Sometimes I swear I can sense when my period is coming. I mean, as a 27 year old woman, I should have some idea when my body is preparing to shed its uterine lining. That explains a lot of the negativity and ad-hoc-ness of yesterday. I made it through the day and there was a reasonable explanation for my feelings and behavior, but that’s not going to happen every time I deal with challenges. Is it too much to expect to be able to deal with my negative thoughts and feelings in a positive or neutral manner even when my hormones are in flux?
Is it possible to maintain a managed mind when our body might be screaming at us more than usual? Is that something we should strive for? I’ve been thinking that my whole “roll with the punches” thought pattern might apply to this as well. I think that it’s important to make sure we all remember to place an emphasis on self-compassion. We wouldn’t judge a good friend as negatively as we would ourselves if they were off maybe once a month or so, right? Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to be “perfect”? How about just being happy instead? It’s hard to control and manage your mind when your body is telling you that it’s time for you to be sad or drained. Sometimes, there is just no way around it.
Some advice I received last night, though, was to just accept the feeling. Don’t try to fight it. The more you fight it, the more self-made judgment you insert into the situation, worsening it. There will be some times when there just isn’t an upside for you to grasp onto immediately. No, new happy thought for you to fight your way towards. This is OK. It’s entirely fine and a part of life. Sometimes you have to accept the bad times in order to be happier in the good times. So in those moments, just do whatever it is that you want to do. What your mind is telling you to do. What your body is telling you to do. It doesn’t matter. Just do whatever “feels right” in the moment. Don’t insert you mind and judgment into the situation by trying to analyze what is the right thing to do, what is the best thing to do, and what is the optimum thing to do. You’ll never really figure it out and it’s OK. Just do what you want to do and you’ll get through it. The feeling, in time, will pass.
Robyn J. Fitness 