Ep. 598 “Your Labs Say You’re Fine!” – Why Women’s Symptoms Get Dismissed in Perimenopause with Dr. Julia Haffner | Menopause, Perimenopause, Fascia Health

I am thrilled to connect with Dr. Julia Haffner today. She’s a European-trained medical doctor who has worked in internal medicine, geriatrics, family practice, chronic pain therapy, esthetics, and hair transplant surgery, where she continuously saw patients struggling with symptoms their bodies were desperately trying to communicate, yet testing failed to provide answers. Today, we explore where stress lives in the body and why midlife can feel so different for women. We discuss the connection between postpartum experiences and perimenopausal symptoms, the nervous system’s relationship with fascia as a sensory organ, and how fascia responds to our personal experiences. We also examine trauma as highly bio-individual, lifestyle changes to support the nervous system during midlife, and how perimenopause impacts our adrenals. Dr. Haffner shares how she prefers to advocate for patients within the medical system, and talks about her app, which is free and available for listeners. We also cover how social media and technology influence our stress levels, Dr. Haffner’s meridian-related energetic facelift, and how our emotions connect to our bodies. Stay tuned for today’s fascinating and insightful conversation with the delightful Dr. Julia Haffner, who also has a book coming out late this year. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: The similarity between postpartum low-estrogen and perimenopausal symptoms How doctors often focus only on measurable lab data while overlooking nervous system dysregulation and chronic stress Dr. Haffner describes fascia as a sensory organ How Dr. Haffner learned to recognize patterns of tension, stress, emotional overwhelm, and physical trauma within the fascia Why trauma is not limited only to major events like war or abuse Why women tend to become more sensitive to stress, relationships, and environmental pressures as their estrogen declines The value of gentler workouts in midlife to support stress reduction and nervous system regulation without increasing cortisol Why years of chronic stress can leave women feeling depleted during perimenopause How constant scrolling can contribute to low-grade stress within the body Dr. Haffner introduces her menopause symptom tracking app Bio: Dr. Julia Haffner Dr. Julia Haffner is a European-trained medical doctor who worked across internal medicine, geriatrics, family practice, chronic pain therapy, aesthetic medicine, and hair transplant surgery — and kept seeing the same thing: bodies crying out for help that no test could hear. Life took her to Italy with her second daughter, where she discovered the ability to feel into any part of the body and sense what's stored there — a memory, a grief, a fear still frozen in the fascia decades later. What most people call limiting beliefs or self-doubt isn't a mind problem. It's stored in the body. In the tissue. In the fascia. And it stays there until someone helps it release. Over 1,000 remote sessions later: cancer in remission, chronic pain dissolved, self-doubt cleared from the body, the spark returning. She is the creator of the Energetic Facelift. Her message: You are your own best doctor. Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website. Submit your questions to support@cynthiathurlow.com Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community: The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow. Purchase Cynthia’s book, The Menopause Gut. Cynthia’s Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book. The Midlife Pause Supplement Line Connect with Dr. Julia Haffner On her website Dr. Haffner’s book, The State Before the Bite: Secrets of the Secret, will be released in late 2026