This is about periods

‘That time of the month’?

Very few women get used to periods without difficulty: it is a huge thing that happens to our bodies every month which we don’t have control over and it takes a lot of getting used to…

The hormone changes, the pain, the mood swings, the mid cycle pains and the plain inconvenience of periods can affect our wellbeing in a negative way – and the fact it is every month means sometimes we only just feel ‘back to normal’ when we go through it all again.

Therefore, sadly, it’s not surprising that this feeling of lack of control can lead to the increase of self-harming around the time of our periods: we all experience our bodies differently, our pain thresholds are different, our hormone levels fluctuate differently and our ability to manage such changes differs to – basically, just because your friend seems to cope with hers, doesn’t mean you should find your periods a doddle to cope with.

Many young women tell us their self-harm increases around the periods – often a few days beforehand when the Pre-Menstrual Tension kicks in as our bodies shift in preparation for our periods. For some this means huge mood swings, feeling very low, many tears; for others, it is an increase in feeling angry and tense at everything and anything: these changes in mood, make you may feel out of control.

Then comes a week of having your period; the pain, feeling sick, possibly feeling unhappy with your body and annoyed at the issues it brings – P.E at school, staying over at a friend’s or just having to cope with life. The impact of periods is often over looked but the link between your period and your self-harm is worth exploring.

Some thoughts and ideas:

  • Keep track of your period – use a phone app or a diary; how often do you have them? It will help you feel more prepared if you know roughly how many days it is between your periods.
  • If you have very painful or irregular periods – you don’t have to put up with it. It might feel embarrassed to talk about, but, honestly, your doctor will not be embarrassed. There are medications for very heavy, painful or irregular periods – talk to your doctor.
  • Four days before your period is due make sure you get enough sleep, eat a good balanced diet and have a good pattern of relaxation. This will help your moods but also rest your body for the impact your period has on it.
  • Anything you can do to relax your body to relieve the muscle tension may help in your period – baths, gentle exercise, breathing techniques…try them all and work out what is best for you and your body.
  • During your period the urge to self-harm may increase: use distraction techniques, talk about your feelings, write about what’s happening in your body and your mood – see if you are able to make any links. Look after yourself, make sure you feel clean, dress comfortably, use relaxation apps or YouTube clips, eat well and healthily.

Sadly, there isn’t much research done about why self-harm increases just before your period but please, be assured, you aren’t alone in this.

via GIPHY

ALUMINA

Alumina is a free, online 7 week course for young people struggling with self-harm. Each course has up to 8 young people, all accessing the sessions from their own phones, tablets or laptops across the UK. The courses take place on different evenings of the week and are run by friendly, trained counsellors and volunteer youth workers. You don’t need an adult to refer you or sign you up, and no-one will see or hear you during the sessions – you’ll just join in via the chatbox. We want to help you to find your next steps towards recovery, wherever you are on your journey.

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