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In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists have uncovered that suicidal ideation, planning, and attempts are most common in the days just before and after bleeding begins.
Though the average woman menstruates for 2,535 days of her life (that’s seven years total of pads, tampons, ruined underwear, cramps, and red rivets of womb lining), period stigma prevails.
This is most evident in our education systems where, from the moment we’re first visited by Aunt Flow, we’re taught to understand the science behind the menstrual cycle, but not the challenging reality of experiencing one – to label reproductive organs in our biology notebooks, but to avoid discussing any details with our peers and to feel embarrassed at the sight of our own blood.
As a result, it’s not uncommon that we often feel conditioned to accept that debilitating pain and the inability to regulate our emotions is normal, nay something we should pay no attention to.
In fact, ask anyone with a regular period, and I’m sure they’d readily list off the occasions on which they felt compelled to keep going, regardless of the physical discomfort and significant mental strain that’s brought on by their time of the month.
The tide is turning, however.
During the last decade, we’ve seen researchers start testing the absorption of period products using actual human blood instead of water or saline solution (yes, it did take this long), countries introduce laws granting menstruating employees paid leave, and social media emerge as a safe space for educating on the symptoms and hormone changes that coincide with uterine shedding.
Yet despite these strides towards confronting the physical implications of periods, what’s still rarely addressed is how much some women suffer mentally throughout the entirety of their cycle.
‘This is a vastly under-researched area and even within my own professional training, there was very little emphasis on the impact of menstruation on our psychological wellbeing,’ says clinical psychologist Dr Charlotte Russell.
‘This is interesting given that in practice many clients report significant mood changes linked to their menstrual cycle.’
