Enjoying your periond???

[thefinerthingsinlife]

I have seen on here a few times about how some of you manage to enjoy your periods

I hate every minute of mine. I end up getting really upset about it because it's so heavy and painful.

I really wish I could be more positive about mine, and hopefully that will rub off on dd.

Please can you give me tips on how not to hate my periods.

TIA

I want to enjoy my periods too...well not enjoy them as such, but at least reclaim them from the learned, I believe, attitude that they are shameful, unpleasant etc. I think it is a feminist issue because I think we have learned to hate our periods from living in a patriarchal society for far too long.

Women living in pagan societies celebrated their periods as a very wonderful sign of fertility, power and strength. Women can make life - isn't that something to celebrate?

But I hate mine. I don't get much pain, I just hate dealing with them; and I wish I didn't. I also don't want to pass that onto my children. I tried a mooncup, and on the times it worked, I did manage to feel good about my periods. I'm very environmentally conscious and hate throwing things away and I think using the mooncup took away the feeling that my period was not only an inconvenience to me, but also a danger to the environment! However, I couldn't get on with it, after months of trying, and resorted to pads and tampons...and hating my period again.

Last month I bought and tried sea sponge tampons and was pleasantly surprised to find I loved them! I actually enjoyed (for want of a better word) the sense of connection I felt with my body by rinsing them out each time I changed it, rather than disposing of my blood as quickly as possibly with the tampon or pad; and I loved feeling that I wasn't impacting on the environment anymore.

another vote for the mooncup here....used to get really dreadful periods...heavy and painful. with the mooncup, i don't get any of that awful "dragging" pain that was constant with tampons...periods are MUCH lighter too, although this has happenned very gradually over about 20 months or so...

I'd like to add to the conversation, but hope I don't get slammed for it as my views might seem a bit weird.

Ok, when I began my periods I hated them - they were heavy, painful, inconvenient and I spent most of my time hoping I wouldn't leak on my school uniform and hiding everything away from my family. I used to get up early and stick my sheets in the wash because I bled a lot, I'd throw my knickers away and buy new ones because I was too embarrassed about the whole thing.

They got a bit better when I was on the pill. Fast forward to now and I have a completely different attitude. It will sound strange to say that it is my husband who has helped shape this. When I first met him and he talked about having a good attitude towards them I thought I'd met a weird fetish guy and headed for the nearest exit. But then I realised he was on to something,

For the first time in my life I didn't have to hide them away, it didn't matter if I got blood on the sheets and I didn't have to pretend it wasn't happening.

The result? A lighter, pain free period. I switched to washable pads instead of disposables (never got on with tampons or mooncup) and have never looked back. Now I understand the amazing gift of menstruation, of a woman's ability to create life, of the natural rhythm that we are bound to month in month out. My DH accepts that I get a bit grouchy with PMT, that I get tired sometimes and that other times it's completely different.

With his attitude I've changed mine to welcome everything about my cycle and yes, I 'enjoy' it. It's not really the whole period thing I 'enjoy' - because let's face it, it's messy to deal with (especially when you don't use internal protection), but I 'enjoy' what it stands for, how I feel good as a woman and I'm immensely proud that my DD can't wait to start hers and has a very open, positive attitude about it - I feel I've broken a long ancestral negative / hide it away / shameful to be a woman belief.

As I said, many of you will find my post weird, but if it helps one or two of you then that;s great

I wouldn't say I enjoy having my period but alot of the time I am very happy to get it. This is because I get very swollen and sore breasts about 10-14 days before I get it,swollen tummy, cramps etc for days before I get it. So when i finally get my period, it is as if someone has stuck a pin in a balloon. I instantly feel more comfortable as my breasts and tummy "deflate" and I feel more comfortable.

The cramps suck though but at least they aren't as bad as they used to be. They were horrendous in my late teens and early 20's.

I thought of getting the mooncup but I don't see how I could manage it at work. Emptying it in a small loo stall with no basin to clean it would be like a blood bath I doubt it would be hygienic to leave it in from 7:30am until 7pm which is the length of time I am out of the house. Tampons suit me but they do get harder to use towards the end.

I hate them because they hurt. Bah. Can't use a mooncup due to cervical prolapse (thanks, DS). But I don't like the two weeks before them either. In fact, I have one really good week every month and will not be sorry to be rid of them. Only another 15 years or so to go.