SEPTEMBER 2026
Hormones & Mental Health
The evening explored what's really happening beneath the anxiety, the rage, and the mood shifts of this transition — from the hormonal and nervous system changes shaping how we feel, to a Traditional Chinese Medicine lens that treats emotions as information rather than something to eliminate.
Not a night of wondering what's wrong with you — a night of understanding what's changing, with the right knowledge and the right women beside you.
DATE: September 23, 2026
LOCATION: Heliopolis, Calgary
SPEAKERS: Dr. Jenn Bunzenmeyer and Dr. Tanya Kelloway
The Second Gathering — Hormones & Mental Health
A room full of women, many meeting for the first time, saying things out loud that rarely get said at all.
Women described it as finally feeling understood and less alone: sharing stories and realizing they weren't alone in the rage, the anxiety, or the overwhelm of not knowing which version of themselves would show up that day.
The expertise was real, drawing on both clinical and Traditional Chinese Medicine perspectives in a warm way. It was clear, honest, and welcoming from the moment they walked in.
THROUGHOUT THE EVENING, OUR CONVERSATIONS EXPLORED TOPICS INCLUDING:
How shifting progesterone and estrogen affect calm, mood, and serotonin, and what chronic stress does to cortisol and the nervous system
Why the same feeling, like rage, can have very different roots from one woman to the next, and how Traditional Chinese Medicine reads the pattern underneath
Why this stage brings long-quieted needs to the surface, and learning to set boundaries and ask for what we want
Identity and what comes next- "this is our era": menopause as a new stage of life rather than decline
Practical ways to support ourselves through it
Meet Our Trusted Speakers
Dr. Jennifer Bunzenmeyer
DOCTOR OF NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE
If you left The Warm Room thinking, "maybe my hormones really are playing a bigger role in how I'm feeling than I realized," you're not alone. So many women are doing all the "right" things and still feel tired, overwhelmed, foggy, or not quite like themselves.
That's why I wanted to give you something you can start using right away. 4 Natural Secrets to Feeling Energized, Happy & In Control Again covers four of the foundational areas I spoke about that night, the ones I've found most effective in over 20 years of working with women in perimenopause. Here’s to feeling more energized, happy and in control again.
Dr. Tanya Kelloway
DOCTOR OF ACUPUNCTURE, TCM
Plot twist: Dr. Tanya is writing a book.
She said it out loud for the first time at our September gathering.
The Menopause Map: Finding the pattern in what feels random is a work in progress, and you can follow along as she writes it, with ideas, articles, and sneak peeks of the book along the way.
Key Takeaways
1. Be your own data collector
When an emotion hits, get curious before you judge it. Ask: what was happening when I felt this? Notice what came before it, what's going on in your body, and what you needed in that moment. Try "I'm experiencing anxiety" instead of "I'm an anxious person." You don't have to solve it yet. Start by collecting the information.
2. Build your team
You are worthy of support. Find the people who see you and listen: a naturopath, your MD, a nurse practitioner, a chiropractor, a TCM practitioner, whoever you need. Your team can change as you do.
3. Your physiology is changing. It's not in your head.
Shifts in progesterone, estrogen, and cortisol are real, and they affect your mood, sleep, and stress response. What worked for you before may not work now, and that isn't failure. This stage needs a different toolkit.
4. Support your bones, and keep moving
Bone health is the one we forget. Lifestyle choices matter, so talk with your care team about calcium and what's right for you. Resistance training and regular workouts count too, and they're oxygen for your brain as well.
A Taste of the Evening
Want a glimpse of the night? A few moments are worth watching for yourself:
Before the program officially began: check out the atmosphere at the Warm Room gathering. [HERE]
An all too familiar story about rage and the guilt that follows, and how Dr. Tanya responds: "I see someone whose biology is changing, and I get curious." [HERE]
Dr. Jenn and Dr. Tanya on what's happening in the body when rage and anxiety show up out of nowhere, from progesterone and cortisol to Liver Qi stagnation in Traditional Chinese Medicine. [HERE]
Dr. Jenn and Dr. Tanya's key takeaways: be your own data collector and find your team that will empower you to be who you want to be. [HERE]
Gallery
Your seat is waiting.
If Sep 23 sounds like a room you wish you'd been in, you don't have to miss the next one. Every gathering is different, but it always feels like The Warm Room.
Trusted Resources
Dr. Jenn Bunzenmeyer's Natural Secrets to Feeling Energized, Happy & In Control Again: practical ways to help women with perimenopause feel better in their bodies again
The Menopause Map: a guide Dr. Tanya created for our gathering, with space to notice what's changed, track your own patterns, and work out what support to look for next
Who Have I Become? When Anger and Irritability Show Up in Perimenopause: A Deeper look at Liver Qi Stagnation and how Traditional Chinese Medicine looks for patterns by Dr. Tanya
Shared for educational purposes only, not medical advice. Please talk with your own doctor or qualified health care professional before making any changes to your health care.
To every woman who walked into that room on September 23 — thank you.
You came ready to listen, to laugh, and to say the things that don't usually get said out loud. Some of you arrived on your own and left with new connections. Every story you shared and every question you asked made the evening what it was.
A special thank you to Heliopolis, Calgary, and to Bishoy and his team, whose warm welcome and thoughtful food and drinks made the room feel like ours from the moment the doors opened.