Menstruation is one of the big elephants related to women's bodies and rights that's politely ignored in the room. But there are numerous crucial aspects of menstruation everyone should be aware about. The emotional storm that periods stir inside menstruators is one of them. Hormones hijack moods, cramps cancel plans, and yet we are expected to smile, show up, and “just deal with it.”
But what if we stopped pretending it’s all in our heads and started connecting the dots? This piece is exactly that: a loud, necessary conversation on how menstruation and mental health aren’t distant cousins. In fact they are tugging with each other more often than we or society admit.
The Menstrual Cycle Impacts Mental Health
Periods are an internal storm, not just in the uterus, but whirling inside the whole body. Menstruation is a hormonal game with estrogen and progesterone as two integral players. These hormones have a direct effect on serotonin levels in the body. Serotonin a.k.a the mood regulator.
Learning About PMS
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 75% of menstruators experience some form of Premenstrual Syndrome or PMS.
Before periods, estrogen levels drop, leading to increased anxiety, sadness, exhaustion, and irritability. These can be extremely sensitive for some, due to genetic or neurochemical differences.
Beyond that, PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) is an intense form of PMS with severe rage, anxiety, and depression. This is often misdiagnosed as generalized anxiety or bipolar disorder. The symptoms ease after menstruation, making its diagnosis tricky.
Neurodivergence and Mental Illness Across Cycle
Menstruators with ADHD, bipolar disorder, or depression often experience broadened symptoms before and during menstruation. A 2021 study found that bipolar disorder symptoms often intensify premenstrually in up to 60% of women.
Hormonal shifts affect the effectiveness of psychiatric medications. Autism and sensory issues can make menstruation even more overwhelming. Autistic individuals report greater sensitivity to period pain and sensory overload but rarely receive apt support and diagnosis.
How Menstruation is Shaped by Culture, Stigma, and Systems
Taboos, silence, and gender injustice are induced by menstrual inequity. If you think these just hamper women's rights and freedom, you are missing the bigger and real picture.
The Baseless Silence
A UNICEF India report says, 71% of girls in India did not know what menstruation was before their first period. And many get to know about periods because of their female friends who got it earlier. Period anxiety is a real issue.
The first sight of blood dripping down; no one to express the anxiety or ask the whys, and trying to process the pain and exhaustion. Imagine how many girls are put through this just because talking about menstruation is a taboo.
These taboos prevent menstruators from expressing menstrual discomfort or seeking mental health support. Shame fosters secrecy, isolation, and low self-esteem. God forbid a little girl who knows nothing about periods misdiagnoses a severe disorder as ‘normal periods’. The silence leads to delays in diagnosis and care.
Living in an Unsupportive World
‘Women have periods’, ‘They need pregnancy leaves, period leaves and what not’. These are the brutal reasons given by recruiters all around the world. Periods are biological. But this patriarch world was never inclusive.
No policies of menstrual leave in work spheres, no consideration or acknowledgement of talent. Imagine a talented woman getting rejected by recruiters just for being a woman. Or imagine getting scolded because you missed a deadline for your painful periods. And oh God! A menstrual leave! Forget men, I have seen judgemental women who dismiss another woman's pain. Rigid work culture, the stress of managing work and often home too, guilt and burnout!
Absence of pain management, hygiene products and clean toilets in schools or work leads to chronic absenteeism and embarrassment. Financial strain in accessing pads also adds to anxiety in underserved menstruators.
Intersection of Gender, Identity, and Menstrual Mental Health
Most public health messaging or conversations around menstruation exclude non-cis women. The reason trans and non-binary menstruators often feel dysphoric or unsafe accessing menstrual care or mental health support.
Lack of inclusive language and healthcare services causes distress and alienation. Periods can also trigger trauma for those with a history of ****** abuse or body image issues. For instance, I have been weight shamed just for being exhausted and requiring rest on my period days. The guilt and shame it comes with is so disturbing because you feel so under-confident and misunderstood.
Reimagining Menstrual Mental Health with Equity and Care
Imagine a world where every menstruator was validated, respected, and treated as normal for being a human. The issues of menstrual equity, gender injustice, mental health and all are correlated. And people need to have conversations around the broader aspect more than ever now. More research on women's bodies, mental health, and justice, and awareness are needed. Now.
Mental Health Justice is Menstrual Justice
Repeated dismissal of pain contributes to anxiety, depression, and medical mistrust. Due to lack of medical research on women's bodies, especially menstruation leads to vagueness, and misdiagnosis. Often women are body shamed instead of being treated by gynecologists.
Lack of menstrual equity impacts emotional health stress, shame, guilt, overwhelm, anger, depression, lack of control and more. But sustainable, inclusive, and dignified period care can boost confidence and reduce this mental distress. When menstrual needs are respected, the mind feels safer, and menstruators feel confident or normal.
What Needs to Change?
The change needs to be systemic. Policies need to be inclusive. Period leave, insurance for menstrual health issues, gender-inclusive care, these should be common terms.
School should integrate menstrual and mental health literacy from a yoprovide.Parents should ensure a safe, curious, and healthy environment, irrespective of gender to foster inclusive environment. And that will happen by policy changes at governmental level, advertisements and awareness campaigns, open dialogues, media representation, and ending shame.
Conclusion
It is high time we heal the cycle, honour the mind and validate the pain. Mental health and menstruation don’t operate differently; they intertwine in messy, magnificent, and often misunderstood ways. From the crashing waves of hormone fluctuation to the quiet shame we carry in public restrooms. This isn’t just a physical experience, it’s emotional, social, political.
When we talk about menstrual justice, we must talk about mental health. When we advocate for well-being, we must include period dignity. Because healing the cycle isn’t just about pads or painkillers, it’s about belief, inclusion, and care. So, start the conversation. Validate that ‘I am not okay’. Believe menstruators. Fund the research. Normalize the care.
