Tag Archives: period

Do you know your sign?

Posted in PMT by

Nope, not your Zodiac sign! 🙂

The sign that your body gives to you when you are about to enter your PMS phase?

If you do not know what your sign is then it probably means that you are not listening to your body, as I can guarantee, it will be trying to tell you!

Your sign may be:

  • A change in mood?
  • A physical symptom?
  • Or maybe a sensation of some kind?

Your sign is your body’s way of telling you that you need to start your PMS action plan now.

For example, when you experience your sign, you should know that it’s time to:

  • Start to reduce stimulants
  • Slow the pace down
  • Relax
  • Meditate
  • Tell the people you live with that you are about to enter your PMS phase

But if you ignore your sign, or just do not prioritise your action plan, then you can probably expect to have a bad month!

So this month, listen to your body, take positive action and enjoy a happy month!

 

zodiac pms sign

 

Meditation for PMS / PMT

Posted in PMS Symptoms by

Meditation is not for everyone….. but personally, I think that if something has the potential to reduce my PMS symptoms!….. then I am going to give it a try!

Meditation has been proven to help relax the body and mind…… and with practice, it allows you to see your own thoughts and feelings as they develop, including the first signs of PMS or even eureka moments, “Oo I actually have PMS now”!

By noticing that you are either entering, in or leaving the PMS phase of your cycle, you can provide yourself with the opportunity and time to decide what you need now or even, how should I be reacting now? so that you can have that totally Happy Month!

If you are interested in Meditation then there are a number of books and web pages on the topic…. but one of the best books I have read is called:

“Mindfulness – a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world” By Mark Williams and Danny Penman

… and below is an actual free meditation from the book, I really recommend it!

So when you have some spare time, find a relaxing position, put the “do not disturb” sign on your door and have 8 minutes of pure peace!…. and who knows what you will notice! enjoy 🙂


Meditate PMT PMS

Use PMS as a Life Tool

Posted in PMS by

PMS has always been regarded as a negative phase in our life.

But have you ever considered that it could be used in a positive way?

During your PMS phase, I recommend that you write everything down that either bothers, irritates or frustrates you.

This practice will enable you to re-visit your list once your PMS phase is over… rather than airing your views at the time, which will help you to prevent any of those potentially explosive situations from arising!

PMS increases our emotional awareness and if used positively, it can allow us to see the areas of our life that we are just not happy with, so that we can deal with them constructively, once we enter the Communication phase of our monthly cycle.

The Communication phase is when you are in the best possible frame of mind to deal with your frustrations constructively, allowing you to make those important life changes or hold those difficult conversations, knowing that you will achieve the best possible result.

The benefit of this method, is that by dealing with your problems in the Communication phase, it allows you to re-enter the PMS phase, knowing that you have already dealt with the issues that normally cause all of the problems.

PMS Phases

PMS Phases

New year resolutions to reduce your PMS Symptoms

Posted in Health, Nutrition Advice, PMS, PMS Symptoms, Quick Tips, Wellbeing by

So Christmas is over and New Years Eve will soon be upon us….. this means that it is the time of year when we all start to think about the things we would like to do or achieve in the new year.

So I thought I would list my top 10 resolutions needed to combat PMS:

  1. During the last 10 days of your menstrual cycle you may notice your energy levels dropping, which can lead to irritability and low moods…. So this year commit to adding additional whole grain carbohydrate foods into your shopping basket that can be used to help sustain your energy levels during this time e.g. Baked potato’s, nuts, bananas, wholewheat pasta and brown bread.
  2. Caffeine is known to increase anxiety and irritability, so combine this with PMS and it can be a dangerous combination… So this year commit to reducing your caffeine intake to a maximum of two cups of Coffee/Tea a day during the last 10 days of your menstrual cycle.
  3. Commit to positively changing your thought patterns e.g. “expect a happy month and you will”.
  4. Commit to talking honestly and openly to your partner, close family and friends about how you are feeling during the month.
  5. Commit to making time for yourself during the day, this could be in the form of meditation, reading, listening to music or any other enjoyable activity, even if it is just 10 minutes a day!
  6. Commit to providing yourself with compassion on those difficult days, remembering to talk to yourself as if you were talking to your best friend, providing yourself with words that comfort and support you.
  7. Having a bad day? is everyone annoying you? then commit to Journaling…
    Grab a note book, a pen and then just write…write down everything that is on your mind, ignore grammar and punctuation, just let your pen do the talking!….
    Once done, tear the paper up and throw in a bin, I guarantee any problems will reduce in size and you will feel mentally lighter.
    This technique is great for gaining insight into your current behaviors and moods.
  8. Commit to letting yourself relax during the last 10 days of your menstrual cycle without feeling guilty.
  9. Commit to adding a star to your wall or pocket calendar every month, indicating when you are expecting your PMS symptoms to start, this will allow you to be mindful of your thoughts and actions during this time and will also benefit the people you live with, as they will have a better understanding of whats happening.
  10. Of course number 10 could only be:
    Commit to following the Happy Month Blog, a sure-fire way to reduce / cure PMS for good!

I hope you find the above list of resolutions helpful…….but, remember, to achieve a goal takes more than just a decision, it requires constant small steps and commitment to achieve the desired result!

Happy New Year!

Chrissie
Happy Month.

Happy New Year

Common PMS Symptoms – What are yours?

Posted in PMS Symptoms by

PMS stands for (Premenstrual syndrome), but did you know that a syndrome is a collection of symptoms associated to a single cause which in this case is premenstration.

In addition, PMS is sometimes referred to as PMT (Premenstrual Tension) but this is actually incorrect as tension is one of the many symptoms associated with PMS.

PMS has over 100 recorded symptoms and they can be classified in the following way:

Physical
Psychological
Behavioural

Some common symptoms are listed below, but can you add to the list?

Physical
Headaches
Backache
Tiredness
Weight gain
Nausea


Psychological
Mood swings
Irritable
Anxiety
Decreased esteem
Difficulty in concentrating


Behavioural
Appetite change/food craving

Please add your comments to this post, it would be really great to hear about your experiences!

A Great Book – Self Compassion by Kristin Neff

Posted in Book Review, PMS, Wellbeing by

A book I highly recommend is Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff:

http://www.self-compassion.org/self-compassion-the-book/about-the-book.html

Self-Compassion is not a skill natural to most people, as we tend to be better at negative self talk.

If Self-Compassion is low or non-existent then getting through any difficult times of the month can be very challenging, but by introducing self-compassion then those challenging times can become that little bit easier, as you will be providing yourself with the support needed rather than just constantly attacking yourself with negative talk!

The book highlights questions such as:

  • If we cannot be compassionate with ourselves at difficult times of the month then who will be?
  • Would you talk to a friend using the same words and tone, as you do with yourself when you make a mistake?

So make self-compassion a new habit… use words that support and comfort you, not ones that would make your best friend cry!

You will really feel the difference on a bad PMS day 🙂