Riding the hormonal wave

Here at Stillpoint we are getting excited about our first "Being a Woman" retreat weekend in September, dedicated to helping women become more aware of their monthly cycles. We are wanting to work with women to embrace rather than resist the fluctuations we experience every 28 or so days - and to discover what riches of learning and self-awareness lie that way.

PMS, periods and the menopause bizarrely remain taboo subjects in our society. Even as women we tend at worst to poo-poo the effects of hormonal change, at best to make a joke out of them and brush over the difficulties we might experience as a result.

Career success for women is still sadly about having a male attitude and approach, in which period pains, moodiness, hot flushes and dipping energy levels just don't make sense.

As someone who has experienced symptoms of PMS, including irritability, tearfulness, anxiety and exhaustion, I am curious about what difference we might make in our lives if instead of suscribing to the sweep it under the carpet approach we actually spoke more openly about what we experience, and looked for hidden strengths in our symptoms rather than viewing them as some form of inconvenient illness.

So , I have been paying close attention to where I am in my cycle, and making a mental or journal note about what's going on for me at various times. I had this vague notion that PMS made me very angry and easily provoked, but until I started closely observing and reflecting on my behaviour it was very difficult to understand what was going on. So month after month I would just get cross, and then the fact that I couldn't really understand why I was getting cross would make me even crosser. An extremely vicious cycle within a cycle.

The next few blog entries are going to be about what I'm noticing as I go through the month - my moods, thoughts and emotions, and how I'm dealing with them, as well as what they mean and a little bit of why they're happening.

In the meantime - happy surfing!