Tuesday 1 May 2012

Attention!

Attention all men! Attention also, all women who are lucky enough not to suffer from PMS.

PMS is real. It is not a figment of imagination. It affects the lives of millions of women worldwide, who have to fight the additional battle of how they are "supposed" to feel, against how they "really" feel. Some men, especially at the workplace, remark that it must be the "time of the month" should a woman not be even tempered on the day. Some women who do not experience PMS themselves, are also surprisingly insensitive and critical of their fellow sisters.

PMS is sometimes accompanied by a deeply uncomfortable physical aspect, where the slightest touch feels sharp, and parts of the body wince to the touch. It has varying degrees, from mild symptoms in nearly all women, feelings to extremely debilitating symptoms in some unlucky few.

Women with partners who are kind and sensitive to her during "those" days are very lucky. A hundred strewn socks and mugs are forgiven for them, and rightly so. I've had various post pregnancy health issues since having Tara, mercifully all of which were resolved this year. I probably suffer mild PMS once in a while, and still get very annoyed that I do. I do feel for women, especially Mums who have severe PMS. Life as a Mum is challenging enough, but adding loss of control on top of how one feels is terrible.

I wrote this today because of someone I know who has suffered quite severely, but considered herself too strong to seek help. Yesterday she finally decided to approach her doctor for relief. I hope she finds that relief without losing her self confidence or her belief that she is indeed a strong woman. Seeking help for PMS should be viewed as seeking help for any other medical condition, but it is not. Like depression.

It also struck me that my little girl who is four and a half will grow into a woman one day. I have to "talk" to her about changes to her body and what to expect. I don't remember my Mum having any "talks" with me. Things just happened and she showed me how to deal with it as we went along. I was fine with it. Do I want to follow the same approach with my little one? Not sure. Schools these days give a lot of information to very young children than they did before. The timing is not necessarily in the parents' control either. Under such circumstances, it is perhaps prudent for Mum to "get in there" first.

I am not looking forward to it. Maybe I shouldn't think about it...yet. The time span of innocence is getting shorter. Right now I want tolive in a world of dolls and fairies, bubbles and pink things, and all those things that little girls grow out of quickly.

I love you Tara. I will look after you the best I can. Can't wait for you to get back from school today. Mummy needs to give you a hug.

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