Some days you wake up and feel steady. Clear. Maybe even a little hopeful.
And then, seemingly out of nowhere, the fog rolls in. You’re exhausted, overstimulated, achy, irrationally irritable or heartbreakingly low. Everything feels like too much, or not enough.

This isn’t weakness. It’s hormonal reality.
And it might be time we started talking about it like it matters.

Because for many women, the menstrual cycle isn’t just a biological process, it’s a mental health timeline, too. And when you begin to notice the patterns, track the shifts, and respond instead of push through, you start to feel more in rhythm with yourself, not at war with your body.

Most of us weren’t taught that PMS is a spectrum. Or that PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) affects nearly 1 in 20 women and can mimic depression, anxiety, even rage.

We weren’t told that mood shifts mid-cycle aren’t “all in your head”, they’re linked to the sudden rise or drop in estrogen and progesterone, which interact directly with serotonin and GABA (the calming neurotransmitters that stabilise your mood and sleep).

And we definitely weren’t taught to prepare for those shifts, to soften into them, rather than power through.

But your hormones do affect how you think, feel, relate, recover, and show up. It’s not linear. And it’s not meant to be.

The luteal phase, that 10–14 day stretch between ovulation and your period, is when it often gets hardest. Energy dips. Emotions heighten. Your brain becomes more sensitive to stress, more prone to self-criticism. You might feel like a stranger to yourself.

And yet, we expect ourselves to keep performing as if nothing’s different.
This disconnection from cycle, from body, from pace, is part of the overwhelm.

Tracking your cycle isn’t just for fertility. It’s for mental clarity.
It’s a way of seeing: Oh, this is that part of the month when I tend to spiral. When I feel more tender. When I need more quiet.
It’s not permission to collapse, it’s permission to understand.

And when you track consistently, even just jotting notes in your phone, you start to recognise your own rhythm. You begin to build your life with compassion, not resistance.

There are ways to support your hormones gently, too.
Magnesium, B6, and evening primrose oil have all been shown to help with PMS symptoms.
Reducing alcohol and caffeine during the luteal phase can soften irritability and sleep issues.
Cycle syncing; adjusting your workouts, workload, or social plans based on where you are in your cycle – is increasingly being used by women to prevent burnout.

But more than anything, what helps is recognition.
That you are not the same version of yourself every week, and that’s not a flaw. That’s biology. That’s rhythm. That’s intelligence.

Your hormonal cycle isn’t just something to tolerate.
It’s something to listen to. To honour. To adjust for.

Because you’re not “too emotional” or “too sensitive.”
You’re just cycling. And your body is asking for a bit more care in the process.