PMS. What is it?
According to https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/premenstrual-syndrome
It's a group of symptoms linked to the menstrual cycle. PMS symptoms occur 1 to 2 weeks before your period (menstruation or monthly bleeding) starts.
Assorted symptoms include the following; mood swings, tender breasts, food cravings, fatigue, irritability and depression.
Cure - NONE
This is an element of life for some. Whether you are woman or a man it will affect you in some way at some point in your life. It's not at all talked about in the past as freely as is it now. If you are like me and countless other women, in life this will affect you, mildly to extreme.
To continue our existence these things must take place. Should we even search for a cure should we treat this as a disease? Can we take it in strides? After all we are women and this is nature. Nature does what it wants. The internet offers countless options dealing with the symptoms of PMS; Eating the correct foods, limiting intake of certain elements deemed to exasperate symptons. As shown here:
http://www.webmd.com/women/pms/premenstrual-syndrome-pms-treatment-overview
A woman's cycle is complex, everyday a change occurs in our bodies to facilitate reproduction. It's not something that we can control, Period. I found this short video on youtube to be really accurate in my own struggle.
Accordingly, some women have about a week of being "normal" and I find it particularly interesting that testosterone plays a huge part of us being "on our game."
Nonetheless, this is a struggle I deal and many women all over the world deal with. The struggle of being normal when our biology is reeking havoc on us constantly. We women are in constant change. It makes me understand that song by Chaka Khan "I'm every woman" very clearly now, because it really is "all in me."
I am no fan of what has to happen in me to continue our existence, it sucks. I realize that this attitude is very wrong. I should be elated that I was chosen to bear this responsibility, that within my body, I have the correct ingrediants to foster life, and that makes women important. Just like in nature we can have all the seeds in the world, but they mean nothing without the right terrain and the right terrain means nothing without the seed of life, I get it!!
The by-product of continiuig life...this PMS is what gets me down. It's becoming more intense the older I get. (I'll be 35 this year) No amount of careful dieting, being mindful, embracing my gift of continuing life helps when my hormones are raging. I can get all the magnesium I need and avoid sugar, caffeine and alcohol, leading up to the inevitable. I have tried everything to combat my symptons. Meditation, dieting, excercise. But, what I realized is I like to eat as healty as I can on all days until... surprise surprise, the PMS cravings start. I can meditate and be mindful on all days until PMS comes in and holds my brain hostage. I can pinpoint exactly when my time is coming simply by noticing my actions.
This is how it usually plays out.
Period - For days 2,3,4, I am in excrutiating pain. It's nothing like my period of old, between the ages of 12-27, when it didn't really affect me and my ability to continue forth in my day to day life was not encumbered. During these painful days I spend my time being mindful, because I don't want to dull anything with pain medicine, I want to accept it, therefore somehow limiting the pain I actually feel. For the most part in the past, I would take excedrin, advil, tylenol. No more OTC medicines for me, so I checked out the natural remedies like black cohosh, red clover and camomile to alliviate the pain and keep me calm. The natural herbs help me as much as the pain medications. However, last month I didn't have any of my natural remedies and I took an advil, I'm not happy about it at all and it made me feel like a fraud. I explained away my weakness to myself (ugh) by saying you need to take this because of a particular job I was engage with at the time and I was around people. Nonetheless, it only helped for a short period of time, that period of time I spent also beating myself up about it, so not worth it. The previous times I beared the pain, why couldn't I do it this time? The answer is easy. I didn't want to be mean. Simple as that.
For a week and a couple of days after my period, I am normal, I can think clearly, I can get stuff done and I'm in great spirits about it. Hell, I'm walking on air. No one can touch me (by-product of testosterone, I'm sure). Simply, at this time I am in beast mode, nothing gets by me, I can handle any and everything with cool, calm collected thoughts.
Then.....
Going into the 3rd week after my period. My first sign starts with me being super clumsly. I run into doors, drop everything, my cooking is off, usually I'm putting too much salt on something. Nothing sastifies me. I notice my thinking is off, i.e. not communicating effectively with my family, but "knowing" it makes sense in my mind.
The week before my period, my honey calls it my "WOLF MOON" time. I am angry, agressive and not thinking clearly. EVERYTHING IS A PROBLEM, at this point I know my hormones are out of whack and I know what I'm on about is not serious at all. I am still agrgresive, sarcastic and straight up mean. I check myself in my head and go through my list of questions.... Is this really that serious, would you be upset that this happened at any other time than now... and EVERY SINGLE TIME, wouldn't you know it I agree with the crazy, my brain isn't fuctioning on all levels, so I stew, I'm entitled and I don't give a fuck. It's at this time when I start to hate my life, hate everything that I have going on. Also, this is the particular time when my daughter starts to get on every last nerve I have ON PURPOSE, so I think. This is the time where my beautiful husband who would do anything for me grates on my sanity. You see, he recognizes the symptons and what do men primarly start to do.... try to FIX things. Annoying UGH!!!!!
So, I digress, I want to be alone in this thing, I think I need to be alone in this, because even though I know EXACTLY what's happening, I can't for the life of me control it. So, my instinct is, be alone, save the world from this insanity. Is this right? I don't know but it makes sense to me in my brain.
PMS is tricky and I don't have the cheat codes for this aspect of life. Grin and bear it is all I can do.
Ladies and Men I would love to hear your stories about when PMS affected you drastically and what you find useful in this inevitable aspect or life.