Benefits to PMS?

 

 

 

A friend recently sent me this license plate picture- apparently it’s been around for awhile.  My friend sent it along with the comment – “I would never honk at this woman in traffic!”

Of course, I can relate to the irritability associated with PMS, and one or two days of it is enough, let alone the 24-7.  Yet, whenever I hear or see these types of jokes, I think of Christine Northrup’s book – Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom.

 

In this work, Northrup speaks of PMS and what it can serve in a woman’s life.  Prior to and during PMS, there is a large drop in progesterone, which can affect mood stability.  Northrup’s point, and I would agree, is that although the magnitude of our response may be elevated during PMS, seldom is there no basis for our feelings.  Often in life, we bury irritutions, worries, and concerns as women so we can “get along” and “maintain the status quo”.  During PMS, we may be unable to bury these feelings as well as we normally do– and this is O.K. Usually the “slight event” which irritated us in the first place has been present for some time, and we may or may not have had the courage or strength to express ourselves.  During PMS, we may be giving voice to what needs expression.

Now, I am not condoning all out attacks or rages against others at this time, however, I have found in my own life that after keeping something inside for a month or more, it has been amazing what has come out during PMS–almost an emotionally cathartic cleansing correlating with the physical changes of menstruation.

Furthermore, as Northrup discusses, the later half of the cycle and drop in progesterone may be marked by irritability and increased sensitity. However, this is often more than balanced by the positive, high levels of estrogen at the beginning of the next cycle. At the start of each cycle, with estrogen as the supporting character, women feel on top of the world.  Others in our life benefit from this energy. As much as we are knocked for PMS, we must not overlook the strong, powerful energy we also present at different times in our cycles.