If your cycle feels unmanageable, it's time to understand it
Your body is always speaking. And if you're passively suffering, it's time to listen
Symptom suffering and 'making peace' should never be anyone's default setting.
But despite the barrage of information flooding the internet on the daily, there still seems to be a persisting perception around 'that time of the month', being necessarily debilitating. And that's probably because it is, for most. That being said, this is one of those realities which can, again in most cases, be worked out by simply feeding yourself information, and then accordingly acting on it.
Female cycle health influencer, Brigitte, who goes by the handle @period_and_stuff on Instagram, shares a no-nonsense guide — "Because our bodies aren't rocket science, we just never got the manual," she says.
The basics
Menstrual cycles necessarily run in 4 phases — menstruation, follicular phase, ovulation and luteal phase. The phases in turn, are guided by 4 main hormones, decoding which essentially hands you the key to your holistic well being through the month.
The "core four" hormones, as Brigitte calls them, are estrogen, progesterone, LH (luteinizing hormone) and FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone). These rhythimically rise and fall to impact energy, mood, skin, hunger, libido and overall cycle symptoms.
The specifics
Estrogen: This rises during the follicular phase, peakign during ovulation and dropping during luteal. It directly supports mood, glow, energy, libido and bone health. If it's too high, it can lead to PMS, bloating, breast tenderness and heavy, clotty periods. If it's too low, there's low libido, dry skin, vaginal dryness and very light periods. Brigitte asserts that "estrogen is your 'feel-good sparkle hormone', but only when balanced."
Progesterone: This rises only after ovulation, calming the mind, stabilising the mood, sleep and body temperature. Signs of low progesterone include anxiety, spotting, insomnia, PMS and a short luteal phase. Higher stress (resulting in higher cortisol) uses the same building blocks — less raw material for progesterone leads to stronger PMS.
LH and FSH: Together they determine whether ovulation happens, which is what is the foundation of a healthy cycle. FSH helps follicles grow and boosts estrogen. LH triggers ovulation and switches hormone production to progesterone. If ovulation is irregular, estrogen and progesterone become irregular too.
Hormonal footnotes
There are of course other hormones involved besides the core four when it comes to impacting the cycle. Brigitte says these aren't "dominant" per se, but still powerful.
Testosterone tops the list, impacting libido, energy and muscle tone. Cortisol, which is the stress hormone, can block ovulation and steal from progesterone. Prsotaglandins are responsible for menstrual contractions — so if it's balanced, cramps are normal, if it's excess, painful periods become the 'norm'.
Final takeaway? "Your hormones talk to each other, not in isolation," says Brigitte.
