Episode 15: The Autumn + Winter of Your Menstrual Cycle (Luteal and Menstruation phases)
What if those more “challenging” phases of your cycle were actually key to helping you unlock deep self-awareness and creativity?
In this episode of Women of the Well, Dr Peta, Dr Thea, and Sam dive into the luteal and menstruation phases – often referred to as "hell week" or the “dark side” of the cycle.
This discussion reframes these phases, showing how they offer an opportunity for reflection, rest, and even transformation.
The team explores the physical and emotional shifts that occur as your hormones decline, offering tools and strategies to navigate this time with grace and get the support you need.
By tuning into your body’s cues and embracing cyclical living, you can find more balance, reduce overwhelm, and harness the incredible insights these phases provide.
Listen to discover:
🌿 What happens hormonally during the luteal and menstrual phases – and how these changes influence your mood, energy, and cravings.
🌿 How the luteal phase connects to Autumn energy, inviting rest, self-care, and deeper connection to intuition.
🌿 Tips for managing common luteal-phase symptoms like irritability, cravings, and fatigue – without guilt or shame.
🌿 Why the menstrual phase is a sacred time for rest, release, and reconnection with yourself.
🌿 How to honour your cyclical nature in a society that values constant productivity – and why doing so can be transformative.
🎧 Tune in for a compassionate guide to embracing the beauty and wisdom of these often misunderstood or maligned phases.
Resources and Recommendations:
🌳 Unlocking the Power of Your Cycle Course: A comprehensive online program (guided by Dr Peta Wright) to help you understand and optimise your cycle – with education, tools, and practices to support you throughout the month.
📖 In the FLO by Alisa Vitti: A guide to aligning your life with the phases of your menstrual cycle for better health and productivity.
🌟 Stardust App: A menstrual cycle tracking app that aligns your cycle with the phases of the moon and provides personalised insights that your partner can access too.
We would love to hear from you.
If you have any questions about you’d like us to answer on a future episode of the podcast, please email them to hello@verawellness.com.au or contact us on Instagram @verawellness.com.au.
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Episode transcript:
Ep 15 – The Autumn + Winter of Your Menstrual Cycle (Luteal and Menstruation phases)
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[00:00:00] Peta: Hello and welcome to another episode of Women of the Well. I'm Peta Wright. I'm Thea Bowler. And I'm Sam Lindsay-German.
Today we're going to be talking about the two parts of the menstrual cycle that probably have worst rap and we're going to sort demystify them, give them, and not give them a makeover, but maybe have you looking at them with a different perspective and a different lens and also help you to understand what's going on and give you some tools and practices that might make this time easier.
The luteal phase, so that premenstrual phase, some women refer to it as hell week, which like I can understand that might be many women's experience, but also I think about like that way the brain does predictive coding and the importance and the power of language.
And I'm like, Oh, if we just call it hell week, then that is going to, really set us up for a time that is. Not so good.
[00:01:57] Thea: And there are lots of other words that people use for this week. Last week we talked about Lucy Peach, but you know, first of all, there's the referring to the phases as the seasons.
And so the premenstrual week would be our autumn, our inner autumn. Lucy also refers to it as the take phase, which I think is nice because it gives us permission to perhaps ask for the help that we
[00:02:20] Peta: need and
[00:02:21] Thea: feel. feel less comfortable asking for.
[00:02:24] Peta: And also thinking about that, that this is the time of our cycle that's akin to autumn.
And I always think about this, that this is where in nature, people go to places on the planet that have amazing displays of the color changes of the leaves.
[00:02:40] Sam: And autumn festivals. In England, we used to have, autumn festivals where we would go and take tins and things like that, lay them on the altar at church.
And bread as well. We would take bread to demonstrate the abundance that has been, and then to actually have Thanksgiving for it. And then be ready to pass that on, which I think is, yeah, it's like harvest,
[00:03:03] Peta: harvest festivals and things like that. But there's a beauty in this transition turning inward.
Correct. because I think we're so disconnected from nature, we don't see it in ourselves, see that beauty in ourselves. And so I would like to kind of reclaim this time and Shift our perspective from looking at it as a really difficult, challenging time to can we see the beauty in it when we are well supported?
[00:03:28] Thea: Absolutely. Should we first just quickly talk about, cause we did a little sort of summary of hormonally what's going on in all the different phases in last week's episode, but perhaps we should quickly summarize what's going on. physiologically
[00:03:40] Sam: within our bodies during this time.
I think maybe I'm a bit confused on that. When do we actually go through that shift? When is the shift point between the ovulation and then luteal? if I can see it on this sort of little circular thing, but I don't really understand where do I, or would I have shifted from that ovulation into luteal and what's the Signaling hormone shift that occurs.
[00:04:02] Thea: So I guess ovulation is when we release our egg and we have peak estrogen at that time, which as we learned last week upregulates in the brain, so it makes us feel confident, social, motivated, energized. And after ovulation, we make a little cyst called a corpus luteum, which makes more estrogen and a big surge of progesterone, which is preparing the lining of the uterus for a pregnancy and also upregulating the GABA receptor in the brain.
So having an anti anxiety, sleep promoting, sort calming effect on the brain. Most women often feel quite good when we have that symphony of Easter dial and progesterone working together. And the corpus luteum only lasts sort of 12 to 14 days, but that week before we start our bleed, it starts to regress away.
And as it does, if you imagine a hill, our hormones reach their peak and then they start coming over the hill, coming down the other side. And so it's that withdrawal of estradiol and progesterone that leads to the withdrawal of the effects of GABA and serotonin in the brain that in that seven days, for some women, shorter for other women, so some people will only experience a day or two, but we can experience the physical symptoms of hormone withdrawal.
So that might be headaches, bloating. Um, it can be a bit more constipated breast tenderness. And then the emotional effects of the withdrawal of those neurotransmitters in the brain. So it's very common in the week before I bleed to feel more irritable, more angry, more quick to feel ragey. Also we crave more alone time.
We crave more quiet. If we have children, often the sounds can be quite a lot. And we can often have that sense of a bit of a cloud descending on things. We might feel a bit more low or a bit more anxious in that sort of lead into our bleed when our hormones reach their nadir or their lowest point, and then gradually start to pick up again.
[00:06:00] Peta: And also cravings for different kinds of food. many women might find their appetite is increased and particularly around wanting carby foods or sweet or salty or those sorts of foods. And that probably reflects the, changes in serotonin that are happening in the brain as a result of that oestrogen and progesterone withdrawal.
And it's a way of kind of, Increasing that, like it's a, way that we try and balance that out, if that makes sense. So many women will feel that sort of overwhelming craving for foods at that time.
[00:06:31] Thea: And I think it's really important to realize that it's normal to feel these feelings. Like, for any woman who is not on a type of contraceptive that switches off our cycle.
So, If you're on any form of intrauterine device or not on any contraception at all, you will feel this part of the cycle to a greater or lesser extent. As we said before, some women might find there's a week to 10 days where they're feeling not quite themselves. And some people. It might be a day or two, but everybody feels it to some degree.
[00:07:02] Peta: And in studies like older studies, I don't know what it would be like now, but you know, at least 75 percent of normal women would report some changes in their mood or physical bodies during this time, which makes absolute sense because we've got hormones that are shifting, which affect our body and our brain.
So it's kind of insane for us. I always say this to my clients. It's actually ridiculous when you understand to what extent hormones do influence us, that we would expect that we would remain the same all the time. Because it doesn't. That's not what's happening in our body. Of course, we're going to feel differently when we have these different shifts.
[00:07:39] Thea: Our body is like literally calling us to
[00:07:43] Peta: rest,
[00:07:43] Thea: calling us to stop telling us it's time to slow down.
[00:07:47] Sam: Is that the progesterone that makes us or invites us to start to slow down? Is it the influx of that? Is that what makes us want to have carbs? You can say if I'm completely wrong. I don't need to be right.
I think there's just been, there's been quite a lot around how you should eat with your cycle. And I definitely heard someone talking about this stage being linked to progesterone. And during that stage, that's why if we eat good carbs, we don't necessarily start to crave the bad carbs.
and that then actually is part of helping us to sleep more, to rest more, which is what we want to do. And the carbs can actually help us feel a bit more drowsy and sleepy. And is that progesterone or is that a different thing altogether?
[00:08:30] Peta: Well, progesterone, which is made after ovulation, we get a rise in our body temperature when progesterone rises a few days after ovulation, which stays elevated up to like 0.
5 degrees until just before our period. And we also have our metabolism is increased during this time. So we actually do need more calories. So I think for that whole second half of the cycle. We need more calories. And that's probably driven by that progesterone and metabolism shift.
something like 300 more calories. And I think protein again and fiber are really important here. I think that the carb thing is more as a result of if we're having serotonin levels that are coming down in the brain as a result of that estrogen fall in the week or so before our period.
Actually eating carbs. decreases our cortisol. Like a stress reducing tactic, which is why we have people who might emotionally eat when they're stressed. Like it does help to bring our cortisol down. And I think that's what's happening. That's what we're trying to do with that.
It's a response to the lower estrogen serotonin effect in the brain is my understanding.
[00:09:37] Sam: So what would be a good carb? to be eating around that time.
[00:09:41] Peta: So like complex carbohydrates, so like sweet potatoes, oats yeah, brown rice. I have this really good recipe for, it's an Elissa Vitti, um, recipe actually, and she's written a really good book, which we'll put in the show notes, which is called In The Flow.
And she has this recipe for I think they're called like PMS busting brownies and they are so good. They're like sweet potato graded up with like maybe a little bit of almond meal or something, but hardly any flour, cacao. I can't really remember what else is in there. Flax seeds is really good.
There's flax seeds for fiber. So lots of really good complex carbs and not very much refined sugar. So they're just the best. We should link them into the show notes.
[00:10:30] Thea: I think that I
[00:10:32] Peta: have it in our Unlocking the power of your cycle course as well, but yes, they're the so the best
[00:10:38] Thea: yeah, and so if we think about The fact that our body is literally asking us to stop and slow down what happens if we don't?
[00:10:47] Peta: I think what happens is we get experience that PMS rage or complete irritation or we just feel like we can't cope. And often it's because we're trying to continue on with the energies of life. Ovulation and the follicular phase, which is that sort of outward energy. So they're giving doing energy into this phase because we are in such a linear society that doesn't recognize the cyclical nature of women and that society only rewards people.
women who are doing or giving and there's sort of limited acceptance of people being and taking, particularly women. We try and maintain that energy and when we can't, because hormonally it's a much more vulnerable part of the cycle, we're much more predisposed to the effects of stress then we can.
that can explode emotionally, that can feel like we can't cope. We can have more sensitivity as well to the physical symptoms. I am going to say another aura ring related thing, but I find that no matter what I do in my luteal phase, even when I'm doing all the right things, my heart rate variability, which is that marker of stress goes down and it is just showing me that I'm much more vulnerable to stress during that time which reflects a lot of what we're saying.
And so, It's not necessarily that I need to try to make that number go up, but it means that I really need to pay attention that my body needs more nurturing and more care than what it does in the other times of the cycle. And that if I don't listen, I'm going to be really out of alignment and I'm going to experience the.
effects much more.
[00:12:31] Thea: Yes. Cause I think we live in a world that doesn't want us to change across the month. Well, it doesn't fit with the productivity of capitalist society. That's right. That's right. And it's, kind of funny because you think about like the typical, like woman with PMS and people saying, well, you're just hormonal.
And it is that you're like, yes, I am hormonal, but there is no space for me to Live my hormonal life. And so my favorite thing to do is just unscheduling like I do it every single month. I don't know why I don't think about it, but like when you're feeling good, you know, at the beginning of the cycle I say, yeah, I'll go to that dinner.
Yeah, I'll do all these things, often multiple things in one day and then get to the point in the cycle where actually. I'm feeling like I need to rest. I'm wanting to rest and have too many things on the agenda. And so often just cancel some or all of them to actually enable myself to stop.
[00:13:29] Sam: Which is really good that you're doing that.
And and if every woman did that, there would be a massive shift for sure. Because one of the things I was thinking as you were talking is. Would we even have PMS if we were actually living a cyclical life? , is it that PMS is a result? Do we still call it PMS? What do we call it? Do we, I don't really like it.
It's not very nice, but I'm just saying it. That's what people are generally knowing it as, but that sort of anger that dismay, that feeling of, Not knowing what to do depression or the different stuff that comes up. That's as a result of not doing what it is that we really want to do. And if we were actually honoring our body and following what it is that the hormones are really, inviting us to explore, chances are we wouldn't have that same level of fluctuation and we wouldn't be as exhausted because we would have a natural downtime each month that would lead us to be more productive and more effective.
happier. And yeah, because that's the point we don't stay the same.
[00:14:38] Peta: And there are really good studies that show that cortisol and persistent stress actually make hormone receptors in our brain more sensitive to the hormonal shifts of estrogen and progesterone than if there wasn't high amounts of cortisol around.
Which just speaks to exactly what you have said, Sam. And so it's about as women. And like, I think the thing is there'll be a lot of people listening to this. Who are we saying, well, that's all very well and good, but you know, we can't do that. Like we have these lives to live and we just have to do them and you can do that.
But then you may experience these symptoms and there are ways that we can then deal with those symptoms. Which can for some women may involve like shutting off the cycle with the pill and they will choose to do that and for some women that's good or it suits them but for many women I think more women then is necessary.
It is a way of feeling so unsupported that they can't make the changes that they need to make that would then mean that this part of their cycle would be much more. Manageable. And so I think we can get really angry and be like, well, why isn't our society rising to meet us? Or, because I don't think that is always the best way, we can just start.
And I think in the small ways that we can start speaking the language of cycle and the hormones with the people around us, with the women around us, With our partners, with people in our workplace, if we feel safe to do so, one little bit at a time, and I think start, just start not feeling guilty when you cancel things and you'll hit your phase, even saying, no, I'm like, day 23 and I just can't do that.
We, I know that we work in a workplace that understands this, but we talk like that all of the time.
[00:16:23] Sam: you made a decision to create that and that's the key that we can't take away. Change comes from making change and that's not easy. It's those changes that actually can help us to.
Be able to not be on medications and I know this isn't a conversation about medications, but the point is medications tend to lead to the need for more medications. And so if we want to live a healthy life, ultimately the best thing for us to do is not need to do anything to support ourselves.
That isn't natural, but to be able to do it ourselves. And we do have this capacity, but it just requires us to you. Prioritize ourselves over what it is that's being demanded of us and to start say, yeah I'm happy to be very productive and to do these things that you want of me here and here. I just can't do it right here.
Give solutions.
[00:17:17] Peta: It's about listening to the messages that our body is telling us through symptoms and figuring out what they're trying to tell us rather than just squashing them. I think that's a big, big paradigm shift,
[00:17:29] Thea: but
[00:17:29] Peta: ultimately that's what as women we need to start to do because we are canaries in the coal mine of a, I think, very sick, overwhelming culture and we can keep.
Like being on the treadmill and doing all the things to cope and that for some women is what they used to do But I think we need to step back and have a look at the bigger picture
[00:17:51] Thea: Yes, and you're right like, it's a Buddhist yogic philosophy that you start with yourself You know you start with yourself and I think the pre menstrual phase is such a beautiful time Because it forces us to start with ourselves.
It's Forces us to like, it's our body tapping us on the shoulder of being like, hello, like really tune in here. This is your opportunity to tune in and connect with what exactly it is that you need. And I like, although it's can be a difficult time, it's. Can be a really beautiful time as well because, we always say like the veil is thin, like our intuition is so strong during that time.
You feel this like deep, deep sense of connection to everything around you. And, Aren't we fortunate that we're, given this phase of our cycle to ask us to tune into our bodies, to give us the impetus to perhaps address the things in life that aren't serving us and to really tune in to the world.
[00:18:51] Sam: That's so beautiful. I always think that This is the time when we connect to the Kali aspect of ourselves, the goddess Kali, she's a Hindu goddess and she's sort of the goddess that represents the destructive nature of the feminine. we often want to shy away from that, but it's a very important aspect of us because we're very strong.
We have the capacity within ourselves to generate, to organize and to destroy or deliver. This is really important so we can deliver what we want, but I think sometimes we have got so caught up Trying to generate and organize things that have no interest to us But have interest to lots of other people that when it gets to this stage of our cycle What happens is that Kali energy rears her head and?
And when just like Theo says, I love this analogy of the veil coming down. It's like, we can no longer keep quiet about those little things that really don't normally annoy us because we sort of breeze through in a mist of hormones. But at this point that is gone and we suddenly become. People that are ready to murder over being asked if we could possibly bake a tray of cakes for bake sale When actually that's the last thing we want to do.
We definitely don't have the time We need to be resting or just looking after our family. And so what happens is we don't have the capacity because we spent so much time during the rest of the month just saying yes and pleasing and not really being able to, or not listening to their other noises that come to us at other times through our intuition and the like.
And we get to this point and it's just, it becomes too much for us. We can't keep the lid on. And so I always think. It's such an honest time and that's scary because that level of honesty, we don't really want to sit with that. It's uncomfortable. It's making us think of, if I say that out loud, if I say I don't actually want to stay and do that thing that I'm expected to do, what will people think of me?
And this is the point where we actually have to say, but what do you think of yourself? If you do stay, if you do do what you feel you should. Then what are you saying to yourself by saying yes to others? Is it okay to say no to yourself? And I feel that that level of honesty that comes to us provides us such a window of opportunity that if we could deal with that each month as we're going through our menstruating years, menopause will be a lot gentler.
Because we won't have as much stuff to clear up. We'll have been clearing it, gently sifting through. It's like doing a little house clean every month and figuring out what do I need to get rid of and what do I absolutely love and it can stay.
[00:21:44] Peta: And practicing the letting go. Practicing the letting go of what is no longer serving you each month.
And I think yeah, if we can be still and quiet and listen and then actually have the courage to act on that, we make our subsequent cycles easier. But like what incredible information we are allowing in, it's like this real. Like spiritual practice when you can sit with yourself during this time.
[00:22:15] Sam: I think it's the time when we can actually really tap into deep creativity
[00:22:19] Peta: too.
[00:22:20] Sam: Because of our capacity to go inward at this time. I know my meditations are much deeper and I'll actually be fascinated to see. what my aura ring says during this time in meditation. That'll be very interesting. If you look at the stats on that, it'd be fascinating because I feel like that's the type of time that I can go just really deep, very quick.
I don't really need to move my body in order to go deep in meditation. And so therefore we can really have creative ideas that come to us that wouldn't normally other times. So it's almost like, In yoga, we'd say that maybe at this time, you're more connected to the universal chitta, the universal mind, and you can receive those sort of downloads of information because the veil is thin and we're in this sort of.
these two worlds of life and death. And I think to be able to venture to that, to be able to sit with it like that is so powerful. And if we revered it as such,
[00:23:18] Peta: I did read, and I don't know if this is actually true, but I did read somewhere that back in medieval times, women who were, in their luteal phases were the ones that were sought for their opinion on things because the leaders of the village or whatever would know that they wouldn't beat around the bush, they would say exactly what they thought and I was like that's so
[00:23:37] Sam: fascinating.
And that's exactly the same because stage, this Luteal stage is the same as the autumn, the menopause stage, which is why as we come to that as women, It's absolutely right. We don't have the time to beat around the bush and we're not interested in pleasing others.
That's a gift, which we're not used to. Recognizing because we feel like we should be good.
[00:24:00] Thea: And
[00:24:00] Sam: so once we can get away from these ideas that we've been taught as young girls to be good and that our worth is driven by what it is that we're achieving, once we can let go of that desire to please people by doing what they expect of us, we can actually really probably be Much more useful in society.
[00:24:21] Peta: And I think also like recognizing what's happening, communicating with the people in your family or in your house, in your workplace, whatever about it because you are then able to be supported. And you're able to make space because I think all of that creativity and the insights only happen if we allow ourselves space.
Otherwise it's just us feeling uncomfortable, rageful, wanting it to be different, wanting to not feel it. And which, leads to all the dis ease, I guess. we then can be supported to experience that depth of of this time.
[00:24:57] Thea: Yes. And also like, what a beautiful experience for women who are so often being a supporter to actually feel that sense of being held by their family.
Like I, like for all my patients, we talk about like, okay, well, how can you get your husband in on this time? How can you actually. Ask for what you need. And initially that's a really confronting thought for a lot of people and they say, Oh God, I couldn't. But then often they'll come back and they'll be like, Oh, my husband was really on board and he cooks dinner and you she was able to actually be the receiver for once.
[00:25:31] Peta: And they just need to be told because they don't know. And so if they know how they can help, they're all they're trying to do is please or impress you, I think at any time. And so just, pointing out what needs to happen. I have the same conversations with many of my patients and it'll be like, well, in this week, can you ask your husband, can he be around more?
Can he make some of the dinners that night? Can you take yourself off and go for a walk or go to yoga during that time? Can he do more of the kids responsibilities or whatever, or even um, in your, um, high energy phases, using that time to do a bit of like bulk cooking, where you put things in the freezer for that week.
And then even the period week where you might be less inclined to cook or getting someone to cook you those meals, like all of those, cause you know, it's going to happen every month. It's not a surprise. We'll really help to support you, which makes you feel better. You then can get the most juice out of this part of the cycle that's so, terribly maligned and your family will be so happy that you're not yelling at them all the time because you're supported.
It's good. It's such a wonderful, different way of thinking and so doable and sustainable.
[00:26:46] Thea: And even if you think about it, like in the workplace now, like so many companies and like the Queensland government has. Um, and so if this is a time that's very challenging, we're having a day off and like doing all of the beautiful nourishing things that, you know, will sort of fill you up.
that's an option for women as well. And we often talk about Crafting like your time of radical self care for that, really crunchy premenstrual time or the beginning of the period. And like just writing down like a list of things that you know would make you feel incredibly good inside would, really ground you, really calm you.
And then you might not do all of them, but at least having that list there. So that if you do have the time and space, you can go to it and really nourish yourself when you need to be nourished.
[00:27:36] Sam: Yeah, I think that's so, so beautiful because with the Kali energy and goddess Kali the story is that she went out and sort of slayed everyone.
She's on a battlefield and she's just slaying men left, right, and center. And there's a lot of everything, everywhere you can imagine what it would look like. And she's in a rage. I don't know if any of you have ever been in a rage like that, but we all generally know that rage. And so she's.
Lost herself in the rage. And that's what I was thinking. We lose ourselves in that rage at this time. It's very easy to do. It's sort of the point where everything becomes too much. Everything feels like it's failing. You can't see light anymore. And this is akin to this stage where we're not doing the self care that we need.
And so, it's only when she comes to Sheba and she's standing over him and he's there looking at her with absolute love as she's about to take him that she stops and realizes. So love that stops her. It's love that stops her in her tracks and makes her realize. Oh, what have I done?
How did I not see? So I feel like as you're talking, it just makes me think this is the answer. It's, can we say to others, I need you to love me more at this time. I don't need to be ostracized. and that goes for, even if we don't have a partner thinking about, could we tell our friends? And absolutely at work, can we say, I'm going to need a bit more extra self care because I think if you are someone who is struggling at this stage of your cycle, just even practicing this for three to six months, you're going to start to see a marked improvement in that cycle shifting.
over that time, so it's just remembering when you feel in that dark space, which I think can come for many of us at this time, you are going to feed yourself more in the dark feeds the dark and we have to find the light somehow. So where is your light? And Maybe for you it's a nice bath, maybe it's for you it's, going for a walk, or sitting with a friend who you trust and just having a really good cup of tea, or asking your partner for a foot rub.
But where is the light? And reminding ourselves that the light does return. So we know that after our bleed, we get relief quite quickly and reminding ourselves of that I think is very helpful because I just know personally, if I sort of go and sit with someone and sort of doom and gloom things or if I was to go and sort of do some talk therapy at this peak of time, I could probably bury myself very
[00:30:18] Thea: deep.
[00:30:20] Sam: And so I'm always reminded, my husband always says to me when I go into one of these. It's rage cycles when it's late at night, cause it tends to happen at night. I don't know if that's anyone else, but as women, I think we get that. He'll just say, darling, it's probably going to be okay in the morning, which makes me want to kill him.
But he's so unfortunately, Right.
[00:30:39] Peta: Yeah, I have a big anxiety spiral around this time. Way more in turning up of internal bodily sensations. I always think something's wrong with me and I'm saying that to my husband. He's like, you're just in your literal phase. This is going to be better. Don't worry.
Like remember all your, volumes turned up and you have not as much ability to calm yourself because we have to really think that physiologically our brain has changed and our nervous system has changed and it's more vulnerable to stress and like that's a real thing that's happening.
And so to understand that and then to understand that the key is not to pathologize ourselves, but to really help to Do things that to regulate or activate our vagus nerve, which is that rest and digest parasympathetic part of our nervous system, that if we can get it to be sending signals of safety, and that comes with breath, being around positive people, being cared for, having a massage, being in nature, gentle movement, all of that sends the message to our brains, to our survival brain that's getting, like, really scared.
and it calms it down and says you're safe and we need more of that during that time of the cycle. And yeah, it's kind of really crazy that society doesn't rise to meet us, but we have to do it.
[00:32:01] Sam: I know. It's just, I was just thinking, imagine if we all had notes in our diaries around this sort of phase that said, just remember, what did you say?
That, Everything's turned up. Yeah. It was such a beauty. The volumes turned up. If we just had, I just feel like that is such a calming thing to say because I totally get it. You feel like, yeah, the anxiety comes, you second guess yourself more, you're more heightened to watching people and feeling sort of judged.
Yes. Judgment. That's a great word for it. And Actions which normally wouldn't trigger you and so if we know what our triggers are, if we know that the volume is turned up, if we know that being in certain circumstances don't actually make us feel loved at this time, then we can really help ourselves and it would be a game changer.
[00:32:49] Peta: And sometimes it's just the volume turned up and safe but the volume's turned up but sometimes the volume is turned up on things that Do you need to change? Like if it's, if the same thing is coming up and it's particularly around, like, I want to leave my job. I want to leave my husband, things like that need further Examination and I'd say, not at the time, but then if that is something that keeps coming up and you're just keeping a journal or whatever, revisiting that thing in your follicular phase and things are more stable is a really good thing to look at and be like, well, is this something I need to actually address in my life
[00:33:26] Thea: rather than writing it off?
Yes. Christian Northrop calls it. Premenstrual truth. Yeah. Premenstrual truth. That's in that our radar is on and our veil is thin and yes, things that crop up often do have a nugget of truth in them. And how can we listen?
[00:33:41] Peta: Because I think we are conditioned to not listen to our bodies, to pathologize everything.
To feel
[00:33:47] Thea: like our negative thoughts are always wrong. Yeah. Like to fit, to think differently. That it's
[00:33:51] Peta: always us.
[00:33:52] Thea: That it's always us. Yes.
[00:33:53] Peta: Yeah. Yes. That it's not outside of us. Yeah. It's a diagnosable thing in us. That's right. That needs to be fixed. Yeah. But there's so much power in this phase.
[00:34:01] Thea: So much power.
And like, I don't know, I really like the dark, the deep, dark witchiness of it all. And I listened to Alexandra and Shani talking in one of their podcasts about like how to show up. Yeah. If you have a big thing on in this time, because often we can't schedule life to be, perfectly aligned with our cycle.
And I felt that so much because, we'll often have to do presentations or writing lists or things that happen in this time of like extreme self doubt and, they talked so much about. How, we're in the dark, but we're in that phase of deep, deep knowing. And if we can really tune into that and really tune into our intuition it's almost like you have a channel directly to universal source.
And if we can tap into that, then we can show up in really beautiful, often more grounded ways. And one of them said, I really loved it because she had to do a big talk. When she was just before her bleed, and she said to herself, now is the time to be in the unknown. And I thought that was so beautiful to just let yourself be in that.
Unknown, in that doubt, but know that things will still come through and you'll still have the capability that you need.
[00:35:14] Peta: And that's why this is a spiritual practice and the um, conventional thinking that it's either like just a horrible blip before our period, which is then horrible as well.
It's just so, so wrong because there's so much depth if we can look at it.
[00:35:30] Thea: Absolutely. And I think we should say that like, this applies to anyone who is struggling in the luteal phase. And we try not to use the diagnostic labels so much, but you know, people might struggle with PMDD or PME. And it's a spectrum of sensitivity to the hormonal shifts that are going on and there are lots of treatments available.
And that's something that we will plan on talking about in another episode.
[00:35:57] Peta: So that was PMDD is premenstrual dysphoric disorder and PME is premenstrual exacerbation of an existing mental health condition. And there's lots of, and some things can be different for these women. Yes. Much of this still applies, but there is a whole other, lots of other things we can still say about that where some women do need more more specific treatment.
We'll have a whole episode on that. Whole episode on that, yes. So I think this brings us into the menstrual phase, which I think we've done several episodes on that. And we, all I would say is this is the time as Thea said that pre menstrual time is our time to take, to go inward, to make space, to be creative, to listen to what's coming through.
And our menstrual phase is that rest, like just being, giving us that time. If we can think about it like that, they're actually really good phases to look forward to because We don't have to hold everything the whole month long. We don't have to do everything for everybody and we don't have to be everything for everybody else.
There is that sacredness in us being able to rest. And I really liked that bit because it's like, I'm having my bath and my husband's taking the children out. And, he's always like, I wish I could have
[00:37:10] Thea: that. It's like, oh, you can, but
[00:37:11] Peta: you have to plan it.
[00:37:12] Thea: Yes. But it's, like a metaphorical and a physical letting go, isn't it?
Like really surrendering,
[00:37:17] Sam: really letting go. And I think what's beautiful about that is it's, you could listen to what Peter's saying about, she gets, her bath and she gets her children looked after and you could go, well, that's okay. Cause you can do that. But the point is, that's what you've worked towards.
That's what you've planned for. And these things come from communication, from actually explaining to those who live around us, what's happening to us and for you accepting what's happening to you. It's only through this acceptance and the. Deep understanding of our own bodies that we can possibly ever expect anyone else to know us that well and to understand what we need.
And those things, that, that can be challenging to begin to make change when we've been living a certain way. But I think the gifts that come from doing that are amazing.
[00:38:04] Peta: You could also just put your children in front of a movie for two hours as well. And that's perfect parenting and perfect for you at that time.
You know, I think there are so many ways we can start to make these changes. And at the end of the day, we do have a choice to make, we either listen to the signals of our bodies as wise bearers of important information about the way we're living our lives and make changes accordingly, or we keep living out of alignment and seek and seek and seek answers outside of ourselves and everyone will have what's right for them, but it's a choice at the end of the day.
and with that, we will say thank you so much for listening and please You can find more about this in depth as well on our website, VeraWellness. com. au. There is a course called Unlocking the Power of Your Cycle, which goes through all of this in great detail which I hope you'll find helpful and illuminating.
Otherwise, you can see us on Instagram Vera Wellness au and please email us with any questions or anything you'd like to cover at hello at vera wellness .com.au. Thank you for listening.
[00:39:15] Thea: Thank you.
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DISCLAIMER:
This podcast is for information and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
