The damaging stigma of periods.

Hi, my lovely readers, I hope you have had an amazing week. I had an amazing week, at the end of last week I managed to finally taker and pass my driving test first time. It had been pushed back so much that it seemed like it would never actually come around. But it did, and I PASSED. I hope that you have managed to find some good this week and I hope that you did something that made you feel like yourself. Because that is so important.

So last week I made a YouTube video about period hacks, tips, essentials and pain, so today I wanted to talk a bit around the stigma that surrounds periods, and more importantly why I am so open and refuse to be embarrassed about my period or anything surrounding it.

I believe that that it is essential to know that periods are natural and how are we going to know that bis normal unless we can talk openly and honestly about them. I have always suffered with really bad periods, and it made me feel so isolated when ni couldn’t talk about them. Most oft my friends at the time were guys and it was hard for me to talk to them because they didn’t understand what I was going through. And bi didn’t have any girls to talk to. This caused me to feel so alone until one day I just said f it and decided to ask to one of the guys. I was so surprised that they were quite chill about it and just seemed unbothered by it. At that point I realised that if a guy that didn’t have to go through what we go through could be okay with it then why is it not okay for us girls to talk about it openly and honestly.

I found that I began talking to other women about my periods whi9ch lead me to find what of my symptoms are common or normal and what of them are not. From this I was able to seek help from a doctor and then a gynaecologist who managed to find out more than I could have guessed. (But that is a later blog post) I have suspected endometriosis; this is so much more common than I ever knew it is only since speaking openly about my period and the issues that surrounds it that I’ve been able to see 1. That I’m not alone and 2. That there are a community of others out there that are suffering in the same way that I am.

Since all of this happened, I have been so focused on the stigma that is attached to periods and why we feel so embarrassed to talk about something so natural. I wonder why if we have a nosebleed, we don’t get embarrassed in the same way. Maybe it’s because it is surrounding our sexual organs. I believe that it is something that we need to be open about. The fact that we hide it and are embarrassed is the reason that more people do not have the right understanding of their own periods and bodies. This is up to everyone I am lucky enough to such a supportive boyfriend that I can talk to about well anything, but most people aren’t lucky enough to have this. I want to give everyone the opportunity to be able to speak to someone whether that is asking a question on Instagram or simply giving you the courage to stop being ashamed over something so natural.

This post was one that I even now I am nervous about posting but if this can help even one of you to feel more comfortable about your natural and important situations then this will all be worth it.

I will be adding a poll and a question box on my Instagram @positive.laney if you have any questions, or just need someone to talk to head over there. if you would like more information on periods and how to deal with them then head over to my YouTube @laneyfaithmesa.

So here is your weekly check in:

How was this week?

What is one positive thing that happened this week?

Do you have anyone to talk to about your period?

What is your goal for this week?

What is something that affects your period?

If your period something you are comfortable talk9ng about?

What setbacks have you faced this week?

Is being open something that you need to work on?

How is your personal journey going?

So, this week remember that you were born to do great thongs, you simply need to believe in yourself, and you can achieve them.

I hope you remember your worth.

- Laney

- Xoxo