cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/52502962
I would not venture into the comment section, but I think the post brings up a point for discussion. Menstruation is different for everyone (some women don't/can't some men do etc), so I figured I'd ask here what your relationship to it is and how you see other people relate to it. I personally think there's something very unique to menstruation itself that I would not relate to anything else, having experienced things far more and far less painful or affecting, but I know that's not how everyone views it. Having said that, I think there's a lot of discussion around women's periods and I understand the desire to relate to them regardless of your personal experience with them. I would love to hear your individual perspectives on how you talk about your cycles to people, or if you do so at all, and how their responses affect your desire to talk to them about that going forward.
I have a friend that like me has had medical issues arise because of their cycle, and though we've had similar experiences I am least likely to bring up my experiences when she's talking about hers because I want to give her feelings as much space as possible. She does the same with me. I'm not sure if it's like that for others, but I think the more severe the issue the more likely I am to verbalize sympathy than empathy. On the other hand, I can pretty casually talk about it with some friends who have a more average experience with them. I'm least likely to talk about it with my male friends, but I have some close ones that I will mention it to and they always step up their support if I bring it up, since I mostly bring it up if I'm noticing I need some extra support. Because of the way my cycle affects me, and maybe because I am really lucky, my partners have been mostly really good about recognizing it and offering support when needed.
I think you bring up a good point that most people likely have hormone cycles. We had a trans member of the community make a post recently regarding how they are experiencing period like symptoms and that other trans women have also experienced cyclical period like symptoms. I think a there's a lot of variety in the human experience and my biggest issue is when people don't recognize these differences as valid. It's so important that we recognize that we're more alike than different, but everyone faces their own unique issues and I like to leave a lot of space for that.
Sorry to hear about your PCOS, but glad you've got the diagnosis and seem to have gotten a handle on what sounded like some bad periods.
Absolutely this, and I think part of the problem is how much we're taught not to share with others, such as how many women out there don't realize the full range of period symptoms, for shame or fear of retaliation.