Guest post – influence of periods on our mental health

Today I’m uploading my first ever guest post from the lovely @homeofundersta1 I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

Influence of periods on our mental health

I can say for certain that my monthly cycle has a huge influence on my mental health. This might not be true for every woman and most will experience it differently, but I can describe how it is for me and what happens when I head down the road of hormones again.

I observe the most significant impact on my mental health on the days before my period starts. I would assume that many women experience a similar phenomenon, as it actually has a name: premenstrual syndrome. The name is not really flattering, because it sounds like we have some kind of illness even though we are just experiencing natural biological processes. PMS is related to the hormone cycle and brings suddenly occurring mood swings, most of which tend to be negative.

I often experience feelings and symptoms that when described can sound quite similar to depression, which might be rather rare, since I don’t know anyone personally, for whom it has been this extreme. For me on those bad days it can often happen that I cry and have mental breakdowns. I will feel empty and worthless afterwards, making myself feel even worse by thinking I have no reason to make such a fuss, because I am fine after all and that there are people out there who have real problems. Apart from extremely negative thought spirals and no motivation or energy to get out of bed, it also becomes hard to do even easy tasks, such as showering.

On the other hand, I sometimes experience overly positive mood swings. Even though these almost never occur, it can happen that I am nearly bursting of happiness over a very small thing. I tend to be very jumpy then and some might even say it can be a little annoying. Sometimes it also happens that I change between these two extremes within a very short time span. However, all of these extreme mood swings usually disappear or get better as soon as my period starts.

Apart from these experiences, I also usually have a smaller downturn 2 weeks into my cycle. It is not as severe and rather produces anger instead of sadness, but it is also not pleasant and can lead to a higher amount of fights. I realise that I am just less patient to put up with other people’s shit during that time and I don’t want to say “yes” to everything. That can cause serious disagreements and tension in relationships with other people, who are used to you just agreeing to everything or letting things slide. Depending on how serious those fights are, the result of them usually leads to a further decrease of my mental health.

However, during the two weeks leading up to this smaller dip, I am usually energetic and very productive and motivated. It is during that time that I write most of my blog posts and start new projects. I am in a positive, but balanced mood that is not so over-the-top as the one mentioned before.

Summing up, yes, my menstrual cycle has a rather big influence on my mental health, and I have to admit that hormones often have a lot of power. However, that does not mean that every time I get angry or upset is related to my cycle. Something I am really sensitive to is people saying: “Are you on your period again?” (most of these people are men) just because a woman stands up for herself. I mean, she might be, but that does not matter, because maybe what you just said was plain offensive. I am not saying that you should ignore outbreaks that seem irrational and not say anything, but just think about what you said first and if there is nothing wrong with that, don’t discredit the person in this disrespectful way, but ask what the matter is. I should not turn this into a discussion, so I will leave it at this now, but there are a lot more topics attached to periods and the female cycle that are all worth discussing.

Also, for everyone, who would like to read more on hormones and their influence on our mood, here is a really helpful article: https://www.myhormonology.com/learn/female-hormone-cycle/

I want to say a massive thankyou to @homeofundersta for guest posting on my blog and sharing her story with her periods affecting her mental health but also just for putting her self out there because it definitely isn’t easy. Check out her twitter and blog and give her a follow 😊

Blog – https://homeofunderstanding.blog/

Twitter – https://mobile.twitter.com/HomeOfUndersta1

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Until next time 😊