Dear men,
I have been planning on writing to you about this for a while now. For the majority , its still a taboo to even say the word and you stick to saying “Ah, that time of the month! “ or nod your head like you understand it and rush out of the room. Yes, it’s about periods. Though the sanitary ads show us jumping and having fun on those days without a worry, if we use their product, its not always the case. Sometimes, we are just down with an abdominal ache that’s too severe to even let us even absorb the surroundings. And its not just the physical pain that we have to endure. Even before the menstruation hits, we suffer from PMS(Pre Menstrual Stress). We cry for trivial reasons like ending up with a spotted banana or that our sandwiches are not stuffed well or for no reason at all. Some of you might have grown up with sisters or sat by your girlfriends when they go through it, so you might know what to expect and what to do.
If you are just a boy in your teens, and you see your female classmate go up to the teacher to silently say a few words and get the rest of the day off, quit envying her. Or if you spot a small stain on her uniform, don’t make a hullabaloo out of it.
Unlike you, we don’t need to get high on alcohol to get insanely excited or to fall into abyss of depression. Our built-in hormones take us on a emotional roller coaster every month. If you are living under the same roof with your sister or girlfriend or wife, keep track of the cycle so you wouldn’t be caught unawares by the sudden bouts of depression that hits us. We may be crazy, mad or even murderous out of the blue and with your precise math, even if you figure out its just PMS, don’t gloat to us that you know its just the hormones acting up and that we are perfectly ok. That just pisses us off even more and aggravates things. Well..you see, we might just not be interested in listening to any reason or advice right then. So, even if you are right, save it for a later date. When we say its painful, even if you can’t hold hands or give a shoulder to lean on, atleast refrain from advising that pain is part of the process or lecture whatever you know about it. You are not in our shoes to empathise! When we cry out in front of the mirror about our figure, just distract us if you can’t bring yourself to lie or convince us that we look good. Don’t bring up topics that always end up in arguments. Don’t demand that we cook your favourites that are time consuming. Order a take-out or a home delivery if necessary. Share the household chores as it seems like a mountain of a task in those days.
Know the brand of the pads that we use or just ask us what we need. Don’t just buy random stuff off the counter just because you are too scared to ask for it directly. As I mentioned already, we are a little too sensitive on these days and might show you that we are not happy with it in a not so subtle manner.
There is no use trying to shy away from it or hope that it doesn’t happen. Only if they are not on time when expected, it means there’s a problem. Relieve us of some work, show more care and be sweet, and you will find us looking at you in open admiration and secretly considering ourselves to be having the best brother/boyfriend/husband in the world. All we are asking you is to be a little extra nice, after all, we do put with your whims and fancies and demands the rest of the month.
Regards,
Just another woman
