You may be familiar with this from those around you: more and more women are complaining about irregular cycles, PMS, the agonizing feeling of exhaustion shortly before their period, stubborn weight gain, mood swings that can hardly be explained - or menopausal symptoms that seem to start earlier and are more severe than in the previous generation. And more and more men are reporting declining vitality, diminishing libido, emotional emptiness, lack of drive or belly fat that persists despite exercise. In children and adolescents of both sexes, we are seeing alarmingly early puberty, acne and mood instability. What is going on? Why do the hormones of an entire society seem to be out of balance? The answer is not simple - but it is instructive. Hormonal problems rarely arise from a single factor. They are an expression of a system that has come under pressure. A body that reacts more sensitively than we thought for a long time. And a time that wears on us - on levels that we often don't even fully understand.