My period is arriving in a few days… and I’m exhausted right now.
I have absolutely NO desire to push through & keep up with my habits and routines. All I want to do is plop on the bed, curl up with my phone & avoid my entire to-do list.
Some may call this depression, burnout or stress.
And for some… it’s a monthly reoccurrence known as PMS/PMDD.
Now let’s get one thing straight.
There’s FEELING uninspired & low energy, which prompts two different types of responses:
give in to your bodily needs & allow yourself to relax, guilt-free
find creative ways to self-motivate with rewards or timers (even if you end up moving at a slower pace)
There were several months during the peak times of my PMS/PMDD symptoms where every premenstrual phase… my inner drive would just ✨vanish✨. That is, until I would get a random burst of energy to deep clean in the final hours before my period. I wrote a short story memoir about a time when I was hopelessly premenstrual & mentally fighting with myself to get the damn dishes done. I was physically STUCK to the couch.
The fact of the matter is…
Progesterone in the luteal phase is designed to slow you down. 🐢
Prior to menstruation, hormones decline. So it’s completely natural to feel tired and unmotivated or more inclined to binge the latest Bridgerton season (again 🥵).
But for someone with a history of anxiety & depression… loss of motivation during PMS can feel like an internal battle. I felt like I was losing my potential every month & struggling to keep up with the rest of the world.
It took a long time for me to learn the difference between true physical fatigue and feeling guilt & shame for avoiding something. Did I really need rest or was I just procrastinating because my life feels overwhelming? I figured that I just needed to apply myself more, try harder & be more disciplined. It took a long time to learn HOW to meet myself in these moments of low motivation (especially during PMS).
For the longest time, my productivity was based on luck… not skill.
My mode of operation for many, many years was to wait until I “felt” like doing things or had a sudden burst of inspired energy — which typically occurred during the first half of my cycle leading up to ovulation.
^^ ACTIONS BECOME EFFORTLESS, “Letting Go: The Pathway to Surrender” by David R. Hawkins M.D. Ph.D. I used to have a high functioning anxiety approach to living life, so this passage changed the game for me.
It’s not that I strive to be in an eternal state of peace & tranquility at ALL hours of the day. I’m still a human with a dynamic range of mood & energy levels (especially during the luteal phase!). But after YEARS of consuming productivity podcasts & menstrual cycle books, here are some of the things I focus on to support innate motivation:
reducing decision fatigue
sticking to a routine that honors my daily rhythms
realizing when I’m micromanaging myself
not consuming any caffeine after 12pm
creating a relaxing bedtime routine so I fall asleep easily & have deep, restorative sleep (this means I’m pretty strict with my bedtime, too lol)
scheduling tasks that honor my cyclical rhythms
responding to hunger cues - ESPECIALLY during the luteal phase when appetite naturally increases (this prevents the chance of feeling “hangry”)
If you’re someone who tends to be hard on yourself, feeling like you should be doing MORE, or taking better care of yourself… try not to stress so much. Self-acceptance is the key here. That internalized shame is no longer welcome in your glow up era, hunnay.
Whether you’ve found this article/blog in the midst of estrogenic high-energy or the depths of luteal phase MUSH — just remember…