/hb/ - Health & Beauty

Mine hurt very much too. I think you should visit a doctor, maybe you have some health issues.

>>19057
1. i hate thispicture you posted
2. no i don't think it's a beautiful thing, i think only braindead hippie yoga acai berry california women and larping wxtch wiccan/pagan types believe that. just take the max ibuprofen or tylenol every few hours, do things to feel cozy and it's fine

You're not alone I'm having my period rn and hate it so much. I always get heavy cramping/bleeding along with migraines, it sucks so bad I have to be prescribed pain medicine so I'm able to function at all. Works for the most part but I'm always left feeling so exhausted I can barely do anything for the whole week. No I don't think I'll ever be able to get used to the fact that I'm forced to throw away so much time for every single month of my life I'll never be able to get back.

It's not a beautiful thing just like pooping or breathing isn't. Just an annoying function of my body I've got to deal with.

On the upside it's 2023 so you've got access to painkillers and birthcontrol, if you want to. Have you tried using painkillers made for killing menstrual pain? I can chug 4 or 5 regular paracetemol pills and it does nothing but a good brand of painkillers works wonders. I use aleve feminax.

>>19064
Samefag, not trying to be condescending btw. You've probably already tried anything but it's just a suggestion in case you haven't.

>>19057
I guess i'm a braindead hippie pagan lol.

My periods used to be painful until I started to seriously question abrahamic/patriarchal narratives that I had been raised with. It's not common, but menstruation is not universally evil in all cultures. Just as a feminist, it is interesting to look into different cultural taboos, myths, and what effect they have on the women living under that culture. For example, abrahamic thoughts on menstruation include gems like "women bleed once a month as a curse from god" "women are inferior men who fell into temptation". And slightly more modern adaptations of this could include Freud's idea of male castration anxiety, where menstruation appears like a castrated dick (women are inferior or failed men). These thoughts permeate the culture and affect the women living in it. When I looked into more period-positive mythologies and tried to employ some of their techniques in the modern day, my period became less painful and I was able to see it as somewhat useful. From what I saw, the more positive spin on menstruation has to do with polarity, with the ovulatory part of the cycle being more extroverted and the menstrual part being more introspective.

I tend to repress negative emotions and disassociate often, which helps me in the short term. But these repressed feelings come out around my period. So for me, it is a great time to examine emotions or memories that i have repressed and try to deal with them. It is a good time to get comfortable and analytical. I also have more creative drive around my period, so I make artwork. I try to avoid being extroverted around this time (not scheduling interviews, friend dates, important meetings etc) since it would not work well with my introverted mental state during menstruation. For me, it is a time of self improvement and mental hygiene which helps me out during the rest of the month.

I had always wondered what minor changes would exist if we lived in a matriarchy instead of a patriarchy, and one of those imo would be having a week off work per month instead of scattered weekends, which are really just meant to go to church.

>>19058
But it would also be a good idea to check for any gynecological issues. Periods are not meant to hurt that much.

>>19068
wtf did I just read

I know it will sound fake, but you can do your research. Viagra helps with menstrual cramps, I found out they killed the research when results where appearing bc 'not very important' or something like that. Has helped me a lot, BUT mine were never disabling, just eventually bad, so YMMV

I wouldn’t say periods are a beautiful thing necessarily but they force me to take care of myself both physically and mentally every month. If I don’t want to get suicidal ideas and feel like total shit for a week, I have to prepare the week before and get my shit together mentally so I’m less inclined to have emotional bursts. I meditate more and try to be more aware so that I can put things into perspective and remind myself that it’s a vulnerable time for me. I used to have very bad cramps the first two days, I can now limit that and keep it to a few hours if I make sure I don’t eat greasy, salty food or red meat the days before it starts. It forces me to eat healthy digestible stuff and drink more water, as alcohol and sugary drinks also trigger pain for me. I also have to stretch more and exercise as it helps a lot with body aches (my hamstrings and legs get super tight if I don’t). Used to be really annoying to prepare that much just to avoid pain but I got used to it and I feel like my body is hacking my brain to get and feel better, like a hamster that gets shocked if they don’t run the wheel.

>>19068
Based and witchpilled. I think abrahamic religions had a big share in fucking up the relationship of the sexes.

>>19068
What are some mythologies that are more period-positive if you don't mind me asking? Is it all new-agey stuff or is there stuff from antiquity?

>>19133
There are a few scattered modern tribes around the world that have different menstrual rituals like the Yurok of North America or some African cultures with women's societies that are not as bad.
Most period-positive mythologies that existed in antiquity have been either completely wiped or edited to match a patriarchal narrative, so a lot of the new agey stuff is people's attempt to piece together ancient female religions (or completely modern frameworks) with limited historical information as well as their own modern needs. I'm not an historian so it is difficult for me to know for sure how much is woo and how much is real, but something in it feels really intuitive and meaningful so I can't help but be moved by the idea. Of course take all of this with a grain of salt and look into it yourself if the idea interests you.
A great book about mythology and menstruation was The Wise Wound by Penelope Shuttle, it was my intro into questioning narratives behind menstruation. I think it was the first major book contemplating why menstruation is such a taboo. It brings in mythology, history, psychology, and some medical science to explore the question. it is a bit old, bit still good. its on the internet archive: https://archive.org/details/wisewoundmythsre00shut/mode/2up
I also liked some books by erich neumann. specifically fear of the feminine. It doesn't directly imply menstruation but it was still useful in making a good female-positive mental framework. He uses a jungian framework to examine feminine psychology and mythology.
Blood Magic by Alma Gotlieb is an anthropological book on different culture's ideas around menstruation. It's on my list but I havent gotten around to it yet.
In general, mythologies in which the moon or the number 13 (13 lunar months in a year) are prominent usually have some proximity to the menstrual cycle. The king arthur myth about the 'grail that bleeds' could be read as a menstruation myth. It is a stretch, but even jesus christ could be seen as a menstrual symbol (born of a virgin mother, bleeds, and is resurrected again. 13 disciples if you count mary magdalen). Though both of these are heavily colored by patriarchal narratives.
Definitely read one of the books I listed since I probably don't do them justice lol.