Periods Can Hurt As Much As A Heart Attack

Periods can hurt as much as a heart attack. It is an intense, invasive, throbbing, monstrous, diffuse and hopeless pain. It is neither rare nor extraordinary.

Many women have experienced painful episodes at some point in their lives or even every time they have their period.

We are used to seeing commercials on television, which depict the rules as a micro-world filled with laughter, clouds, wonderful smells and joy.

However, this does not reflect the reality of women and even less the 50% who suffer from this mixture of pain, discomfort and discomfort.

Advertising and society often go to great lengths to cover up the period pain and discomfort we experience during this time.

However, the punishment is not limited to the false reality of the rules, shown as “the wonderful world of cotton”. We also suffer from a prejudice that says that during this time we are “bad”. Two sides of the same coin.

We are not wicked, we are blessed: against the stigmata

Periods have always been associated with bad humor and meanness in women. However, as Christiane Northrup points out, it is unfair to separate the rules from what they offer us, that is, this natural and blessed ability to conceive of life.

Plus, who hasn’t heard the mockery of those who don’t understand the pain and discomfort of periods?

Thus, the fact that this is “a female evil” in a scientific world that has been eminently male and macho throughout history, makes it difficult to realize the need to study these questions.

Even if we wear sanitary napkins, we can shed scientific light on the pain that accompanies the onset of menstruation and which continues throughout them with decreasing intensity.

This pain and all the symptoms that accompany menstruation are linked to ovulatory cycles and respond to an inter-relationship between psychological and psychosocial factors.

If there is no physical damage that explains it (such as endometriosis), this set of symptoms is called primary dysmenorrhea.

Symptoms, although variable and diverse, may include the following:

• Abdominal pain.
• Severe back pain, especially in the lumbar area.
• Cramps in the abdominal and lumbar areas.
• Pain in the legs, especially in the thighs.
• A general and continuous malaise.
• Headaches and frailty.
• Nausea, vomiting and a lack of appetite.
• Abdominal edema.
• Diarrhea or constipation.
• Pain in the chest.
• Dysphoric feelings.
• Stains on the face and pimples.

It is good to know that these symptoms are real and that some women experience them extremely difficult during this time. 

Dysphoric symptoms: sadness and irritability before and after menstruation

During the days leading up to and during the first days of menstruation, women are subjected to great hormonal changes which can cause severe pain and a deeply sad, unstable and irritable state of mind.

Far from being pathological, it is normal and frequent (even if there are communities which claim that it is pathological).

So, during these days, one can experience:

• Mood swings: It is usual to feel sad, to often feel like crying, or to have a greater sensitivity to rejection.

• Intense irritability and nervousness: this contributes to generating conflicts.
• Feelings of hopelessness and thoughts of rejection of oneself.
• Anxiety, tension or an intense feeling of being on edge.
• Decreased interest in things that interest us at other times.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Lethargy, fatigue or lack of energy.
• The need to get a lot of sleep and the inability to get to sleep.
• The feeling of being exhausted and not in control.
• Etc.

Here are other reasons for mockery, which piss off the sufferer even more: “You can see that you have your period”, “periods should be called“ monstruations ”because you turn into a monster”, “When these days -It will be over, we can discuss ”etc. 

What woman has never heard such comments? Not just from men, but also from other women who don’t understand.

It is important to be careful with this, because we help to stigmatize the rules and the discomfort, and it does nothing to alleviate the discomfort that occurs during this period.

When we are suffering from these symptoms, we should know that the best way to overcome them is to relax because this helps us not to focus on the pain, to endure it and to cope more easily with the problems triggered by the period.

Remember that these problems can arise and knowing and sharing them should help us normalize the changes and discomforts that women experience each month.

We are hormonal boats and sometimes we sail a rough sea and other times a calm sea. Understanding this is not just a woman’s problem.