“Muuuum!” I yelled as I stared down at the blood. She came running in. “What? What?” I showed her the toilet paper. She looked at me with sympathy, “You’ve got your period.”
Like most girls, my mum taught me how to use a pad and eventually a tampon and sent me on my way. There was no menstrual cycle wisdom or guidebook available that she could pass on to me.
Period Shame
The story we have long been told is that our period is a burden. Despite it being completely natural (healthy even!), we are also taught to keep our period a secret every month like it is something to be ashamed of.
I don’t know about you, but I have always hidden my tampon on the way to the bathroom at work. At the beach, I would place my husband Bobby on ‘tampon patrol,’ tasked with making sure the string hadn’t slipped out from my togs.
At school, I remember every girl’s worse nightmare was getting a stain on the back of your skirt. And God forbid, if you got angry or upset at any point, the boys would leer, “She must be on her period!”
I’m not on the Pill and luckily for me, my period arrives regularly every month, without much fuss. I have always thought my period was merely an inconvenience but I know for others, it can be debilitating and feel like a curse.
It wasn’t until a colleague at work recommended the books ‘50 Things You Need To Know About Periods’ by Claire Baker and ‘Period Queen’ by Lucy Peach, that my whole attitude towards my period started to change…
A NEW WAY OF THINKING
Since coming off the Pill, I had started to wonder why some days, I feel on top of the world. I have all of this motivation and smash my to-do list. At work, I can write letters to doctors with ease. I feel confident with my clients and communicate clearly. I say yes to social events. I look at Bobby with love and affection, grateful for everything he does for me.
Then other days, I feel the familiar flutters of anxiety settle in. I start to doubt myself and second guess my decision making at work. I can’t string a sentence together and it takes me ages to write a doctors letter. When the social engagement I agreed to finally rolls around, I think of every excuse under the sun not to go. Suddenly, everything Bobby says or does annoys me to no end and he can’t seem to do anything right.
Then I would beat myself up internally. Why couldn’t I be this brave, confident, productive, social person all of the time? What was wrong with me? (Sound familiar?)
After reading these books, it all started to make sense, it was hormones! And no, my hormones are not all over the place, I’m not just an emotional wreck like I had been led to believe. There is actually a pattern to it, a cycle!
It was also such a relief to know it is completely unrealistic to expect to be the best version of yourself every single day…
MENSTRUAL CYCLE 101
Men have a 24-hour hormonal cycle. Their testosterone levels peak in the morning and decline over the course of the day, replenishing overnight ready for the next day. Women, on the other hand, have a monthly cycle with four different hormonal phases. Your period is just one phase. Lucy Peach calls the phases Dream, Do, Give and Take. Other menstrual cycle coaches and educators like Claire Baker like to name these phases after the seasons.
Our hormones ebb and flow as we move through each phase, affecting our mood, motivation, energy levels, confidence, focus, memory, sleep, libido, food cravings and more. It’s no wonder we can feel completely different from one day to the next!
INTRODUCING YOUR LADY HORMONES
To understand the phases of your cycle and how each one can make you feel, first you need to know the key hormones involved. Introducing…
OESTROGEN
Oestrogen opens the show and stars in the first half of the cycle. Oestrogen is essentially what makes us female – it plumps up our skin and hair and gives us our lovely lady lumps. Known as the feel-good hormone, oestrogen also makes us feel more confident, productive and energetic.
PROGESTERONE
Then we have progesterone which steals the show in the second half of the cycle. When progesterone appears, it has a soothing, calming effect, helping to reduce anxiety and improve sleep.
TESTOSTERONE
Let’s not forget about testosterone. Yes, women produce testosterone too! (Just not as much as men). Testosterone increases your muscle strength, gives you a surge in energy and libido and makes you more inclined to take risks.
THE SEASONS OF YOUR CYCLE
If you have a natural menstrual cycle (i.e. you are not on any hormonal contraception), you will experience each of the following four phases or seasons every month. (Note: the length of each phase is based on the average 28 day cycle so yours may vary slightly).
WINTER PHASE: MENSTRUATION (DAY 1-7)
Your period is the winter phase.
Both oestrogen and progesterone are at their lowest at this point. Because oestrogen and progesterone are what maintain the endometrium (uterine lining), once these hormones plummet, the lining of the uterus sheds and you start to bleed. This marks the first day of your cycle. Bleeding usually lasts around 3-7 days.
Just like in winter, you might feel like curling up in a cave and hibernating away from the rest of the world.
SPRING PHASE: PRE-OVULATION (DAY 7-13)
While you are busy bleeding, the brain sends follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) down to the ovaries and tells a few follicles to start growing. Each follicle contains an egg. As the follicles grow, they produce more and more oestrogen.
Oestrogen prompts the uterus to start rebuilding the lining, like a little garden ready for a fertilised egg to be planted. Just before ovulation, the ovary also makes a little testosterone to get you in the mood to make a baby. Oestrogen and testosterone levels continue to rise, reaching a peak just before ovulation.
You have well and truly emerged from the ‘period cave’ and everything is blossoming and blooming. This phase is the equivalent of spring.
SUMMER PHASE: OVULATION (DAY 14-21)
The peak in oestrogen lets the brain know there is one mature egg ready to be released. The brain sends in luteinising hormone (LH), which helps the chosen egg get ready for its debut.
FSH rejoins the party and both FSH and LH gives the egg the little nudge it needs to burst free of the follicle and leave the ovary, kicking off ovulation around day 14. The egg than travels to the fallopian tube where it lies in wait, hoping to meet a lucky sperm.
The follicle that the egg left behind was what was making the oestrogen, so when it bursts, oestrogen levels drop a little. But then the follicle forms a temporary gland called the corpus luteum and oestrogen makes a second appearance.
Along with oestrogen, the corpus luteum also starts pumping out progesterone like there’s no tomorrow. Progesterone nourishes the endometrium ready for a fertilised egg to be planted. Oestrogen and progesterone are soaring high at this point. This is the summer phase.
AUTUMN PHASE: PRE-MENSTRUATION (DAY 22-28)
But if the egg isn’t fertilised, the corpus luteum starts to shrink and oestrogen and progesterone levels nosedive. With no progesterone or oestrogen to keep it going, the endometrium starts to shed like autumn leaves on a tree.
And just like the seasons, the cycle begins again. Winter returns and you start to bleed.
What if I am on the Pill?
If you are on the pill, you don’t ovulate or produce your own oestrogen, progesterone or testosterone. This means you won’t experience the same ebb and flow of hormones over a cycle. If this comes as a shock to you, you are not alone! I only discovered this a few years ago when I saw a naturopath about coming off the pill. According to Lucy and Claire, some women still report feeling the seasons of their cycle while others feel like they are in the same season all the time. (The latter was more my experience).
YOUR MENSTRUAL CYCLE SUPERPOWERS
How you feel in each phase will vary from person to person. That is why it is important to get to know your own flow and start to track your menstrual cycle.
As you listen to your body, you will start to pick up on patterns and notice the challenges and benefits that each phase brings. (Yes even your period has benefits!). Once you know what these are, you can predict where you will be in your cycle, plan your life (where possible) around each of the four phases and use them to your advantage! This is how you develop, what Lucy and Claire call, your menstrual cycle ‘superpowers.’
In a series of upcoming blogs posts, I’ll be taking you through each of the four hormonal phases in detail, starting with winter.
If you want to learn more, I’d encourage you to get your hands on a copy of Lucy and Claire’s books. Lucy also has a podcast if that is more your jam. And if you have a complicated relationship with your period due to pain, I can’t recommend Dr Peta Wright’s book ‘Healing Pelvic Pain‘ enough.
Courtney x
P.S. Comment below what you have always thought or been taught about your period. Did you ever think it could be a superpower?
