Your Health Is Your Oxygen Mask: Why Women Leaders Can't Skip It This Fall

The back to school season isn’t just a busy one for students.

For parents, especially mothers, this transition means an uptick in invisible labor, from shifting routines to juggling packed calendars, purchasing supplies, handling school paperwork and communications — the list goes on.

When work demands tick up post-Labor Day, pressure compounds for women who are senior leaders by profession and caregivers at home, particularly for those in mid-life. Layer on symptoms of hormonal shifts like brain fog and disrupted sleep, and an already-full plate becomes even harder to carry.

Given all of these competing priorities, it can be easy to let health fall off your list.

But August, National Wellness Month, offers an opportunity to step back, reset, and proactively protect your wellbeing rather than push through it. And our partners at Alloy Health provide care from menopause-specialized doctors that’s online and based around your schedule.

We asked Dr. Kudzai Dombo — a prescribing physician at Alloy Health, board-certified OB/GYN, and menopause-certified specialist — how women leaders can protect their health during the busy season ahead. Here are her insights:

For women leaders, fall’s busy back-to-school and business season brings a spike in demands on their time and energy. In terms of health impact, how do you see this pattern play out among your patients?

This is something I see in patients when they hit their mid-40s, and it coincides with the onset of perimenopause. Caregiving, career, and perimenopause intersect to create the perfect storm, and many women continue as caregivers for aging parents into their 60s. Hormones start to fluctuate, leading to symptoms that are much more difficult to manage. Cortisol levels peak from a chronic stress response. The ability to recover and adapt becomes that much more difficult. Things like sleep, mood, fatigue become issues that require more intentional effort to resolve.

Are there symptoms women commonly write off as stress or “being a working mom” that you'd flag as worth addressing?

Difficulty finding words or losing concentration in high-stakes meetings (brain fog), rage or irritability that is out of proportion to the trigger (mood changes), difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, and new-onset fatigue. These symptoms are stressful, but they're not just from stress. They're classic symptoms of losing estrogen during menopause and perimenopause, so they warrant attention from a menopause-specialized physician, like the ones you can find through Alloy Health.

If a woman is looking to approach this busy season with greater focus on their wellbeing, where would you suggest they start? What questions can they ask themselves to get a baseline?

Get clarity on what is happening in your body. Track symptoms for 2–4 weeks so that you understand the pattern. The following questions may help:

1. Is the fatigue I’m experiencing proportional to my output?

2. How many hours of sleep am I getting and do I feel refreshed when I get up?

3. Are there specific times during my cycle that the irritability or mood changes are worse?

4. Am I saying yes out of obligation or choice?

Going beyond typical self-care advice, what can women do to manage their energy and avoid burnout when so much of their time is going to others?

Typical self-care advice like getting a massage or mani-pedi is not enough here. Identify tasks that can be draining your capacity, including household tasks. What requires something only you can do? Can these other responsibilities be delegated to others or outsourced? Create recovery windows within your schedule, like a 15-minute break to go outside and stand in the sunshine. It's important to remember, however, that there are avenues for professional help. Menopause-specialized doctors can help you build a treatment plan for symptoms across midlife, including HRT and weight care for women struggling with the hormonal changes in this period of their lives.

What would you want a woman leader to hear right now who feels like there's no room in their schedule to prioritize their own health?

To any woman leader who feels like prioritizing their health is another task: your health is foundational. When we are depleted it affects every area of our lives. It’s like putting your oxygen mask on first in the event of an airplane accident. We are told to assist others once our mask is secured. I invite you to consider your health as a non-negotiable. It’s your oxygen mask.

Still have questions about your midlife health? Alloy has answers, experts, and solutions. Get connected with a menopause-trained physician within hours for skin, weight, and hormone therapy. It’s 100% online care, complete with unlimited messaging. Receive 50% off your doctor consult or $25 off your first purchase with code CHIEFHEALTH25. Get started at myalloy.com.