Menstruation is a stage in the female life cycle that starts at puberty and ends with menopause. It is the fertile phase in the life cycle of a woman. That is to say, it is during this phase of life that a woman can give birth or participate in procreation.

The onset on menstruation is the physical manifestation that benchmarks the beginning of the fertile stage. At this time many changes are taking place in the body, and because the girl is still in her childhood stage mentally and emotionally at this time, she is not really equipped to deal with all the changes taking place in her body.

In fact, the onset of menstruation is happening at a very young age these days, maybe it is part of evolution. By this, I mean that up to about 15-20 years ago, girls usually started menstruation between the ages of 13 to 15years. (I talk of most Asian countries) It was the normal phenomenon. It was quite rare that a girl would start menstruating before the age of 12, but these days 10 to 11 years is the normal age when girls start menstruation. Nobody can really explain why this age has come down globally. 

Girls of 10 or 11 years of age are not really equipped to deal with this major change. It is a major change, because the underlying message her body gives her is that she is now physically ready to be a mother/ woman, whereas mentally, emotionally she is still a little girl who needs mothering herself, and that is not an easy thing to deal with. Menstruation is a change that requires an adjustment in lifestyle, for the next 30 years or so, till the next major change, that is menopause sets in.

It is thus important for the mother to initiate and prepare her daughter for this change in life. The way a mother will handle it, then depends upon her own experience with menstruation. In many cultures, discussing menstruation openly is still a taboo. It is still treated with a hush-hush attitude.

In the olden days, women did not actively pursue careers. So they had a very different way of dealing with the menstrual cycle. They rested their bodies, they did not actively do physically strenuous work during their “time of the month”. The world today is not the same; it has changed beyond recognition in many ways. Women do not rest their bodies when they need to. PMS is a result of added stress in the lifestyle of women these days.

Women are actively competing with men today, be it a job, be it sports or any other place. So for many women the menstrual cycle is a hindrance. Not to mention the number of women using the birth-control pill, which makes menstruation not a natural but a controlled cycle.

The one thing that women need to do is accept the menstrual cycle as a healthy part of being a woman.
They need to look at each cycle as a message that all is functioning according to nature in their bodies. Imagine the kind of stress you would have to deal with if you missed a period! If you are sexually active, but are not looking to have a baby- it may cause panic. If you are not sexually active and miss that period- you have to deal with the stress of it starting at any time and you have to be on the alert to deal with it. Moreover not knowing what delayed it, may cause you to think of seeing a doctor, and you never know what they’ll find. It could be a cyst, an imbalance in hormones whatever.

So greet each “period” with joy. Relax. Cut down on any activities that may run your energy down, because the body naturally at that time will have a different flow of energy than the normal. It is not to say that the menstrual period will make you weak, but it is true that many women do feel more run down than usual when they have their period. Nature intended women to take it easy during a period, so just go with mother nature, take it easy.

Once you are relaxed mentally, you will find that your body relaxes too. And the physical pain or discomfort will disappear with the easing of the mind. You may sip herbal teas, use aroma therapy, hot water bags, take relaxing baths or showers, meditate, in short- just do anything it takes to relax the mind, in order to relax the body.

Just do what it takes to pamper yourself, you deserve it. Eat healthy food, exercise moderately and above all adopt a positive attitude towards menstruation, because it is part of your life for more than 30 years. So cribbing, calling it a curse grumbling, manipulating it with pills or medication is not going to make it any better.