5 Easy Steps to Survive Your Period

5 Easy Steps to Survive Your Period

July 21, 2018

OMG! It’s that time of the month again, and along with it comes all of the drama. Oh but wait you didn’t realize that all of that drama (depression, migraines, mood swings, constipation,  insomnia, cramps, acne, etc. etc.) was because of your cycle. And since it’s all because of your period, and now you know it, your life can be so much happier.

How? Knowing that these challenges you face are just symptoms of your monthly flow, you now are able to have the peace of mind of knowing that this too shall pass.

I went years thinking I suffered from depression until my mom pointed out to me to track when I felt at my lowest. And by golly Ms. Molly, it was right before my cycle started and only then. Once I knew that, I went from having depression to say, it’s just because of my period, and thus being able to change my whole frame of mind.

Step 1 Track Your Monthly Symptoms

Tracking your monthly symptoms are easier now than ever before. There is really an app for everything. I’m currently using Clue since my goal has shifted from keeping track of my period symptoms to TTC. But most of them are free, so go to the app store and play around with a few until you find the one that fits your life.  Make sure it gives you options to select what symptoms you are feeling each day. And remember, your cycle is 28-30 days, not just during your actual period. So some of your symptoms may be around ovulation, just before or right after your period has ended.

Step 2 Blame Your Period

In life, it’s all about mind over matter. Knowing that your depression, insomnia, acne, mood swings and even migraines are only symptoms of your period, you can go from having this condition to it being a temporary thing. And yes, this temporary thing may come every single month of the year. But, it is still temporary.  And now that you’re taking the steps to track your symptoms, you know exactly when they will hit and can better prepare for their arrival.

If you know you have depression or mood swings around your cycle, keep reminding yourself, this is just because of my period. That will definitely help keep things in perspective.  

Whenever I feel that surge of depression creeping into my mind, I tell myself it’s just my period. I really don’t feel this way about myself, my life, or the situation. By doing this, I am able to get a hold of myself and almost step out of myself and look at the bigger picture of what’s really going on. Of course, it doesn’t take the sadness or mood swings away. There are times when I’ll just cry and have no idea why. But then it hits me, “oh girl you’re period is about to start,” and I’m like “oh yeah that’s right.” Then I laugh at myself as I continue to cry for no reason.

Unfortunately, the mood swings do affect others, but even with them, I realized I only had them with the same people each month. The trick was to take a deep breath and smile as I interacted with them, so when my words came out aggressive, they were confused because I had a smile on my face. Or you could just simply try your hardest to avoid those people.

And yes, I am making lite of this situation, because I mean face it. Can we really avoid these things? The key is knowing what you can do to make yourself and others more comfortable during this time of the month.  Which leads us to the next step.

Step 3 Take Precautions

So we’ve tracked our symptoms, based on that, we know which are period related and have put total and complete blame on our periods. Now we can start to take precautions.

This, of course, is for all of the drama that we can get rid of. Even if it will come back next month, we don’t need to suffer from it for more days than necessary. Since we’re talking about periods, TMI is out of the window.

So let’s say you are blessed like me to get migraines and constipation because Aunt Flo wants to visit. But because you are a genius like me, and have started to track your symptoms, you realize that the migraines are actually because of constipation most of the time. Take precautions to eliminate both. A few days before my cycle even hits,  I go into no constipation mode. I haven’t quite figured out why my period causes me to be constipated, but I did figure out that constipation also caused me to have fetal position warranted cramps. And so, I now make sure I detox before my cycle comes so I can have a less likely chance of being curled up on the floor in the bathroom in pain.

If acne breakouts are your period induced drama of choice, think about what foods and facial products you need to add or eliminate to prevent breakouts around that time.

Step 4 Be Prepared

So step 4 can definitely come before step 3, but now, I’m just getting into the basic period tips.

Make sure you have everything you need from protection (pads, tampons, liners) to pain relief before day one of your cycle (the day your period starts). And since you are now using an app to remind you, you know when your period should start each month. No more excuses for not being prepared. The great thing about the app Clue is it lets me indicate when my cycle is light, medium, heavy or just spotting. If your app does the same, you can even track the normal flow of each day of your cycle to make sure you have enough protection with you. And since Aunt Flo has a great sense of humor, it’s always best to have extras just in case she changes her mind this month.

Being prepared also covers how you plan your day.  If you know your cycle causes you to feel light-headed in the heat, it may not be a great idea to plan a day outdoors. Of course, we don’t want or need our period dictating our every move any more than it already does. But you also don’t want to end up having a miserable day because you ignored the signals your body gives you.

Step 5 Know the Tricks

There are so many simple things we overlook that will actually help in making that time happier. You just need to know what they are and if they will work for you. Here are some that I’ve heard of or use.

  • Use a water bottle to create your own hot water bottle for cramps
  • Use a stick on heating pad to relieve pain for up to 8 hours
  • Eating cornflakes (food made from corn) helps with cramps as well
  • Eating melons will relieve constipation
  • Use a cold rag on the back of your neck to relieve migraines/headaches
  • Eating tomato, cucumber, pineapples, or lettuce helps with bloating
  • Drinking hot green tea helps with bloating and cramps
  • Touching the pressure point an inch below your belly button for 30 seconds relieves cramps
  • Avoid caffeine, it makes PMS symptoms worse
  • Take vitamin E twice a day during your period for less pain

 

xoxo Tish

 

P.S. God made girls have periods once a month and give birth, because He knew that guys were not strong enough to handle it. – unknown

 

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