If you've experienced recurring symptoms, then you know it can be frustrating not being able to recognize what they mean until it's too late. Maybe you have the same feelings right before a headache appears, but can never recognize them in time to prevent a full blown migraine from occurring. These are the times when you could benefit from taking a moment to look up, breathe, think and get clear. I sure could have used a moment like that yesterday!
WARNING to all those shy to the subject of feminine flow: maybe don't read on.
Last night, while crashing hard on the couch and binge watching new episodes of Mr. D (if you haven't seen it, you should!), I started feeling a bit nauseous. I rarely feel nauseous, so I thought it a bit weird, but didn't worry. When I went to the bathroom before bed I noticed I was spotting. Having just checked my period tracker phone app the other day, I suspected I wasn't due for my next menstruation until next week. I started internally panicking that I could be pregnant, but pushed through it and went to bed.
Overnight, I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep. I was frustrated and still freaking out that I could be pregnant. My nausea hadn't subsided and I was now experiencing lower body cramps in my abdomen and digestive region and felt like I should go the bathroom. I got up to pee and noticed I was still spotting a bit. Back to bed I went, trying not to panic.
Finally waking up after snoozing and trying to grab more precious minutes of sleep, I went to the bathroom again and BAM! Period. Phew!!!!!
Many of you women out there probably just read that story and saw the obvious coming. But I swear, even though my body knows when I'm getting my period, the sight of my period tracker phone app telling me I'm not meant to get it until next week was enough to distrust my own body and the symptoms it was presenting to me!
Looking back, it was quite obvious that my period was coming:
I had extremely low energy
I was drastically bloated
My poop schedule was off, not being able to go nearly as much as I'd prefer over the past few days
I was quite irritable and short-tempered over the last 24-48 hours
It was almost a full moon (for my past 4 cycles I've been synced up with the moon cycle, getting my period on or around the full moon)
I intuitively felt it was time to get my period (you know when you just realize it should be coming about now?)
It was staring me right in the face, but because I'd checked my phone app I had already talked myself out of my period being the cause of my symptoms and the fear of pregnancy overrode my intuition. Granted, my PMS symptoms do tend to change slightly month to month. That's still no excuse for not listening to what I knew to be true.
The lesson is obvious. Listen to your body, not your phone!
Our intuition is the thing we should trust the most, yet we're always quick to disregard it. But, why? We think we must not be that smart, that our symptoms are strange and curious and new. Nope.
The more attention you give to understanding your symptoms the less likely you are to be scared of them and the more clearly you can think, allowing you to trust your intuition. Basically, even if your period tracker app is telling you you're wrong, there's no need to freak out that you're pregnant when you know your period's coming down the pipe!