Dreading your period can be one of the worst feelings in the world. For some extremely #blessed women, menstruating is NBD: Your period rolls in every 28 days, lasts a few days, and fades out. No drama. For others, though, the monthly cycle is a ticking time bomb, complete with pain, fatigue, bloating, depression, acne?and those are just a few examples.
But a difficult period doesn?t have to be the status quo. My friend Lauren Bille started a really cool summit for women?s health called Cycles + Sex with two other women, Ashley Spivak and Natalia Hailes, so I dropped her a note to ask if she knew of any hormonal experts who might be able to shed some light on the ongoing mystery that is the menstrual cycle. C + S is a conference, complete with panels of experts, bomb Q&A sessions, and booths full of women-centric products and services, so I figured Bille would probably know a specialist (or 20) who could give me more information about WTF is happening when things go awry every month. Bille connected me with Dr. Jolene Brighten, naturopathic physician and women?s health expert who did a deep dive on the ins and outs of hormones, periods, and all of the afflictions that can be part and parcel of the average woman?s cycle. Whether you?re plagued with food cravings, heavy periods, or just general monthly malaise, Dr. Brighten revealed why such things happen?and what you can do to start clawing your way out of that ditch you fall into every month, and stay out.
SC: What does...