A Healing Intention by Arjuna

A Healing Intention by Arjuna Naturopath, Nutritionist & Herbalist, Reiki Master, Bach Flower Remedies, Homeopathy, Iridology

One of the more impactful changes some women notice during perimenopause is that smells seem different.A perfume they ha...
08/06/2026

One of the more impactful changes some women notice during perimenopause is that smells seem different.

A perfume they have worn for years suddenly feels too strong. Walking past someone wearing fragrance can lead to a dizziness. Scented candles, cleaning products, or even the detergent aisle can start triggering migraines, irritation, or nausea.

Because it seems unrelated, many women do not immediately connect it with hormonal changes.

What is often happening in the background is that the body is becoming more sensitive overall. Hormonal changes play a role, but so can stress, poor sleep, nervous system load, histamine responses, and how much the body has been carrying over time.

When the nervous system is under pressure for long enough, it can become less tolerant of inputs that it previously filtered without much effort. Fragrance is one example of that.

This is why sensitivity to smells is rarely just about the smell itself.

It is often part of a broader pattern that can include changes in energy, sleep, mood, stress tolerance, and how the body responds to the environment more generally.

A comment that comes up from time to time is, "I thought I was imagining it."Often it’s a perfume someone has worn for y...
06/06/2026

A comment that comes up from time to time is, "I thought I was imagining it."

Often it’s a perfume someone has worn for years. Nothing about the fragrance has changed, but suddenly it feels different. It might trigger a headache, nausea, or dizziness - becoming something you no longer want to wear.

What can be confusing is that there is often no obvious explanation.

Many women are used to looking for a clear cause when something changes (partly due to experiencing medical gaslighting). When they cannot find one, they start looking for answers….

What they don’t often find out is that changes in sensitivity are actually something that can happen during perimenopause.

The body is responding to a different hormonal environment and becomes hypersensitive to stress, sleep quality, nervous system load, and the cumulative effect of everything it has been adapting to over time.

Sometimes fragrance sensitivity is the thing that gets noticed first. Other times it sits alongside a growing awareness that the body is responding differently to lots of things that once felt easy.

For many women, there is relief in understanding that these changes are not random and they are certainly not imagined.

Have you noticed that certain smells, perfumes, or products feel different than they used to?

A lot of women reach a point in perimenopause where they realise they no longer have the same tolerance for things they ...
04/06/2026

A lot of women reach a point in perimenopause where they realise they no longer have the same tolerance for things they used to push through quite easily. That can show up emotionally, physically, relationally, and often sexually as well.

What I find interesting is that many women have spent decades disconnected from what actually feels pleasurable or supportive for them because they’ve been focused on everyone else’s needs, expectations, schedules and responsibilities. Then perimenopause arrives and suddenly the body becomes much louder about what it no longer wants to tolerate.

That can feel confronting at first, but it can also become an invitation to reconnect with yourself in a very different way.

If you’re wanting support navigating libido, hormones and nervous system changes during this stage of life, you can book a consultation here:
https://a-healing-intention-by-arjuna.simplecliniconline.com/diary

02/06/2026

A pattern I notice often with women struggling with libido is that their nervous system rarely gets a genuine opportunity to slow down. The day is usually filled with work, messages, family responsibilities, planning, organising and constantly thinking about what needs to happen next.

By the time evening arrives, many women are physically tired but still mentally alert, and it becomes difficult for the body to shift into a state where intimacy or desire feels accessible.

A simple place to start is creating one small pocket of stillness in the day where your body is not processing constant stimulation. That might look like sitting outside quietly for a few minutes, eating without multitasking, walking without listening to anything, or allowing yourself moments where you are not immediately responding to someone or something else.

Those quieter moments can help create a greater sense of safety and regulation in the body over time, and that often has a flow-on effect into libido as well.

31/05/2026

Arjuna explores how perimenopause can shift the way many women experience pleasure, intimacy and desire. It often becomes a time of questioning what genuinely feels enjoyable and supportive, rather than continuing patterns based on expectation, performance or routine.

For many women, this stage becomes an opportunity to reconnect with pleasure in a more personal and meaningful way.

29/05/2026

Arjuna shares that during perimenopause, libido changes are not always just about oestrogen. As progesterone declines, many women feel more wired, tired and emotionally sensitive, which can make desire much harder to access. Certain hormonal medications may also influence the hormones involved in libido and desire.

One of the things that comes up often in conversations around libido is how quickly women blame themselves when desire c...
27/05/2026

One of the things that comes up often in conversations around libido is how quickly women blame themselves when desire changes. Usually by the time we’re talking about it, they’ve already spent months wondering whether something is wrong with them, whether they’re too stressed, too tired, too disconnected, or whether this is simply what happens as you get older.

But when we slow the conversation down properly, there is usually a much bigger picture sitting underneath it. Sleep has changed. Stress has been sitting in the body for years. Hormones are shifting.

The nervous system has been running in a constant state of responsiveness for so long that there is very little space left for pleasure, intimacy, or even feeling connected to themselves.

This is why I approach libido through the lens of the whole person, not just one symptom in isolation.
If this is something you’ve been navigating and you’re wanting support that looks at hormones, nervous

system health and the deeper drivers underneath it all, you can book here:
https://a-healing-intention-by-arjuna.simplecliniconline.com/diary

One thing that is often overlooked in conversations around libido is how closely desire is connected to nourishment and ...
25/05/2026

One thing that is often overlooked in conversations around libido is how closely desire is connected to nourishment and energy availability in the body.

By the time many women reach their 40s, meals have often become rushed, inconsistent, or built around convenience rather than actual nourishment. Breakfast may be light, lunch gets delayed, and many women are running on coffee, stress, and very little support across the day without fully realising the effect this can have over time.

During perimenopause, certain nutrients become increasingly important because they help support the systems involved in hormones, mood, circulation, energy production, and nervous system regulation, all of which influence libido in indirect but important ways.

Some examples include:
• Zinc, found in pumpkin seeds, oysters, red meat, and legumes, which supports hormone health and testosterone production
• Omega-3 fats from salmon, sardines, chia seeds, and walnuts, which help support mood, circulation, and nervous system function
• Magnesium from leafy greens, dark chocolate, almonds, and avocado, which supports stress regulation and sleep
• Protein from eggs, fish, tofu, Greek yoghurt, chicken, and lentils, which helps support energy, muscle health, and hormone production
• Iron-rich foods such as red meat, spinach, and lentils, which can help support energy when stores are low

A simple day of meals could look like:

Breakfast: Eggs on sourdough with avocado and sautéed spinach
Lunch: Salmon bowl with quinoa, leafy greens, olive oil, and pumpkin seeds
Dinner: Lamb or lentil bowl with roasted vegetables and tahini dressing

This is not about eating “perfectly” or trying to force change through food alone. It is more about supporting the body consistently so it has the resources it needs to feel more energised, resilient, and responsive overall.

Many women notice that when nourishment improves, energy, mood, and connection to their body often begin shifting alongside it.

24/05/2026

The noise fades. And suddenly, you feel it — something is off about what you’ve been chasing.

Not wrong. Just... not yours.

When our emotional roadmaps get distorted in childhood, we don’t just inherit beliefs — we inherit hungers. Cravings for things that were never really ours to want and these can start to rear their head in perimenopause and show up in spaces like desire and libido.

This can look like a need for approval or not voicing your “no”. A setting aside your deepest needs for your partner or making ourselves believe that *this* is what we love.

In these moments, I encourage stillness as it has a way of telling the truth. In stillness we are not going to abandon ourselves for others, we can take the time to be present with ourselves, pause and choose our next steps.

Often issues with desire and libido simmer away, but our biological and physiological changes that happen in peri, demand our attention. It waits — until you’re ready to hear the difference between what you genuinely desire and what you were taught to need.

If you’re in that quiet right now, let it speak.
This is the work. 🤍

A lot of women describe this change in ways that are actually very similar once the conversation opens up properly.They ...
23/05/2026

A lot of women describe this change in ways that are actually very similar once the conversation opens up properly.

They might say they still love their partner, but they do not feel desire in the same spontaneous way anymore. Or that intimacy feels like something that now requires more time, energy, or emotional space than it used to. Sometimes it is less about libido disappearing completely and more about feeling mentally full by the end of the day.

What is important to recognise is that these changes are often happening alongside many others at the same time.

Women in their 40s are frequently balancing a very different mental, emotional, and physical load than they were earlier in life. Sleep changes, stress accumulates differently, hormones shift, and there is often very little time where the body feels genuinely rested.

Under those conditions, it makes sense that intimacy and desire may begin to feel different too.

Have you noticed changes in your libido or the way intimacy feels in this stage of life? Feel free to share in the comments below.

Address

Kiama, NSW
2533

Opening Hours

Monday 5pm - 8pm
Tuesday 10am - 8pm
Wednesday 5pm - 8pm
Thursday 5pm - 8pm
Friday 10am - 8pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when A Healing Intention by Arjuna posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category