Happy Girl Winter: How to Overcome Seasonal Depressive Disorder
Why Aren’t Menstrual Pain and Mental Health Seen as a Valid Reason to Miss Work?
We wouldn’t think twice about missing work and events in general when it comes to the flu or other physical discomfort, so why do we overextend ourselves when it comes to our periods? People who menstruate deserve and quite simply should take time off when they are on their periods as they are a normal and natural thing we cannot control. The shame around periods just pressures us into pushing through the day rather than resting…
The Pain Gap: Why is Women’s Pain Not Taken Seriously?
The relationship between women and pain is an interesting one. Studies show that, globally, women experience more pain over their lifetimes than men. It is the expectation that women will inherently experience pain. This expectation forms the basis of the phenomena of the pain gap. This bias that women are expected to experience pain their entire lives is now deeply embedded into modern medical discourse…
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder and Me: How My Menstrual Cycle Impacts My Mental Health
What I began to recognise was that my mood and levels of anxiety, as well as my relationship with food, would fluctuate throughout the month. While we all have our good and bad days, the cyclical nature of my symptoms was unmistakable. After doing a little research, I came across PMDD (Premenstrual dysphoric disorder). The easiest way to explain PMDD is as an exaggerated and extreme version of PMS (premenstrual syndrome). The reality, though, is hard to describe…
‘Don’t Hide Your Tampons in Shame’: Breaking the Stigma Around Menstruation and Learning to Love Your Period
Various cultures and religions have made comments on menstruation. The Bible states, “…in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean… whoever touches… shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening” (Leviticus 15). The Quran tells people to “go apart from women during the monthly course, do not approach them until they are clean” (Quran 2:222). These comments are dated in more ways than one, but they point to the historical manifestation of the shame around periods…