#TALKINGPERIODS: HOW MY PERIOD BLIGHTED MY TEENAGE YEARS

September 30, 2017

This is my second post as part of the #TalkingPeriods campaign, and today I’m going to be open and honest about how my period blighted my teenage years and filled them with confusion, upset and anger. And that’s just down to my mood swings alone!

This campaign is all about encouraging a positive attitude towards our body’s natural functions, and sometimes that means talking about the negative and turning it into a positive. It’s important to inspire others to speak openly, and unashamedly about periods, and hopefully by sharing my story I will enable those of you reading to do just that.



I started my period when I was ten years old, a relatively young age compared to my peers. I was out riding my bike with my best friend at the time, and in all honesty, when I felt that wet patch form I thought I’d peed myself! Luckily, we were close to my house, and as soon as I got inside I ran upstairs to the loo and saw my pants covered in blood. Even at that age, I knew what periods were (I was very into my pre-teen magazines as a child) and the women in my family pre-emptively started to prepare, purchasing me every brand of sanitary pad known to womankind. I was prepared, but I certainly wasn’t ready. As far as I was aware, I was the first girl in my class to start her period, and I felt embarrassed that it had happened so soon, despite that little miracle of life being very much out of my control.

Painful, heavy periods run in my family, and my period was certainly no different. On one occasion, I fainted in primary school from the pain, and woke up in the back of my teacher’s car with her and my mother frantically trying to help me. I vividly remember another time where, I was curled up on the bathroom floor screaming and crying with pain, drifting in and out of consciousness, with my dad standing over me debating whether to call an ambulance. At 13, my mother and I agreed that it would be best to go onto the combined pill, to help with the pain and combat the awful acne I had because of my period. I kept it to myself, however now, even at 20 years old, eyebrows raise when I make that revelation - trust me, it was for my period.

However, the pill is not a miracle cure. I still suffer with terrible cramps and awful PMS even after taking it, and it’s also left me struggling to understand the difference between hormones and my own sense of self. But I’ll touch more on that later.

As I got older, I also suffered from another, non-related illness, and that combined with my period left me feeling unable to take part in regular activities as a teen. P.E was a struggle because one week I wouldn’t be able to take part due to my illness, the next week it would be my period. I missed a lot of school due to painful cramps and feeling faint and unwell, and as a result I did poorly in exams and my attendance plummeted. I couldn’t go out because I didn’t feel well in the lead up to my period, and when my time of the month eventually arrived. It left me feeling lonely, depressed and ashamed. My PMS and mood swings were so serve, I became unbearable to be around for many of my friends, and this isolation eventually spiralled into full-blown depression and anxiety.

Consequently, my mood swings and PMS delayed my own mental health diagnosis. My parents and doctors believed my feelings were down to my period, and not due to anything mentally untoward. I began to question my own feelings and brain, “Is it my pill? Are these feelings all inside my head? Am I actually mentally ill or is it just down to my hormones?” Even to this day, I still experience those feelings. Not every menstrual side-effect is physical. Yes, I’ve had to deal with the fainting, vomited and terrible skin, but I’ve also had to deal with self-doubt and I have struggled with differentiating between negative PMS feelings and true mental health conditions. It’s tough, and even with a clear diagnosis, I still struggle to cope.

Periods are different for everyone, and unfortunately, I’ve had nothing but trouble and bad luck because of mine. Now that I’m older, I am much more open about my time of the month and everything that comes with it. That can only be a good thing, right?  I know I’m not the only person who has had a difficult time because of their period, and I hope by sharing my story it will encourage others to do the same. You are not alone in this, and although periods can be a terrible experience altogether, there are so many positives that have come from them. I know I’m definitely not pregnant, and my pill helps regulate when my period will arrive, so I have time to prepare. My PMS and confusion surrounding my hormones allowed me to be open and honest with my family, friends and doctors, which helped me get a proper mental health diagnosis. I may feel really crappy when I’m on my period, but I have lots of wonderful people around me and self-care activities that keep me distracted.

If I could go back and reassure my ten-year-old self that everything will be okay, I would. But sadly, I don’t have a magic time machine to do that, so instead I hope I can reassure all of you. Periods are nothing to be afraid or ashamed of, and although mine gave me hell throughout my teenage years, I’m ready to fight it and take on the world every time it arrives again. I hope you will be able to do the same.


Thank you so much for reading, and once again, a huge big thank you to TOTM for allowing me to be a part of the #TalkingPeriods campaign. 

Rachel x

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4 comments

  1. I really enjoyed this post and I can definitely relate to it! I also suffered with horrible periods during my teens and I made the same decision to go on the pill to try and combat it which has been another up and down journey in itself. I'm very open about a lot of things but I feel like periods is sort of a weird last taboo where a lot of people just stay quiet about it and deal with it on their own. It's really refreshing seeing people be so open about theirs for this campaign because it's such a natural thing!

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    1. Thanks Bronia! I totally agree, I was a little squeamish about them myself which is a huge part of why I wanted to be involved with this campaign, not just to encourage everyone else to talk about it, but so I could be open too. It's been great reading everyone's stories x

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  2. Ahh I am so sorry to hear you had to go through that and the fact that you're raising awareness about something many young girls and women struggle with is amazing.. my own period history has been awful because i struggled with anorexia and exercise addiction which gave me severe amenorrhea and whenever I was 'lucky' to get my period, it would last for ten days or more and leave me crippled. Hopefully in the future people will be more educated about these issues and come together to help each other/give advice as periods should not be a taboo topic at all ❤️

    Maria (http://whatismaria.com)

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    1. Thank you so much Maria, and thank you for sharing your story too! My friend was in a similar situation, and her periods were always quite irregular afterwards, which is thankfully something I haven't experienced too much. That's all we can hope for! x

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