Dr. Catherine On Wellness

A Letter to Your Perimenopausal Vagina

Nobody gives you the talk about where your vagina is headed after 40. Here's the honest version — what actually changes, what helps, and who to ask.

Do You Find It's Hard to Ask for Help?

Why so many women can give endlessly but can't receive a kindness — the childhood conditioning underneath it, and the week I practiced letting it in.

The Healing Is in the Music

Music is the language of acupuncture. Twenty years in, here's how sound became half the treatment in my practice, and why the powers that be have always found it dangerous.

21 Days of Being Enraged: What Women's Anger Is Trying to Tell Us

My acupuncturist gave me homework: write down everything I'm angry about for 21 days. Here's what suppressed anger does to women, and why it needs somewhere to go.

Your Body Is Screaming — Can You Hear It?

A 6 a.m. call with my college roommate turned into a reckoning: years of pouring everything into everyone else while our own bodies quietly broke down.

A Cooler Kind of Summer Eating: The Quiet Genius of Vegetables

Why eating your vegetables is the smartest way to survive a heat wave—cooling foods, phytonutrients, and the Chinese medicine wisdom behind staying cool this summer.

I Melted Down My Grandmother's Ring for My Daughter's 21st

On her daughter Ava's 21st birthday — a home birth in Providence, four generations of mother-daughter trauma, and a grandmother's ring remade into two pendants that rest over the heart.

Why Millet Is Your New Best Friend (Especially in Midlife)

Millet is gluten-free, low-glycemic, and nourishes yin in Chinese medicine — making it one of the most powerful breakfast grains for women in perimenopause and menopause.

Facial Acupressure Points: The Complete Guide to a Lifted, Glowing Face

A practitioner's guide to facial acupressure: the points, the real benefits, and a simple daily routine for brighter, firmer, calmer skin.

Is Your Bone Density Quietly Declining? What Every Woman Over 40 Needs to Know

Women can lose up to 20% of bone density in early menopause. Here's the honest, evidence-grounded guide to protecting your bones through perimenopause and beyond.

Acupuncture Demystified: What I Tell Every Patient Who Asks

What actually happens when an acupuncture needle goes in? A practicing doctor of Chinese medicine explains the TCM framework and the modern science—fascial planes, the interstitium, and what your b...

What Is the Estrobolome, and Why Not Pooping Is Jacking Up Your Hormones

The estrobolome is a collection of gut bacteria that controls how your body processes estrogen. Learn why regular bowel movements matter for hormone balance in perimenopause and menopause.