Let’s start with the obvious:
We live in a society where ultra-processed food is everywhere, movement is optional, and stress is constant. To avoid developing diabetes in this environment, you practically have to live like a monk—intentional with your food, intentional with your movement, intentional with your rest.
And I’ll be honest with you:
I know this too well.
Because my lifestyle has changed dramatically. I’ve become the healthiest version of myself—eating differently, moving my body regularly, taking my wellness seriously in a way I never have before. And it’s working. My mind is sharper, my mood is steadier, my body feels good.
But here’s the part people don’t talk about:
This balance takes constant, consistent work.
And the trade-off is real.
My social life has become almost nonexistent—not because I don’t enjoy people or connection, but because maintaining this level of intentional health in a world built for convenience and chaos is… a lot. To stay well, you have to opt out of things that most people are casually doing every day.
If I, with all my knowledge and tools, have to work this hard to stay metabolically healthy, imagine what the average person is up against.
And that’s part of what sparked this whole line of thought.
Insulin Isn’t Just About Blood Sugar—It’s About Hormones
This is where things get really interesting.
We think of insulin as the “blood sugar hormone,” but it’s actually a master signal that affects:
the ovaries
the adrenal glands
the brain
sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen, progesterone)
mood regulation
inflammation
When insulin is chronically high, whether from lifestyle, stress, genetics, or environment, it can throw the entire hormonal system off.
Many women experience this through something called PCOS, which is often described as a reproductive disorder but is deeply connected to insulin resistance. In other words:
PCOS is diabetes’ hormonal cousin.
But even without a PCOS diagnosis, many women have subtle hormonal imbalances driven by insulin dysregulation. And the symptoms? Whew.
low motivation
anxiety or irritability
depression
low libido
emotional overreactivity
brain fog
fatigue
difficulty losing weight
trouble initiating or completing tasks
These are the same symptoms people bring into therapy every day.
Androgens, Attraction, and Why So Many People Feel Flat
Here’s another layer we don’t name enough:
Androgens (testosterone and related hormones) shape not only our sex drive, but our motivation, confidence, energy, clarity, and ability to feel desire.
Both women and men need healthy testosterone levels.
But:
insulin resistance lowers testosterone in men
insulin resistance raises androgens in women (often in a chaotic, imbalanced way)
inflammation and cortisol blunt sexual desire
low dopamine makes us feel disconnected and indifferent
Think of the consequences:
People feel less attractive.
People feel less attracted to others.
People feel tired, flat, unmotivated, or emotionally reactive.
People withdraw from dating, relationships, and connection.
And then we ask them to “improve their communication” or “be more vulnerable” without addressing the biological issues making them feel disconnected from their own bodies.
This Is Why So Many Clients Can’t Do the Bare Minimum
Let me say this gently but clearly:
Many people in therapy are not resistant, lazy, or unmotivated.
They are metabolically unwell.
When your insulin is unstable…
your energy drops
your brain fog increases
your sleep suffers
your hormones fluctuate
your mood becomes unpredictable
your drive and motivation collapse
You literally can’t do what the therapist is asking—not because you don’t want to, but because your physiology is underwater.
You cannot mind-trick a body that is drowning biologically.
And as a clinician, that’s a hard truth to sit with.
The Loop We’re All Caught In
Here’s the pattern I keep seeing:
We eat ultra-processed food and don’t move enough.
Insulin rises → metabolic dysfunction begins.
Hormones become imbalanced (testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, cortisol).
Mood shifts → depression, anxiety, irritability, emotional overwhelm.
Relationships suffer → low libido, no drive, no energy.
Loneliness increases → sadness deepens.
We eat more to cope → move less.
Insulin rises again.
Repeat.
It’s a closed loop.
A metabolic-emotional-relationship loop that many people don’t even know they’re inside.
This Doesn’t Replace Stress or Trauma—It Interacts With It
My work will always center chronic stress in Black women.
That’s the long-term project. The lifelong mission.
But lately, I’m expanding the lens.
Because chronic stress affects insulin.
Diabetes affects hormones.
Hormones affect mood and attraction.
And all of this shapes mental health.
Black women are disproportionately affected by chronic stress, medical racism, undiagnosed metabolic disorders, and hormone imbalances. It would be irresponsible not to name the biological component.
Where I’m Going With This
I’m not making medical claims.
I’m not diagnosing anyone from a distance.
I’m not pretending that mental illness is “just” hormones.
What I am saying is:
There is a silent metabolic undercurrent shaping how we feel, how we love, how we show up, and how we heal.
And I want to explore it.
In my writing, in my research, in my clinical work.
Because if we’re going to understand mental health in 2025 and beyond—especially for Black women—we cannot ignore the role of:
insulin
diabetes
hormones
chronic stress
inflammation
attraction and relational patterns
There is something here.
A loop.
A pattern.
A story that hasn’t been fully told.
And I’m going to keep asking these questions until we unravel it.
Stay tuned.
More to come.