Blood boiling—an alliteration that might sound appealing, but that meaning of heat can be hard to take. My hands and toes are cool. However, the rest of my skin is hot to the touch. It’s uncomfortable and natural—annoyingly so. My temperature rises at night, and I wake with an achy, bloated body. It happens for all women, at one point or another; but to this day, there’s still a negative connotation towards…
That Time of Month!
With unexpected appearances, it’s nice to keep supplies on hand. Through time we’ve seen new products of menstrual cups and period underwear, along with new tampons and pads. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to these products, or even a way to keep them clean enough to continue to use them. We are all living life through different experiences, and it can be difficult to see from another perspective. This means Mother Nature’s Gift has to be dealt with in numerous ways. At a young age, women will start to pass down their knowledge of how to handle this “gift.” There’s no returns or refunds, just trial and error, as we learn more about ourselves.
Shark Week
Did you know that studies have shown magnets can repel sharks because it interferes with their senses? The conversation of Periods seems to have a similar effect on people. There’s pain, physically and emotionally! And being as human as we are, there’s a tendency to discuss what causes us physical and emotional pain. As uncontrollable as it is for a girl to have her period, it is completely controllable in how we act and comfort her during that time. This conversation shouldn’t be so strained to discuss. We shouldn’t have to hide, be embarrassed, or be restricted by a period. The conversations about this—a Woman and her Period—are endless. Some are wild, beyond my comprehension. There are so many external factors that magnets are repelling me from even trying an attempt on the conversation.
Aunt Flo
This makes me reflect inwards on my own experiences. I got my first period when I was 13. I was lucky to be in the comfort of my own home, with supplies on-hand from my older sister. I wish there was a way to wait, well into the time when I was ready to have children, but there’s no choice—as natural as it is. Usually I can tell when I’m about to get my period. My breasts feel bigger than normal, and they ache from what feels like being a punching bag—so running for a workout today is out of the question. My hips feel stiff and my stomach starts to cramp. I want to curl up in the fetal position, but I also want to eat a bowl of ice cream. Oh, the difficult decisions to make. The headaches, the nausea, and cramps lessoned once I started birth control at age 18. Birth control in itself starts a whole additional repelled magnet for people, along with new struggles of access. It’s all about finding the right methods that work for you, so you can figure out how to handle your own period.
Occasionally my birth control—along with my athletic lifestyle—will knock my period out for months, which is a blessing. With time I learned what my favorite tampons and panty-liners were, and I discovered what the right pill was for me. The first birth control pill knocked my hormones for a loop, causing my period to last for twenty straight days. I’m glad I’m not overly emotional during my regular cycle. However, I was greatly tested during those twenty days. It was worse when I got a week off from that 20-day period, and then Aunt Flo came right back the next week. I greatly appreciated the new pack of pills that left me years without a period.
It’s not dangerous to not have your period. Simply being an active person can keep you from getting it. As my OBGYN told me, “It never hurt your health when you were a little girl, and it won’t hurt your health as you get older and go through menopause.” Not having your period for months, or even years, doesn’t affect your health at all. Even without getting my period, sometimes I’d occasionally still get cramps during that time. Menstrual cramps feel like two small baby hands squeezing my ovaries…sometimes one more than the other, or both with a ferocious grip that says, “Here they are!” My imagination gets the best of me sometimes, but I think that’s a good description of what it feels like. That kick in the balls just comes and goes throughout the seven days. You are so lucky if yours lasts only four to five days. I consider skipping and not getting it for a month, or even those years of college swimming, a true blessing.
Crimson Tide
We should continue to talk and discuss our personal experiences, so we can share with those who will inevitably go through this stage of life. Just maybe, this continued conversation can reach more people in a way that makes Periods less stigmatized. The magnets will attract, rather than repel, and we can work together. We can always learn to be more open and accepting, especially towards something as natural as getting a period. The tide will roll in, and those first few days of high tide can be the worst, but instead of tearing down further, let’s build up an understanding. Having your period sucks already, so let’s not make it worse?
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