Macy Hill in the book “Period Power” uses a very popular metaphor that is the “season” of the menstrual cycle. There are four phases or “seasons” in the following order:
winter
The first phase of the cycle is winter. Cold begins on the first day of your period and lasts for about five days. Think about how winter works in nature – everything slows down, animals hibernate, trees lose their leaves, plants die, etc. Get more social, skip exercise, or do something really gentle like walking or yoga. This also includes staying away from social media and setting boundaries as this is a time when you are feeling very sensitive and it is also a good time to do some journaling as it is easier to connect with your intuition.
Spring
After winter comes spring. Spring is the time when everything comes alive, flowers start blooming and birds start chirping. Everything is new so your energy starts to rise back. You are more productive, more motivated and more social. This is a really good time to try new things, go on dates, and do a little more challenging physical activity like aerobic exercise. A general advice is not to rush into these activities because then you will exhaust yourself for the rest of your cycle.
summer season
Spring serves as a ramp-up for summer. You start getting more energy and then the heat is like you get superpowers. Your body needs less food and less sleep. You’re more productive, and you’re really good at communicating and really good at accepting criticism, so this is a great time to get some feedback on a project. Summer is more than just a time to get work done and socialize.
Fall
And then finally we make our way to the end of the circle in the fall. The leaves begin to fall from the trees, and everything starts preparing for winter. This is the season to cozy up in sweaters and stay at home, the same vibe goes for this phase of the menstrual cycle. Your energy goes back in and your productivity drops a bit. Now is a good time to organize and de-clutter your life, whether it’s your physical space or your mental space, for example, things like the commitments you have or the relationships in your life. You are also more assertive during this time, so you basically have the powers you need to rearrange your life and make sure everything is really supporting you. You also need to eat more and sleep more to keep yourself nourished during fall and switch back to some light exercise.
Because it’s a cycle, the whole thing starts over again. These are general outlines of the phases, but to really understand how you personally experience them and what your symptoms are, you need to start tracking your cycle. You can use the different apps that are available (such as “Clue”) or make entries in your journal to track this. There are also a lot of circular charts on the internet where it divides the circle into 30-ish pie slices and then in each one, you write a few words about how you were feeling that day.
Once you know your cycle and can predict its phases, it becomes possible for you to plan around that cycle instead of a calendar. You can plan what you want to accomplish during those productive spring and summer seasons, and how you want to take care of yourself during the winter and fall, and then at the end of the month you have this opportunity to check in on yourself. have a chance. You can think and analyze how the past few weeks went and then plan for the next cycle.
Unfortunately, life doesn’t adjust itself around our cycles. And it really sucks that you probably have to work and socialize and exert physical effort when your body isn’t ready for it. But any small change you can make to make things easier for yourself will make a difference. And if you can’t completely absolve any of your responsibilities, you can at least have some more compassion for yourself and understand why things seem so challenging.