We sat down with Walking Netballer Holly to find out more about why she wishes she’d known more about how her hormones impacted her well-being sooner.
Like many of us, Holly was introduced to netball at school, where she really enjoyed playing the sport. It wasn’t until later in her adult years that she has really come to appreciate how being active by taking part in Walking Netball had the potential to alleviate other health issues she encountered.
Holly has endometriosis, PCOS and Crohn’s disease.
‘Something I wish I knew is how much hormones can affect your mental health.’
‘I have ADHD as well, and in terms of PMS when you are at school and you learn about it you think you’ll just have mood swings.’
‘But that’s not the case. I definitely would get major depression, and it was linked to my hormones and my ADHD as well.’
Realising how much female health hormones affected Holly as a person was a big thing for her, especially because this was a journey she felt she had to discover on her own without much prior education on it.
On this journey to learn more, Holly has found ways to combat the impact of her hormonal changes:
‘So for me since I have been playing netball and doing more exercise, that has definitely helped me to regulate my emotions.’
‘I feel so much better after I have exercised.’
Speaking further to her experiences of endometriosis and PCOS, Holly feels it’s important that they are health conditions that are spoken about more in order to educate more people on the symptoms that come with a diagnosis such as these.
‘Like with PCOS I tend to get facial hair, and that’s not something that people are often ready to share with everyone.’
‘Because of my endometriosis I am also on injections that put me into medical menopause.’
Holly shares that this can be a surprise to many people she comes across because of her younger age, plus with it not being a visible condition she adds how important it is to ‘not judge a book by its cover.’
Holly’s health experiences have revealed to her how challenging it can be for some women and girls to get the diagnosis they need.
‘I feel like women’s health issues are so disregarded in terms of like getting a diagnosis.’
‘Like if you are in pain, if your periods are really heavy it’s not normal, it’s not common.’
‘Definitely try and advocate for yourself and make sure doctors take you seriously.’
Finding ways to help manage symptoms, being open and having conversations with others to find support have really helped Holly.
‘For me netball has really helped. Exercise, eating a balanced diet both really help.’
‘It’s not a cure by any means, but it helps alongside the doctors.’
For more on mental health read here.
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