It’s Not All Overwhelm — It Might Be Hormones
(For every woman who’s ever said, “I’m just tired.”)
I’m writing this from a hotel room in Pittsburgh, the final week before At Capacity: A Woman’s Lived Experience Symposium.
Coffee in hand. Hair still damp. Gratitude running high, and yet, that same familiar hum of pressure underneath it all.
You know that feeling when you’re juggling 42 tabs and still feel behind?
When you open an email and stare at it for ten minutes?
When you wake up already tired?
Yeah. I’ve been there.
And so have the women I coach, pilots, lawyers, tech execs, household executives. Different industries, same story. They give their all and still feel like they’re running on fumes.
The Common Thread
Nearly all of them are between 35 and 65.
That’s the hormonal decades no one warned us about.
For years, women have been told their exhaustion and fog were “stress” or “burnout.” And maybe part of it is…
But what if it’s not all overwhelm? What if part of it is biology?
That’s exactly what we’re unpacking at the At Capacity Symposium:
Dr. Alison Dubois — revealing why what’s going on may not actually be what’s going on.
Dr. Michelle Thompson — breaking down women’s health and why so many feel “off” despite doing everything right.
Dr. Kristen Koltun – Speaking on bone health in midlife.
And me — showing what to do next, as a functional medicine health coach helping women reclaim capacity for health, clarity, and longevity.
Also including experts:
Kelley DiFilippas, CRNP
Lucia Buckley, MSN, CRNP
Jennifer Lyle, RD
Kathy Citera, CPC, ELI-MP, C. Hyp, RTT
Stress vs. Overwhelm vs. Hormones
Stress happens when life is full but still within your control.
Overwhelm happens when life’s coming at you and control disappears.
Hormonal change? It magnifies both.
Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone affect every cell in your body: mood, sleep, focus, and energy. When they shift, even high-capacity women can feel like they’re losing their edge.
You’re not weak. You’re wired differently now.
What You’ll Learn at At Capacity
- Why you can’t focus — and how to stop the “I’m losing it” spiral when your mind stumbles.
- The difference between stress and overload — and the one thing you can do today to start feeling better.
- A 15-second reset that stops overwhelm and brings you back to calm.
Because the truth is, women aren’t broken.
We’ve simply been operating in systems that were never designed with our biology in mind.
Wouldn’t you agree it’s time we stopped calling normal biology a personal flaw?
When your body has margin, your life regains capacity.
Join us on October 25th at The Club at Nevillewood, Pittsburgh.
Tickets → AtCapacitySymposium.com
Captain | Author | Aviation Wellbeing Advocate
Reyné O’Shaughnessy is a retired FedEx captain, TEDx speaker, author, and founder of the nonprofit Aviation Health and Wellbeing Institute (AHWI). With over 35 years in the cockpit and a lifelong commitment to advancing safety and performance in aviation, she now champions the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of high-performing professionals. Through AHWI and her national retreats, she creates bold spaces for women in aviation and beyond to recalibrate, rise, and return to themselves.
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