gets dismissed.

But what makes this episode unlike anything else in the women’s health space is the conversation nobody in the faith community is willing to have.

Josh and Christine go there — the silence around sex and intimacy in the church, why the enemy specifically targets this area of marriage, and what God actually designed intimacy to look like.

If you have felt broken, disconnected, ashamed, or like a shell of the woman you used to be in your marriage — this episode was made for you.

You are not broken. Your hormones are.

In this episode you will hear:

• Why low libido after 40 is a hormonal issue — not a marriage issue • How estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol all impact sexual desire • Why perimenopause and menopause are the tipping point for intimacy in marriage • The exact words to say to your doctor to start this conversation • What hormone tests to ask for — and what to do if your doctor dismisses you • Why the church silence around sex is costing marriages • What a God-honoring, thriving intimate marriage actually looks like

Connect with Christine:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cortisol_coach

Connect with Josh Reiners:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecowboydr TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cowboy.doctor1 Facebook: https://facebook.com/josh.reiners.9

If this episode helped you:

1. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it takes 60 seconds and helps other women find this show

2. Follow the Cortisol Coach Podcast so you never miss an episode

3. Share this episode with one woman in your life whose marriage needs this conversation

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It all began when she was 37 years old, exhausted, gaining weight, losing her hair, and had seen more doctors than she could count. She had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, anxiety, panic attacks, and put on medication for every single one. But not one doctor, specialist, or OBGYN ever said the four words that would have changed everything:

Let’s test your hormones.

This is Episode 1 of the Cortisol Coach Podcast, and this is where it all begins.

In this episode, host Christine Marie shares the raw, unfiltered story behind @cortisol_coach. Eight years of searching for answers. A growing list of misdiagnoses. Surgery. A hysterectomy. Rock bottom. And the quiet morning moment that changed everything.

If you are dealing with high cortisol symptoms in women over 40, this episode is going to connect the dots in a way nothing else has. The exhaustion that does not go away. The weight gain that will not budge. The anxiety, brain fog, emotional overwhelm, and feeling like your body is working against you.

This is not random. And it is not in your head.

For so many women, high cortisol and hormone imbalance are the missing piece. Chronic stress keeps your body stuck in fight or flight, impacting your energy, metabolism, mood, sleep, and even your sense of identity.

If you are exhausted no matter how much you sleep, gaining weight you cannot explain, and wondering why nothing is working, this episode was made for you.

You are not crazy. Your symptoms are real. And healing is possible.

Christine also gives you a first look at what is coming on this show, including conversations with leading doctors, specialists, and coaches in hormone health, nervous system healing, mental health, spiritual health, and whole body restoration. Every guest and every episode is designed to help you understand what is actually happening in your body so you can finally move forward with clarity.

Because physical healing leads to clarity. Clarity leads to identity. Identity leads to calling. And calling leads to Kingdom impact.

Your healing starts here.

WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE

The symptoms that ruled Christine’s life for 8 years, including brain fog, exhaustion, weight gain, migraines, fibromyalgia, zero libido, and rage

What it felt like to be made to feel dismissed and misunderstood while searching for answers

How chronic stress, high cortisol, and fight or flight disrupted her hormones, energy, and daily life

The moment she hit rock bottom and what she cried out to God

The turning point that changed everything

What is coming on this show and why it exists

CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cortisol_coach

IF THIS EPISODE RESONATED WITH YOU

This show grows because of women like you. If this episode helped you feel seen, gave you language for what you have been experiencing, or reminded you that healing is possible, here is how you can help:

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than a minute and helps more women find answers.

Follow the Cortisol Coach Podcast so you never miss an episode.

Share this episode with one woman in your life who is exhausted, overwhelmed, and still searching for answers. You might be the reason everything changes for her.

For the products that changed her life:

http://cortisolcoach.itschristinemarie.com