Okay. Periods + Autism = The roughest week of my adult life. My senses are heightened for some reason, which means I can hear/smell everything. Don't think it's that bad? The sounds you don't think about suddenly become extremely grating, and then they begin to weigh on you.
Scenario: You're sitting upstairs in your bed, watching a movie. It's summertime, and you live in an older home, which doesn't have central air. Your window-mounted air-conditioning unit kicks on, and you can hear it humming/buzzing against the plastic frame. As you try to follow along with your movie, the sound of the ceiling fan pushing air is the second annoyance of many. Not only does it have an ever-moving shadow, you can hear the thrum of the motor, and the buzzing of the lights in their sockets. Then, you can hear the buzzing of the xbox and it's whirring motor. Not that bad, right? Too bad every time you lay your head on your pillow, you can hear the downstairs window mounted unit buzzing away. To add onto this building hell, you have a white-hot stabbing pain beginning to take up residence in your abdomen. It's like having extreme intestinal discomfort, but add in nausea, fatigue, muscle cramps/charlie horses, headaches, constipation, mood swings, and depression/anxiety elevation. No matter what you do, nothing brings a smile to your face. You can *stim as much as you want to try and alleviate this, but it's useless. You feel like a hollow shell of yourself, and wonder if every day will be like this, because if it is, how will you survive it? You sit, and you cry. You put on a cheerful movie, and cry more. You listen to up-beat music, and still you continue to sob. It's the only thing you're good at. The only thing that feels right, and so, you feel pathetic. You feel like your life is a black void of nothingness, and you'll never return to the light. Then you remember, this is just the first day of your period, and this is temporary, but this somehow still doesn't help. This is a small glimpse of what we uterus-sufferers go through.
*Stim: Short for self stimulation, or stimming. Common autistic stims are rubbing on soft fabric, flapping hands, auditory release (echolalia), rocking, chewing on things, clenching and unclenching the hands repeatedly...etc. It' a means of release for autistic persons. It helps stimulate serotonin production in the brain, helping them get through rough situations.
This Blend... Is sweet, earthy, warm, cooling, invigorating, calming, floral, minty, bright, fresh, and citrusy. It helps level mood swings, eases depression and anxiety, helps comfort you, alleviates fatigue and brain fog. This blend was made specifically to keep a PMSing persons level, comfortable, and sane.
Put it on the palm of your hands, cup them over your mouth and nose. Take five slow, and deep breaths. It can also be applied to the aching parts of your body. Do not take internally. As it's in a roller bottle, rub onto your abdomen.
If your pain is causing nausea, couple this with pain medication (which should be taken as directed on the bottle).
If your person (or people) are experiencing menstruation hell, do not tell them that "it isn't that bad". If you don't have a uterus, and don't experience this specific part of nature, do not assume you know what this entails and discount their struggle. Instead, be supportive and give them what they need, even if that means a sappy movie night with chocolate ice cream and stuffed animals.
Why did I remain gender-neutral? Not everyone who has a uterus, is female. Boys get periods too.
Why did I remain gender-neutral? Not everyone who has a uterus, is female. Boys get periods too.
