Couch Talk W/ Dr. Anna Cabeca

Your brain on birth control can have some pretty horrific side effects on your body. That’s why, when you’re considering going on the birth control pill, you need to research the current evidence out there, weigh up the pros and cons, and make an educated decision. Sarah E. Hill, author of This is Your Brain on Birth Control, joins me to talk about what actually happens to our bodies when we’re on the pill. Sarah is a psychologist who specialized in studying women’s health and the birth control pill, in particular, after she noticed some changes to her body when she came off it. The biggest thing she discovered was that being on the pill actually damped her personality traits - coming off it allowed her actual likes, loves, quirks, and dislikes to shine through again. Sarah explains what role cortisol has in our bodies. We’re often scared into thinking cortisol is such a negative hormone, but actually, it has a lot of positive actions. When we’re taking the birth control pill, however, it’s almost like our bo