Not Just PMS

Dear anti-depressants,

I'm so sorry it took a PMDD diagnosis for me to be comfortable with you. I thought it was just PMS or mood swings - things we're "not meant" to take medication for. Thank you for helping me live a better life and not be a slave to my hormones.

Love, Alexandra

Alexandra, Australia

Reluctant Rollercoaster Ride

Dear Hormones,

Why do you have to have such a huge effect on my moods, you make me act like a different person each week on my cycle and even though I know it happens I have no way to change it. I just want to be stable rather than a constant rollercoaster!!

Anonymous, UK

One Day…

Dear Pregnancy,

Thank you for letting me grow this tiny human, just please can I have ONE day without a hormonal breakdown and achey boobs? Thank you!

Molly, UK

Suck It Up

Dear Crazy Hormones,

Thank you for causing the week leading up to my period to be a complete roller coaster and the physical symptoms when my period arrives to be debilitating. You’ve also made any form of hormonal birth control impossible. You decided unreasonable irritability and WILD mood swings were a great reaction to the different pills. Your reaction to the patch - nothing shorter than 14 day periods!! And any other form was greeted with worse symptoms (didn’t think that was possible until it happened). I’ve been told nothings wrong, you (the hormones) are a little out of whack and I’ve just got to suck it up.

Anyway, I’ll just be over here enjoying my two weeks of freedom until it all starts over again.

Anonymous, USA

You Need To Calm Down

Dear pre-period moodiness,

Can you calm the hell down? We do this every month, we know what's about to go down and to be honest theres no need.

Steph

Not Worth the Entrance Fee

Dear implant side affects,

I was warned of the side effects, it was highlighted that my periods may stop (no complaints there!) I might get headaches, feel sick and may experience mood swings.

Mood swings.

I was not warned just how bad the mood swings would be, you seemed to cause a complete personality change rather than just a few ups and downs. It started slowly, I was more irritable and I said this will pass. I would cry at nothing and then in the middle of that burst into laughter, this will pass I said. Irritable changed into irrational anger, I said let me check with the doctor.

I was assured that this was normal and if I just waited long enough everything would even out, so I agreed that I would wait until the 6 month mark. As I waited I became more and more angry and aggressive with everyone, I cried a lot, the sound of my partner doing mundane day to day tasks made me feel so angry I would have to leave the room before I started screaming about whatever it was.

How exactly was that all perfectly normal?

While it did level out and I have had 2 and half years blissfully without periods it was not worth the entrance fee.

Thanks for showing me that hormonal contraception is not for me.

Bianca, UK

Empowerment and Mood Swings

Dear copper IUD,

It's been 2 years now since we were introduced, and although we've had our ups and our downs, I have to say you make me feel so empowered. I think you made my mood swings worse (boo) but you've helped me enjoy sex more (yay) - all in all, I think we're pretty good together!

Emily, Sweden