When I was younger and started having periods I used to be in agony every time. I was prescribed with Mefanemic Acid tablets, if you know you know!
I remember once at our school playing fields, we were divided into groups for various sport activities. That day it was rounders and a bit of running around a 400m track marked in on to the grass with that white paint stuff.
I had come on my period a day or so earlier yet when rounders came about, it was one of my favourites.
There were the ‘big batters’ that were very important when it came to rounders and choosing your team.
I was one of the them and could also throw far so I was very much required in the game.
When it came to deciding your teams, it was a sense of achievement when people were shouting for you to be on their team. It was probably the only place at school where I felt myself and comfortable.
I was needed which I liked and I could be myself.
With going to an all-girls school being difficult enough, it was hard to find a place to fit in and feel comfortable. Yet when it came to sports, a lot of the girls were not interested in sports.
Although there were few of us, the ones we did have were focused and dedicated to the task in hand. Which made us stand up to the rest when it came to big sports competitions against other schools.
The only problem when you are on your period, everything changes and everything feels different.
You don’t want to catch, you don’t want to throw and you certainly don’t want to run around at all.
It’s almost like having an argument in your own mind about making these choices. Because, the period days affect everybody in a different way.
Can’t say I have met anyone that breezes through it without even half a day of discomfort. If you are out there, please let me know what your secrets are!
I got on with it one day and played our different sets of rounders games. Afterwards we came into one big huddle with our teacher.
All of a sudden, I felt the oxygen totally leave my head, stars started to appear and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor with my head in my hands.
There are so many elements to a women’s menstrual cycle. Stress can affect not only your ovulation but your period too. And I believe every woman should take care and understand their own body and their own cycle too.
Your menstrual cycle, like the rest of your body can be easily affected by your environment, mental wellbeing and your stress levels.
Can stress delay my period?
There are many factors that contribute to the regularity of your cycle and make your period late. Like with our skin, hair and nails, stress can be a major factor with your period too.
Whilst most of us will experience delays within our period cycle at some point in our lives.
Some women can experience frequent irregularities.
Everyone is different – there is no ”normal”. But understanding your body is important so that you can detect changes.
If you haven’t already, I strongly urge you to use a logging system for your cycles.
I decided to come off birth control over a year ago. Not to get pregnant, but to be natural and allow my body to work the way nature intended.
Without the need for extra hormones added into the mix.
It’s a personal choice and not one I would force on to anybody. This came from my own experience. I started to suffer with mood changes and tried changing my pill to an oestrogen only pill.
I then did my own research and saw what side effects the pill can have on a woman’s body. I decided from there, to be totally natural with it and I have loved it ever since! No babies…yet 😊
I use Natural Cycles. An app on my phone that calculates my cycle each day. It also predicts when I will have my next period and experience PMS symptoms.
I take my temperature every morning as soon as I wake up and log it into the app. It’s amazing because you can keep track of your temperature. Since our temperature tells us so much, not just about your cycle, I find it very useful and important to measure this daily.
I am lot more in tune with my body and although, I suffered a little more with pain for the first half a day when my period arrives, I can honestly say, I will not be touching another contraceptive pill again.
Contraceptive pills do work for a lot of women. But that doesn’t mean you can’t also take control and understand your own body a little better too!
A late period or anovulation can be a reaction to emotional and or physical changes. Some such as diet changes, stress levels and exercise variations.
It is considered to be the bodies natural way of preventing contraception in a non-ideal environment. Many women do still conceive during stressful periods in their life as we are all different and we will experience all of these things differently.
How to manage stress?
This is a biggy because there is no exact formula to this but all I can do is offer some pieces of advice to you.
I am someone that struggled with stress and could be known to fly off the handle when I am passionate about something. Or feel like I or my pack are being attacked.
However, I have learnt to React opposed to Act. Some ideas that help me manage my stress levels are as follows;
Stick to a morning routine.
Whilst our lives offer different challenges each day, a routine in the morning can lead to more efficiency throughout the day.
A morning shower goes a long way. Sometimes, it can be tempting to stay in your PJ’s a little longer than usual. But getting up moving around and having a cold shower wakes me up and sets me up for the day.
Morning Movement; I try to do a bit each morning.
When I am in bed, before get up – I wake up with my body. And do a movement meditation before jumping put of bed and getting on with my day.
I start from the bottom at my feet and activate them right up through each body part to the top of my head.
If you find it difficult to do this, you can also play gentle sounds through your phone. There is no right or wrong way just trust yourself and have a go.
