Period Pain, A Roundtable: On Cramps, Endometriosis, and Everything In Between
“Knowing what’s up doesn’t totally make it better, but it helps.”
“Knowing what’s up doesn’t totally make it better, but it helps.”
“Be present for yourself and others. It’s not asking a whole lot.”
Who were your fictional heroes? What were the stories that were told to you in the songs that you played on loop? Who were the artists who sang them, and how did their lives – so close to fiction anyway, by virtue of Hollywood tabloid culture – create stories for you? What did you imagine for yourself, as a teen?
I knew we all wanted justice, ease and wellbeing, and that our anger was a manifestation of our love for each other. But I also watched as my own fight or flight response kicked in in group dynamics, as I felt habitually roped into defensive positions that felt out of my control. I couldn’t reconcile this big gap between intention and action, so I knew I needed to withdraw not out of avoidance but out of commitment to my own healing. In retreating to understand my own depletion, I discovered somatic practice.
“Here is the good news—your best friend does have a therapist! Here is the bad news—that therapist is you!”
14 tips for living your mask and glasses life fog-free.
When are the Shoulds are invading your thought process, and try to be curious about that. What is it The Shoulds are trying
to protect you from? What does doing the “bad” or “wrong” thing mean?
“When we’ve all broken past the fear of being burdens on others, when we as communities learn how to ask for and give help and support, we’ll be able to take care of each other.”
Chances are, you know someone who is quarantining alone right now. Maybe even you, yourself, are alone, and have been for the past several weeks. If so, it’s important to learn how this extraordinary circumstance might be effecting your mental, emotional, and physical health – and what steps you can take to mitigate and reduce that harm.
Tell yourself that you’re not like one of those chain smokers, that you can stop whenever you want. Start smoking American Spirits, so it’s like, not even that bad for you because it’s natural, or organic, or something. You forget.
Your life is not going to feel normal. This is not normal. This is a pandemic. This is life or death. Our only tool is physical distance. We have to use it.
We all must do the internal work of unpacking how the harms of our social structure have become internalized, have lived in our bodies, have shown in our relationships. We must allow ourselves to feel the weight of it.
It’s a weird time, friends and loved ones; we’re all feeling disconnected and scared, and many of you are, too. We’re here to share a little about how we’re spending this time and what rituals, routines and practices are helping us get through this period; share yours with us too?
In my own struggle to get sober, I would spend days telling myself that my bottoms were “not that bad.” That the next day I would drink lighter, drink less, have water between glasses. For black gay addicts, we’re pressured at both ends. One of the reasons I’m sober today is because people around me talked about it, they extended their hands and hearts to me without knowing it.
Your therapist will probably never tell you the intricate personal details of what their work with you sets off in them, but please don’t doubt that we learn just as much about what it means to be a human by working with you.
Commit to your life, babe. Start today.
Having an hour a week devoted to being listened to can lend itself to a misdirection of feelings. It’s easy to dismiss this as a harmless crush, but it can easily spiral out into an obsession that takes away from the real work that needs to be done.
Close your eyes. You’re walking through a shady wooded glen. Wait, weren’t all the bees dying like, a year ago? Did we all just move on from that?
What would it feel like to move forward with curiosity, rather than relying on the comforting familiarity of self-doubt?
We sometimes wish our therapists had insight from actual queer people and not just theory about how to treat us more effectively – and we’re sure they do too, they want to help! That said, here’s our real-life insight and tips about how to help us get better better.