Remember the famous talk about all things sex, bodily changes, puberty, and all that jazz? You probably never felt more uncomfortable, but it was only to inform you about the coming changes in your life. The conversation can change for women around middle school, given that menstrual cycles occur around then. 

There is a lot to learn and a lot to inform about menstrual cycles. Some people are told correct information, while others gather information from rumors and believe whatever they hear. For example, boys may think women bleed forever and attract bears. This is simply not the case and we are here to set the record straight, emphasizing six period myths that everyone needs to forget. 

It’s OK To Dismiss Feelings While On Your Period

There is a physical change in a woman’s body while she is on her period. In the days leading up to menstruation, levels of estrogen plummet and progesterone levels increase. Estrogen is linked to serotonin, the happy hormone, and progesterone is linked to the area of the brain associated with anxiety, depression, and fear. While progesterone may depress some emotions, it does have a mood-balancing effect. Don’t write off drastic mood changes as “just hormones;” rather, mood changes that happen because of hormones are very real. That should not invalidate anyone’s feelings!

Period Blood Is Dirty Blood

It’s a complete myth, and false way of thinking, to think that period blood is dirty blood. It is not blood that the body rejects, nor is it a way to flush out toxins. Think of period blood as evolved vaginal secretion, containing a bit of blood, uterine tissue, mucus lining, and bacteria. That does not change whether a woman can or cannot have sex. It simply means that period blood is different from blood that runs through veins. It is actually less concentrated blood and has fewer blood cells than traditional blood. 

Women Are Always On “That Time Of The Month”

To clear things up, a woman’s menstrual cycle is not the same as her period. Menstruation refers to the time that a woman bleeds, while a menstrual cycle is the entire time from the start of one period to the next. Some women’s cycles are longer, while others can be shorter. Travel, weight fluctuation, emotions, medications, and more can affect when a woman’s period occurs. Comments like “women are always on their time of the month” are both inaccurate and not appreciated. Just like every woman, every period is unique. 

Period Is Pain Is Just Like Anything You’ve Experienced

Headaches and hitting your knee on the couch do not compare to the pain a woman experiences during her period. Some women have to call out of work, curl up in bed, or pray that the cramps will subside. That is called dysmenorrhea, and about 20% of women have it so severe that it interferes with daily activities. The pain makes it difficult to concentrate, causes anxiety, and makes everything unpleasant. It is unfair to compare it to regular pain that people experience on a daily basis. 

Hormones Define Women

For years, women have been accused of being too “hormonal” all the time. Some men equate the feelings women have to feelings of hysteria, as though it is some sort of illness. That does not explain female behavior because everyone has hormones and nobody likes them to be messed with. One study on male contraception was discontinued because male participants could not handle the side effects of injection pain, acne, and emotional issues. Women accept those same side effects taking various forms of birth control, even if it negatively affects them. 

Periods Are Shameful

End the conversation that periods are gross, shameful, or dirty and they won’t be such a “crisis.” The truth is that this “shame” is ingrained into society, as though it is a huge embarrassment that women must overcome to enter society. There is no need to whisper about the need for a tampon or pad. Periods are normal, not out of the ordinary. Ditch the stigma and change this cycle (pardon the pun) to encourage positive talk about periods and menstrual cycles.

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Everyone has a different sex drive. Some people are completely satisfied with occasional sexual intimacy, while others enjoy sex daily. Just like most things in life, your libido, or desire for sexual activity, can ebb and flow throughout your life. You may experience low libido or high libido at one point or another, which is completely natural. 

There is only one thing that matters about your sex drive being high or low: your opinion about it. As long as you are happy, your libido level is not something to worry about. If your interest in sexual activity is low and it bothers you or your partner, you may want to find out why the mood doesn’t strike you as often. There are various factors that influence your libido, and your body may be trying to tell you something if it is lower than usual. 

What Is Low Libido?

Low libido is characterized by a temporary or long-term decline in the frequency and/or intensity of previous desire for sex. No interest in any type of sex, a decrease in sexual fantasies or thoughts, or feeling unhappy or stressed about sexual desire can indicate low libido. A drop in sex drive is completely normal and very common. About one-fifth of the male population, and an even greater number of the female population, will experience low libido at some point in life. Continue reading to learn about causes of low libido and how you can remedy the situation.

You’re Taking Certain Medications

Your libido can take a dip if you take certain medications. Health experts explain that birth control pills can increase sex-hormone binding globulin, which acts like a sponge, soaking up other hormones that aid libido. Other forms of contraception can also decrease your sex drive as well, and they are:

• Progestogen-only birth control pill
• Depo-Provera injection
• Combined hormonal contraception, including combined pill, vaginal ring, or birth control patch
• Contraceptive implant

Other medications that may negatively affect sex drive include:

• Antipsychotics
• Blood pressure medications
• Antidepressants
• Chemotherapy drugs

If your medication is to blame for your low libido, consider talking with your doctor. Work with your doctor to find the right type of medication and dose that will help you, but won’t ruin your sexual desire. Certain antidepressants, for example, may help improve your sex drive!

You Are On Your Period

Your monthly cycle can influence your sex drive in a serious way. Hormones like estrogen and progesterone are at their lowest during your period, causing a dip in your libido. The decreased interest in sexual activity serves a purpose because you tend to have the highest libido around ovulation. If your libido is low during your period, it is most likely not a permanent issue. Once your cycle completes, your sexual desire will most likely return to whatever is normal for you.

You Exercise Too Much Or Not Little

Exercise makes you feel good because it naturally boosts endorphins, which are the body’s feel-good chemicals. Making exercise a part of your daily routine can support a healthy libido. In fact, research states that men who engage in regular physical activity have higher libidos, testosterone levels, and fertility. That connection may be associated with better overall mood because regular physical activity helps keep you at healthy weight. Failure to exercise can increase the risk of health complications, many of which can destroy your libido. The opposite may also be true, as too much exercise can sabotage your sex drive. Chronic endurance training can interfere with hormones that affect libido. 

If your libido is down and you don’t exercise a lot, consider moving a little more. Researchers note that a little exercise goes a long way for your libido. Just 10-15 minutes of exercise per day can be enough. Additionally, remember not to overdo it because there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. 

You Drink Or Smoke Too Much

A little wine may help you unwind, but too much imbibing can also decrease your sex drive. The Mayo Clinic notes that too much alcohol can decrease testosterone levels and lead to erectile dysfunction. The same applies for smoking, which can suppress testosterone and reduce blood flow, causing less pleasurable sexual arousal. Other recreational drugs may also negatively impact your sex drive. Substances can both lower testosterone levels and change the brain’s response to pleasure. Activities that you once enjoyed, like sex, may not feel as good as they used to. The simple fix is to cut back on your consumption, or stop altogether. When you limit your alcohol intake and quit smoking, your libido and overall health will benefit. 

You Lack Sleep

Sleep deprivation can negatively affect all aspects of your health, from brain and heart function to your libido. The body requires sleep to repair and function properly. If you’ve been exhausted, you know that you don’t function at your best. If you don’t sleep enough and you lack power and energy, sex is probably not your number one priority. Insufficient sleep has been linked to low libido and sexual arousal in both men and women, according to a 2017 study. If sleep is plaguing your libido, try to focus on getting seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Keep a consistent sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time each day. Make sure your bedroom is cool, dark and quiet, and turn off screens about two hours before bedtime.

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The birth control pill was created in the 1950s by American endocrinologist Gregory Goodwin Pincus and approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for millions of American women in 1960.

The birth control pill was actually the result of a medical accident, believe it or not. Pincus and Boston gynecologist John Rock had been researching infertility and the two began experimenting with chemical drugs to produce an oral contraceptive for women. In the midst of their experiments, a batch of synthetic progesterone was inadvertently contaminated with the pharmaceutical drug mestranol, an estrogen-like substance. The scientist discovered that the two hormones worked in tandem to block conception.

Pincus first found fame in the 1930s when he achieved in-vitro fertilization of rabbit eggs. He later worked with endocrinologist Hudson Hoagland. Together they founded their own research facility, the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology. In 1951, aided by biologist Min Cheuh Chang, Pincus started testing the contraceptive value of the hormone progesterone, which was derived from the root of the wild yam.

The Worcester experiments attracted the attention of Margaret Sanger, America’s leading birth control advocate since the 1920s; Sanger notified her friend McCormick of the project. McCormick and G.D. Searle, the Chicago pharmaceutical firm, became Pincus’s most generous benefactors. After the accidental occurrence of the progesterone contamination with the drug mestranol, Searle began manufacturing the progesterone-estrogen compound for extensive testing and this became the drug approved by the FDA in 1960.

Adverse Effects

Oral contraceptives are unsafe drugs with numerous side effects:

• permanent infertility
• high blood pressure
• blood clots
• stroke
• heart disease
• kidney failure
• varicose veins
• breast cancer
• uterine cancer, and
• liver cancer

Oral contraceptives also deplete a female’s body of:

• iron (anemia)
• zinc
• iodine (weight fluctuation)
• selenium (sex and hormonal nutrient)
• all B vitamins

Other Problems from Oral Contraceptives

Birth control pills or oral contraceptives also greatly reduce the flow and time of female’s menstrual cycle. But this is not healthy. The pill or oral contraceptives greatly throw off a female’s rhythmic and moon cycle, to her detriment. This is why a woman’s cycle after discontinuing the pill is very irregular, making it hard for her to know when it is coming or going.

Birth control pills and contraceptives throw off the female glandular system by essentially deceiving the body. In fact, birth control pills work inside a female’s body by deceiving the brain and making the body think the female is pregnant when in reality she is not.

The inundation of an exogenous synthetic progesterone-like hormone (with synthetic estrogen) suppresses ovulation (the release of fertile eggs). But as was stated earlier, you can’t fool Mother Nature. When a woman is pregnant, her natural endogenous levels of estrogen and progesterone rise and further egg production is stopped. The hormone levels continue to rise during pregnancy, signaling the brain to stop secreting its egg-stimulating hormones. The contraceptive pill hormones mimic this effect and continually make the brain think that pregnancy has occurred, thus suppressing ovulation.

Natural Alternatives

A female can take the herb known as wild yam root. Mexican wild yam root is the best, safest, and most effective natural oral, or internally taken, form of birth control. It contains the highest amount of natural bio-progesterone. Too much progesterone suppresses ovulation, even though progesterone is the hormone conducive to conception. In fact, pharmaceutical-grade oral contraceptive was first derived from wild yam root by extracting the chief alkaloid (or constituent) called dioscegeni.

It is vitally important that a woman know that it takes approximately seven weeks for wild yam roots contraceptive properties to take effect, so intimacy or sex must be abstained from during this time or the male should use a condom if abstinence is out of the question. A female should take seven capsules of wild yam root daily to reap the effects of this herb. If taken in extract form, 2-3 tablespoons should be taken daily. The great thing about wild yam root is, should a female decide to become pregnant, she can start the conception process the day after discontinuation of wild yam root without having to detoxify her body.

Beneficial female specific herbs that are ideal to take after coming off harmful birth control pills include:

• Motherwort (for hormone balancing)
• Bayberry (to reduce toxic waste accumulations in the uro-genito tract)
• Black Cohosh (regulates hormonal production)
• Chaste Tree berries (hormonal balancing)
• Yarrow
• Burdock
• Dandelion
• Goldenseal
• Chaparral, and
• Red Clover tops

The Rhythm Method

Natural birth control has become known as the rhythm method.

A calendar based on the moon’s cycle has 28 days, not 30 days. Twenty-eight is a both a lunar and feminine number. Generally, females have a 28-day moon cycle. The female body’s two major hormones (estrogen and progesterone) are divided into phases, which last approximately two weeks each. If a woman knows her cycle, she can successfully perform the rhythm method. Every woman has a two-week estrogen period where she is not prone to conception or fertilization, and a two-week progesterone period where she is very fertile and prone to conception.

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