# Dr. Aimie Apigian, MD, MS, MPH: Perimenopause, Trauma, and Stress Tolerance Loss Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hello-hormones-with-dr-carrie-jones-7333411/dr-aimie-apigian-md-ms-mph-perimenopause-trauma-and-stress-tolerance-loss Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hello-hormones-with-dr-carrie-jones-7333411/dr-aimie-apigian-md-ms-mph-perimenopause-trauma-and-stress-tolerance-loss.md Podcast: [Hello Hormones with Dr. Carrie Jones](https://stenobird.com/podcast/hello-hormones-with-dr-carrie-jones-7333411) Published: 2026-02-03T09:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://54c17651-b998-4423-8fb3-0961ba8b4fb9.libsyn.com/dr-aimie-apigian-md-ms-mph-perimenopause-trauma-and-stress-tolerance-loss Audio file: https://mgln.ai/e/p1008880/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/54c17651-b998-4423-8fb3-0961ba8b4fb9/HH_-_EP_40.mp3?dest-id=5022965 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/hello-hormones-with-dr-carrie-jones-7333411/episodes/dr-aimie-apigian-md-ms-mph-perimenopause-trauma-and-stress-tolerance-loss Duration seconds: 3377 ## Resource Perimenopause is when many women feel like their body suddenly stopped playing on easy mode. Fluctuating estrogen reduces the brain's stress-buffering capacity, so fatigue, anxiety, irritability, and overwhelm all hit harder at the exact same time. We dive deeper into this topic in the latest Hello Hormones Podcast episode with Dr. Aimie Apigian. We also chat about why perimenopause is often when trauma finally shows up, why high-functioning women tend to fall apart in midlife, and the number one mistake women make when trying to heal trauma. Dr. Aimie Apigian, MD, MS, MPH, is a double board-certified physician in functional medicine and addiction medicine with training in neuroscience and trauma therapy. She is the creator of the Biology of Trauma® framework and leads the Biology of Trauma® certificate training program for healthcare professionals. Head to drcarriejones.com/stressfreebie to get access to The 101 on Stress, Cortisol & Your Nervous System. It's free, it's helpful, and it's exactly what you need to start the year feeling more like yourself. What's Discussed: (01:00) Why unresolved trauma often surfaces during perimenopause (03:30) How hormone shifts lower stress tolerance and amplify nervous system responses (06:22) Why high-functioning women rely on coping until it suddenly stops working (09:15) The difference between a stress response and a trauma response in the body (17:03) What "capacity" really means and why it feels depleted in midlife (27:09) Why mindset work alone doesn't heal trauma stored in the body (31:02) The biggest mistake women make when trying to heal trauma (49:17) Why irritability and rage in perimenopause can be signs of coming out of freeze ✍️ FREE GUIDES: Hormones 101 Cheat Sheet: https://drcarriejones.kit.com/hormones101 The Perim… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/hello-hormones-with-dr-carrie-jones-7333411/episodes/dr-aimie-apigian-md-ms-mph-perimenopause-trauma-and-stress-tolerance-loss/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/hello-hormones-with-dr-carrie-jones-7333411/dr-aimie-apigian-md-ms-mph-perimenopause-trauma-and-stress-tolerance-loss.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.