How to understand the messages your period might be trying to give you
What’s your earliest memory of periods? Perhaps it’s what you heard your mum or another female relative saying about them when you were growing up. Maybe it’s what you learned at school or through talking to friends.
Or like some women it could be you didn’t know anything about periods at all until you got your first one.
I’m sure I’m not alone in having grown up thinking that periods were just about bleeding - the 3-7 days commonly described as “that time of the month”.
I don’t remember learning about the rest of the menstrual cycle and what was actually going on in my body.
Period health is a vital sign
Navigating my way through infertility and starting to use homeopathy made me more curious about my periods and how hormones were affecting my body.
Our menstrual cycles aren’t just about those few days in the month when we bleed. Nor are they only useful for having babies.
Every day of our cycle has a rhythm and significance.
In 2015 the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommended that the menstrual cycle be used as a fifth vital sign when evaluating the health of menstruating teenagers.
Vital signs are important for measuring and monitoring how our bodies are functioning. Just like our pulse rate or blood pressure, our menstrual cycles are so much a part of who we are that they affect our overall health.
When they aren’t functioning properly then nor do we.
When we aren’t functioning properly, then nor does our menstrual cycle.
We can improve our overall health by understanding our cycles better.
Cycle tracking
The best way to understand your menstrual cycle better is to start tracking it. If you’ve ever done this for the purposes of getting pregnant, you’re probably already familiar with the different stages of the cycle.
The idea of tracking might seem strange if you’re no longer or not yet focused on fertility, but disruption in your menstrual cycle can often be the first sign of an underlying health issue such as a thyroid disorder or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Noticing what’s going on in our cycle can wake us up to areas of our life that need attention.
Author of the book Period Power, Maisie Hill says tracking your menstrual cycle is the greatest act of self-care you can give yourself - and it’s free :-)
She divides the menstrual cycle into 4 phases, each one corresponding to the four seasons of the year:
Winter: this is menstruation, when you bleed
Spring: pre-ovulation phase
Summer: ovulation
Autumn: the pre-menstrual stage, a week or so before your period
A healthy menstrual cycle will include all 4 distinct phases, but the length of each phase will vary for each of us and at different times in our lives.
Maisie Hill describes how we each have our own personal “powers and pitfalls” in each season, and getting familiar with them can help us take better care of ourselves.
For example, if you know you feel tired and just want to hide away during your period (winter), you’ll feel better if you don’t make plans to socialise that week!
Of course it isn’t always possible to change your calendar or commitments, but having an awareness of your symptoms in each season of your cycle will help you navigate the difficult days and reduce the likelihood of you feeling overwhelmed.
Knowing when in your cycle you feel good and have the most energy can also help you make the most of those lighter days!
Tracking your cycle on a daily basis doesn’t need to be onerous – you can simply keep notes in a notebook or on your phone, or use an app such as Clue or Kindara.
For further tips on cycle tracking I recommend Maisie Hill’s Cycle Strategy
What does good period health look like?
For years I assumed everyone’s period lasted 7 days because mine did. I also assumed everyone experienced period pain because I did.
In her book Period Repair Manual, naturopathic doctor Lara Briden describes normal periods:
cycle length of 21-35 days
period lasting 2-7 days
small clots are normal, large ones aren’t
menstrual fluid is red to reddish-brown in colour
total fluid lost in one period is about 3 tablespoons (you shouldn’t need to change your pad or tampon more frequently than once every 2 hours during the day)
mild cramps are normal, pain that stops you in your tracks isn’t
Perhaps you’re used to coping with difficult symptoms and haven’t thought about whether your periods are normal? Here are some common – but not normal – symptoms:
irregular periods (fewer than 9 in a year or a difference of more than 8 days from cycle to cycle)
no periods
heavy bleeding
spotting between periods
large clots
pain that requires you to take paracetamol or ibuprofen
headaches
mood swings
Tracking your cycle will give you valuable information about your symptoms and whether they’re improving or getting worse.
It will help you make links between what’s going in your life and how that’s impacting your cycle.
If your period is late or absent for example, it could be the result of a stressful event during your Spring (pre-ovulatory) phase.
Knowing that stress can increase the length of the menstrual cycle is very powerful information, particularly if you’re trying to get pregnant.
Homeopathy can help
We all feel differently about having periods. For some women it’s life affirming and they enjoy the ritual of having a cycle. For others though it isn’t such a positive experience.
If you have painful periods or have to deal with heavy bleeding then you might be holding out for the day when they disappear altogether!
Even if you don’t have problems with your periods, you might just see them as a discomfort you could do without.
However we feel about our menstrual cycle, the truth is we aren’t “on” or “off” it – it’s there all the time even when we’re not bleeding, and it’s a way for our bodies to communicate with us.
It provides a rhythm to our lives and has a huge impact on our mood and wellbeing.
It can take a bit of detective work to figure out the messages our periods might be trying to give us – but when we do, we have incredibly valuable information we can use to make positive changes in our lives.
I can help you understand what’s going on with your menstrual cycle and get to the bottom of what might be causing your symptoms.
Homeopathy is a gentle, individualised treatment that can help the body resolve imbalances so that it can function normally.
Book a free call with me to find out more about improving your period health:
Further reading
Period Power by Maisie Hill
Period Repair Manual by Lara Briden
The Fifth Vital Sign by Lisa Hendrickson-Jack
The Autism-Friendly Guide to Periods by Robyn Steward – this is a fantastic book for anyone wanting to know about periods. It’s written in a gender-neutral style and is a great resource for all parents, not just those of children who are autistic.
Menstrual cycle awareness: Spring
Menstrual cycle awareness: Summer
Menstrual cycle awareness: Autumn
Menstrual cycle awareness: Winter
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