Support for PCOS in Anna Paulowna
Have you been diagnosed with PCOS and noticed that your symptoms affect your daily life? Do you have an irregular cycle, few or no periods, acne, excess hair growth, hair loss, fatigue or concerns about your fertility?
PCOS affects not only your body, but also how you feel. Because your symptoms are so personal and vulnerable, they can affect your connection with yourself, your body, your sexuality and your sense of womanhood.
Perhaps you are tired of worrying, searching for solutions and feeling concerned. Perhaps you have often been told that you “just have to learn to live with it”, while deep down you feel that more is possible. I believe things can be different. And somewhere inside, you feel that too.
PCOS is a hormonal and metabolic condition that affects your cycle. Your periods may be irregular or absent. Symptoms such as acne, excess hair growth, hair loss, fatigue or weight fluctuations can also have a major impact on your daily life. This can leave you feeling insecure.
PCOS is not only a physical condition; it can also affect your connection with your body. You may spend a lot of time thinking about your cycle, diet, weight or lifestyle. You may want to do everything right, but notice that this creates pressure too. Your relationship with your body can change as a result. From my own experience of lichen sclerosus, I know how vulnerable women’s health concerns can feel. That is why I understand that PCOS is not only physical, but can affect you deeply on an emotional level too.
What does support for PCOS in Anna Paulowna look like?
Your nervous system forms the foundation of your health and vitality. It influences your hormones, digestion, immune system, emotions and the way you respond to stress. Women’s health concerns never exist in isolation. Your body and emotions continually affect one another. This often receives too little attention in healthcare, even though for many women with PCOS it can be an important key to feeling better.
Perhaps you recognise the pattern of always carrying on, caring for others and adapting yourself. Constantly keeping all the plates spinning is not only stressful and exhausting; it also takes you further and further away from yourself. I help you break that cycle.
In the sessions, there is space to slow down and feel what you truly need. Together, we look at what PCOS does to you and what it asks of you. By combining ACT coaching with body-oriented exercises, we explore not only the symptoms themselves, but also what may be going on beneath them. Step by step, this can bring greater calm to your mind and body. From there, space for recovery can emerge.
“From the very first moment, it felt safe and familiar, and I am incredibly grateful to Lotte for her warm way of coaching. Thanks to her, I feel happier, lighter and full of energy again.” — Isa
What is PCOS?
PCOS stands for polycystic ovary syndrome. It is a hormonal and metabolic condition in which ovulation often occurs less regularly. As a result, your cycle may be longer or irregular, or your periods may sometimes stop altogether. PCOS can also involve elevated androgen levels. These hormones are often referred to as male hormones. They can cause acne, excess hair growth or hair loss. An ultrasound may show several small follicles in the ovaries.
Why is PCOS sometimes called PMOS?
PCOS is sometimes called PMOS: Polycystic Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome. This name is used because PCOS does not only involve the ovaries, but also your metabolism. The older name PCOS focuses mainly on cysts in the ovaries, but that picture is not entirely accurate. They are usually not true cysts, but multiple small follicles. Nor does every woman with PCOS have this appearance on an ultrasound.
PMOS makes the broader nature of the condition clearer. PCOS can be associated with your cycle, ovulation, hormones, insulin sensitivity, metabolism, skin symptoms, energy, weight and fertility. For many women, PMOS therefore feels like a better description of what is happening in their body.
What do stress, tension or long-term overload have to do with PCOS?
PCOS is a hormonal and metabolic condition. Stress is not the cause of PCOS, but long-term stress can affect how your body functions. If you experience a great deal of tension, sleep poorly or have few opportunities to recover, your body may respond more sensitively. Stress can affect your energy, sleep, mood, hormones, eating behaviour and the way you experience your symptoms. It can also make it harder to sense what you need. With PCOS, where there is often already a great deal of focus on food, exercise, weight and the menstrual cycle, this can create additional pressure.
My support pays attention to your body, nervous system, thoughts and feelings. You learn to recognise when your body has been “switched on” for too long and what you need to settle again. This gives your natural capacity for recovery more space and can help greater balance to emerge, physically and mentally and emotionally. This can be supportive alongside PCOS and the impact your symptoms have on daily life.
Is coaching suitable alongside medical or lifestyle support for PCOS?
Yes. This support can sit alongside medical support, lifestyle advice, medication or support from other healthcare professionals. While medical care and lifestyle support focus mainly on the physical aspects of PCOS, my support creates room for the psychological and emotional layer. PCOS can affect your self-image, trust in your body and relationship with food. You may also have concerns about trying for a baby. My support does not replace medical care, but can offer complementary help with how you navigate PCOS and its impact.
Can support help if PCOS makes me feel insecure?
Yes. PCOS can have a major impact on how you see yourself and your body. Symptoms such as acne, excess hair growth, hair loss, weight fluctuations or an irregular cycle can leave you feeling insecure. The pressure surrounding lifestyle, fertility or “looking after yourself properly” can feel heavy too. There is space for this uncertainty in the support I offer.
What can support offer you if you have PCOS?
✔ Your mind becomes calmer and you worry less about your symptoms.
✔ You feel more relaxed in your body and pelvic area.
✔ You learn to listen to and trust your body’s signals.
✔ You gain clarity about your boundaries, needs and desires.
✔ You live according to your own rhythm and cycle, and what truly suits you.
✔ You feel more in control of how you deal with PCOS.
Dear woman, from my own experience of lichen sclerosus, I know how deeply intimate symptoms can affect you. But I have also learnt that they can be an invitation. They can open a path back to yourself. For me, this may have been the most remarkable journey I have ever taken. A journey from always carrying on, caring and adapting. Back to connection. To the intimacy of being allowed to come home to yourself. To being truly present with what you feel, long for and deserve. This journey is here for you too, if you feel that now is the time to take that step.
VERBINDING Programme
VERBINDING is for women with PCOS who feel: things are truly allowed to be different now. Women who do not only want to gain more control over their symptoms, but above all long for a deeper connection with themselves. Over nine weeks, we meet every other week for a total of five sessions (online or in person in Anna Paulowna, the Netherlands). Between appointments, you receive inspiring exercises and support via WhatsApp. You will also receive the workbook De Verbonden Vrouw (The Connected Woman) to support your process. The fee for this programme is €595.
Book your free discovery call today
Practice in Anna Paulowna
I support women with PCOS at my practice in Anna Paulowna, the Netherlands. Sessions take place in our welcoming garden room, surrounded by greenery. The practice is easy to reach for women from the surrounding area, including Julianadorp, Callantsoog, Schagen, Wieringerwerf, Breezand, ’t Zand, Hippolytushoef and Den Helder.
Words from other women
11 years’ experience as a therapist | More than 10,000 hours of therapeutic support
“I really appreciated looking together with Lotte at where I was getting stuck and what I needed. She thought things through with me and helped me find my way, but did not do it for me. It truly was a journey we undertook together. Thanks to Lotte, I have come closer to myself and experience far fewer physical symptoms and negative thoughts. I always found the atmosphere warm and pleasant. Lotte is very attentive and radiates calm, while also being direct and honest. A lovely combination. I would certainly recommend coaching with Lotte if you want to find more calm within yourself.”
Marianne
“During the programme with Lotte, I went through an enormous transformation. Her approach is particularly valuable because it is not a quick fix, but a complete programme. When I encounter challenges now, I consciously pause with those experiences and apply the new insights. This has changed my entire perspective. I felt safe with Lotte from the beginning; she proved to be a warm and skilled coach. It felt like a shared journey in which you are not alone.”
Nikki
“Over the past few months, I followed a coaching programme with Lotte. Through many exercises and conversations, I learnt an incredible amount about myself and my symptoms. It is a very personal programme, but Lotte is highly knowledgeable and had a good sense of what I needed. There was also always space for me to say what felt right for me. From the very first moment, it felt safe and familiar, and I am incredibly grateful to Lotte for her kind and warm way of coaching.”
Lisanne
“Among other things, I was looking for more calm in my mind and a deeper connection with my body and feelings. Lotte has a great deal of knowledge and experience, and works with gentleness, love, calm and creativity. She always seemed to know exactly what I needed. The combination of ACT and yin yoga was the ideal way for me to engage more physically alongside our conversations. It was something I had never experienced before and proved very valuable. I also received personal exercises to work on. I learnt a great deal and am grateful that I was able to do this together with Lotte!”
Merel
Women from Julianadorp, Callantsoog, Schagen, Wieringerwerf, Breezand, ’t Zand, Hippolytushoef and Den Helder, among other places, come to my practice in Anna Paulowna for support with PCOS.