Girl's guide 2.0

PMS - Why you have it and how to handle it

PMS stands for premenstrual syndrome, and is a common thing that women can get before their period. Usually, you get PMS up to a week before your period, but it's different for different people.

Symptoms include:
Irritability or hostile behavior
Feeling tired
Sleep problems
Appetite changes
Tension or anxiety
Depression, feeling of sadness, or crying spells
Mood swings
Headache or backache
Swollen or tender breasts
Bloating
Cramping
Clumsiness

(These are taken from the womenshealth.gov website)

PMS can be both hard and confusing to deal with, since it isn’t something that is talked about a lot. (What I’ve found at least). You might wonder why you feel like this, why pms even exist, and the truth is researchers don’t actually have a clear reason why. But they think it might have something to do with the hormone levels that change during the menstrual cycle.

PMS can be hard, but there are ways to handle it and to make it better.

When you have PMS, don’t be too hard on yourself. If you feel down, try to do things that you like, that you feel good and relaxed while doing.

Some other things you can do include:
Exercise
Exercising during the month can help against such things as depression and fatigue! Even just taking a walk can do something!
Eat healthy
Try to eat good and regularly.
Get enough sleep
Getting enough rest can help a ton. Not sleeping enough can increase anxiety, depression and moodiness.
Don’t stress
Stress can make symptoms worse. So try to not stress. Find ways to cope with your stress, maybe try journaling or yoga or just find someone to talk to.

But while all this things can help, the most important thing to remember is that it's nothing wrong with you. PMS can suck, and you might feel a lot of things at the most weird times. But that doesn't mean it's something wrong with you. PMS is normal.

But if you don't feel a lot that is normal too! PMS is different for everyone, and it can be different for different age groups. A lot of women have the most struggle in their thirties.

If your PMS is so hard that you can’t live your normal life, than you should contact a doctor that can help you! There is something called PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder), which is when the symptoms are so hard they feel like the symptoms of depression and anxiety. If you think you have this, contact a doctor and you might get a subscription for it.

Feel free to ask questions or just rant in the comments!

And remember: periods and pms are normal and nothing you should feel ashamed of!!

This is probably the last post for this book. It’s been so fun being a SGC admin, we'll miss you!
Love you❤️