Dr. Jolene Brighten
drbrighten.com
Dr. Jolene Brighten
@drbrighten.com
⚡️ Hormones | (Peri)menopause | AuDHD education
✨ Founder @drbrightenessentials.com
👩🏽‍⚕️ NMD, FABNE, MSCP, Certified Sex Counselor
If you could ask for any women’s health condition to get more research funding, which would it be?
June 11, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Look, if you don’t want to use HRT, you should be supported in that

But just because you chose a different path doesn’t mean you need to tell everyone else it’s the only path

Bioindivual medicine that gives women the option to choose and be supported in their choices is the way
June 10, 2025 at 2:11 PM
In case it isn’t clear, autism is not a disease.

I am autistic.

I didn’t contract autism.
April 15, 2025 at 8:22 PM
You can’t gaslight women about their health and simultaneously tell shame them for searching for answers you’re not giving them on google.

Well, I guess you can (and a lot do).

But…
April 15, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Have you ever felt unheard or dismissed by a doctor?
April 12, 2025 at 10:14 PM
If you’re not autistic and feel your opinion on the autistic experience is more valuable or important than those living it—you are wrong.
February 23, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Autism and ADHD are not the result of a dysregulated nervous system.

A dysregulated nervous system is the result of autism and ADHD.
February 23, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Autism is genetic.
Symptom presentation is epigenetic.

You can address the symptoms, but you’ll never change the fact they are autistic.

We can want to improve the quality of life for an autistic without erasing autism (aka who they are).

#ActuallyAutistic
February 22, 2025 at 3:47 PM
If you’ve ever benefited from my work or learned a thing from me…

Now’s a good time to let you know that I wouldn’t be here had my family not immigrated to the US.

Many of your favorite people on the internet are immigrants or just a gen or two removed.
January 31, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Too often when people say, “progesterone makes me feel awful” and I ask them what their experience has been, the answer is the pill.

Friends, there is NO progesterone in the pill.

It’s progestin.

And if it makes you feel awful, rest assured research exists that validates this experience.
January 31, 2025 at 3:10 PM
PMDD is a disability.

It’s not just “period problems” or a “bad case of PMS.”

It’s a serious disability and deserves both the respect and accommodations that come with that classification.

#PMDD
January 31, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Untreated ADHD is associated with higher substance abuse.

This is literally someone self medicating.

But when leveraging ADHD medication, substance abuse drops significantly.

#Adhd medications do not work for everyone, but they should always be an option considered in the context of your needs.
January 31, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Given how January has been going, what at the odds we see more research funding and improvements in women’s medicine?
January 31, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Taking even 15 minutes to relax & calm your nervous system can have a positive impact on your hormones.
January 13, 2025 at 9:01 AM
A friend said to me today, “you always just disappear to work on a project and then come back with something big. It’s like you hide it from us.”

I hyperfocus.
I get tired when I pour into my passions.
I can go long periods of time without people.

Or simply, I’m #autistic
January 13, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Did you know if you eat a meal with baked fish, baked sweet potatoes, spinach, broccoli, and pumpkin seeds, you’ll give your body what it needs to make insulin?

Here’s the breakdown:

1/4
January 13, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Taking even 15 minutes to relax & calm your nervous system can have a positive impact on your hormones.
January 12, 2025 at 6:23 PM
People saying “late onset ADHD” drive me nuts.

Because the only thing that is late is medicine actually recognizing your struggle.

We’ve been dealing with this our whole life and now perimenopause has made it so we can’t deal.

#adhd
January 8, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Did you know that if you eat an omelette with onions, garlic, cheese, and spinach that you have all 3 amino acids to make glutathione.

Glycine
Cysteine
Glutamate

1/2
December 4, 2024 at 7:26 PM
If you have a really hard time before your period & you identify as ADHD or autistic, you need to know that’s not just a coincidence.

ADHD and autistic people experience higher rates of PMDD.
December 2, 2024 at 1:35 PM
Mocktail Recipe:
Minty Pomegranate Refresher
If you’re someone susceptible to gas and bloating, mint can help. In addition, pomegranates provide polyphenols, which are great for your blood sugar and your ovaries.

Recipe 👇🏽
November 28, 2024 at 3:07 PM
Some people will shame you for indulging.
Some people will shame you for gaining weight.
Some people will shame you for not wanting to gain weight.

I don’t want you to feel a bit of shame & I want to honor that there’s very good reasons why you might have to watch your calories during the holidays.
November 28, 2024 at 3:05 PM
Estrogen is key in making dopamine.

Estrogen is naturally lower during
- the second half of your cycle
- postpartum
- late perimenopause
- menopause

These are times we also see ADHD symptoms increase, become unmanageable, and medication less effective.

#ADHD
November 28, 2024 at 2:52 PM
You know one reason why so many 40-something women are finally getting their diagnosis of ADHD or Autism?

It’s because masking and just pushing through is a hell of a lot harder when perimenopause starts.

And burnout is much more likely.
November 28, 2024 at 2:12 PM
People often say hormones are the worst when experiencing #perimenopause and menopause symptoms.

Friend, it’s your hormones leaving that’s the problem.

That’s why many feel better with hormone replacement therapy when they’re a candidate.
November 28, 2024 at 2:11 PM