If you are dealing with painful periods, unwanted symptoms, or mood swings, or are working through fertility issues or grieving a pregnancy loss, it can not only physically hold you back in your education, career, or from following your passion but also takes an emotional toll on confidence, self-compassion, and belief in yourself. 

Furthermore, you are likely confronted with perplexing messages about your hormonal and reproductive health every day. This messaging can come from friends, family, healthcare professionals, and other sources. Plus, you’ve probably been taught to ignore the physical and emotional pain that is often a direct result of hormonal imbalance. 

For example, one vintage Tampax ad depicts a happy, confident woman who is skydiving with the headline, “People tell me to sit down and relax — I tried it once.” Many companies use active, athletic women as a way to depict powering through period pain and other discomforts or health challenges, no matter what. While the intention of ads such as these is to make the point for equal treatment of women, they actually reinforce the messaging around ignoring hormonal health. 

The reality is that, for many of us, period pain, symptoms related to hormonal imbalances, and other health challenges do hold us back. Why? Because we are taught not to speak about them. Because we are taught to not vocalize our needs. Because the tools and education we need to be able to advocate for our needs aren’t available to us. 

80% of women report decreased work productivity during their periods.

66% of trans men who menstruate report feeling unsafe or very unsafe when having to use a public restroom during their period.

Women with PCOS are 4 times more likely to experience depressive symptoms than women without PCOS.

Women with endometriosis lose an average of approximately 5 hours of work productivity per week. 

14% of women with moderate-to-severe PMS and PMDD report more than 8 hours of missed work per cycle.

85% of women undergoing fertility treatment reported effects of treatment on their day-to-day work.

After experiencing a miscarriage, over 30% of women experienced depressive symptoms. 

Aknowledging when symptoms and emotions interfere with daily life while rejecting the idea that uncomfortable symptoms are normal, and working toward naturally healing the root causes of symptoms to achieve optimal health. 

Sources:

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/6/e026186

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21173657/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28650252/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1049386709001066

https://fertilitynetworkuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/SURVEY-RESULTS-Impact-of-Fertility-Problems.pdf

https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1471-0528.2010.02653.x