Periods why

The absence of our usual distractions and coping strategies make escaping — or accepting and getting on with — our thoughts more difficult.

Any condition that has a psychological element will have surely been made worse by lockdown. It is a perfect storm and the body can tell the story of stress in so many ways. Having the space to laugh takes the sting out of things. Adams lives in east London and runs a shop with her boyfriend.

You lose sense of what is normal or understandable. The same is true for those who live alone. Sam Davies, 38, is a product manager who lives in Hertfordshire. She says she has always experienced some form of PMS.

I kept having this overwhelming feeling of being stuck; with my feelings, in my house, alone. If our periods have gone haywire over the past year, this is probably a response to prevailing stress; a signal from the body to think about what tools and habits might nurture our emotional wellbeing.

Once life returns to something resembling normal, routines are easier to maintain and we are able to calm down, it is likely that erratic menstrual cycles will calm down, too. Pandemic periods: why women's menstrual cycles have gone haywire. Names and some identifying details have been changed. If the egg is not fertilized by a sperm, then changing hormone levels send your body a signal to shed the blood and tissues that line your uterus.

But some women have what is called abnormal uterine bleeding — another term for irregular periods — which can happen for a variety of reasons, from stress and lifestyle factors, to more serious underlying medical conditions. An irregular period is when the length of your menstrual cycle unexpectedly falls outside of your regular range. Irregular periods can include abnormal uterine bleeding, such as:. After puberty, many women have a regular menstrual cycle.

However, it's normal for the cycle to vary by a few days each time. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians AAFP , between nine and 14 percent of women have irregular periods between their first period and menopause. There are a number of reasons why you may have an irregular, missed or late period, ranging from stress to more serious medical conditions. Also, when you first begin menstruating, it may take some time time before your period becomes regular. Your period may become irregular up to eight years before menopause.

A gynecologist will be able to determine the cause of your irregular periods and help you develop the best treatment plan for you. Every girl's body has its own schedule. There isn't one right age for a girl to get her period. But there are some clues that it will start soon:. A period happens because of changes in hormones in the body.

Hormones are chemical messengers. The ovaries release the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. These hormones cause the lining of the uterus or womb to build up. The built-up lining is ready for a fertilized egg to attach to and start developing.

If there is no fertilized egg, the lining breaks down and bleeds. Then the same process happens all over again. It usually takes about a month for the lining to build up, then break down.

That is why most girls and women get their periods around once a month. Ovulation pronounced: ov-yoo-LAY-shun is the release of an egg from the ovaries. The same hormones that cause the uterus lining to build up also cause an egg to leave one of the ovaries.

The egg travels through a thin tube called a fallopian tube to the uterus. If the egg is fertilized by a sperm cell, it attaches to the wall of the uterus, where over time it develops into a baby. If the egg is not fertilized, the uterus lining breaks down and bleeds, causing a period. For the first few years after a girl starts her period, it may not come regularly. This is normal at first. By about 2—3 years after her first period, a girl's periods should be coming around once every 4—5 weeks.

Yes, a girl can get pregnant as soon as her period starts. A girl can even get pregnant right before her very first period. This is because a girl's hormones might already be active. The hormones may have led to ovulation and the building of the uterine wall.