PMS. This three-letter acronym has become somewhat of a joke in our culture. We laugh at the crazed women in movies as she bites the head off her boyfriend and inhales a chocolate candy bar in the same breath. We groan with empathy at the cheesy commercial as the woman struggles to zip up her jeans and cover up that zit while they sell us a pill to do away with the symptoms. The reality is, PMS is not funny, and it affects millions of us, as women. From our teenage years with the raging hormones and the embarrassment of our monthly cycle to the moms and grandmothers with their hot flashes {and all the 20-somethings in between}, our hormones affect us.
Recently, I faced one of these episode with PMS, and God spoke clearly to my heart. He exhorted me to hold onto him as my strength and my guide and to do my part to help these hormonal feelings subside. The following are some take-away lessons from that instruction.
1) The first thing I felt God telling me to do was to acknowledge the thoughts, fears and lies swirling around in my head. I’ve found that if I don’t acknowledge these for what they are, they can easily take over my mind and spin out of control. Sometimes it may be naming my feelings one by one in order to acknowledge them as lies that hold no truth what so ever. Then I need to take it a step further and acknowledge these feelings before the Lord and hand them over to Him to deal with. God knows how every single out of control hormone in my body affects my mind. He alone can help me weather through my monthly cycle.
2) The second thing I felt God telling me to do was trade in the lies. What came to mind was the verse in Galatians about the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. In my mind I checked each one on the list and matched them up with the lies swirling around in my thoughts.
3) As a result of these things, I began to hold tight to the truth. Though in that moment I felt unloved, I recalled the truth that God pours unfailing love onto me. (See Psalm 13:5) I held tight to the joy that God gives, despite the desperation that took over my thoughts. And even through the cloud of fear, I remembered that I must not let go of God’s goodness. I then repeated this pattern until I felt peace.
As I did my part to acknowledge, trade in and hold tight, I felt the Lord take over and do His part. Throughout the following week (which is typically the length of my PMS), I continually went back through this process as negative thoughts crept into my mind. I was determined to not let my monthly cycle turn my world upside down. Though my PMS will return, I have no reason to allow it to rule my life because I am determined to hold tight to the truth through the storm of my hormones.
{NOTE: If you deal with depression at any point, including your monthly cycle, and you fear it may be out of control, please go see your doctor. Hormones can become chemically unbalanced and a physician can help you get back on track.}
Resources…
Isaiah 41:10 — Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
** For more help and information on depression go to Mercy Ministries.
Something Else…
Check out our favorite songs to jam out to and celebrate {girl power}!
Sarah is passionate about shedding light on her own struggles so that someone else might find encouragement. She would love to hear your thoughts about PMS and will be around all week to answer questions. You can read more about Sarah on her website www.liveitoutblog.com
Sarah would love to know how you weather the storm of PMS. Leave a comment for her here.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey everyone!
Are you surprised at our topic this week? There is really not much that we are not willing to cover on She Seeks. Would love to hear how you deal with PMS and lets encourage each other!
Hey Sarah,
Yes. I struggle with PMS, too. And I don’t like it.
But every time I battle the out-of-control hormones, I am reminded that God’s love for me is BIGGER. Sometimes I just curl up and cry and let the emotions flow – into my Father’s loving arms. (I tell my kids that my emotions come out through my tear ducts. *grin*)
At times I get frustrated that this thing called a hormone can cause me so much grief. I feel silly – knowing that life isn’t as bad as I’m feeling it is – but for the moment it is real, and I take it to God. I let Him hold me and love me through the storm.
The storm always passes, and God is always faithful.
Hi Sarah,
I also struggle with PMS, and its so hard sometimes i didn’t start having real bad PMS until after the birth of my son a year and half ago. I just try to stay stong when all these emotions /fears come and read gods word to get me through it.
Though I will honestly say I don’t practice it all the time. I openly admit my husband gets the bad end sometimes, but the best thing that works is drinking lots of good water for bloating, and just taking some quiet time whether it is a bubble bath or just lying in bed. Quiet times allows us to feel the presence of God, and then we feel comfortable to let the emotions pour out to Him.
Thanks for sharing everyone!
Danielle-Great and practical advise. I will also add that Vitamin B12 for energy is AWESOME during “that time of the month.”
For some of us, PMS is a real problem. When I was in my teens I had terrible cramps. Now that I’m in my mid 20’s, the cramps are totally managable, but I have actually been diagnosed with PMDD. This is related to my menstrual cycle and is sort of like PMS but waaaaaaay worse. I have mood swings so severe that I cry for no reason and scream at my husband for little things like not picking up his socks. I have trouble focusing and often drop dishes and become clumsy when normally I’m not. I experience extreme fatigue and have almost quit my job several times just due to mood swings. It’s debilitating. Most people can’t understand how someone totally sweet most of the time can turn into a crazy person a couple weeks per month just because of hormones.
I have been praying about it for a long time (and so has my husband, poor guy, he’s really the best ever). I finally mustered up the courage to talk to my doctor about it. I waited so long because I was embarrassed. I am now taking medication during that time of the month and it helps a lot.
I just want to encourage anyone who thinks that their PMS symptoms are more severe than they should be to pray about it and see their doctor. God has provided solutions for this type of hormone imbalance and wants us to trust Him to find those solutions. Don’t be ashamed, there’s nothing you can do to control it, so there’s nothing to worry about when asking for help.
Sarah – Thank you. This is a great blog
Christina,
Thanks so much for sharing your struggle. I am so glad to hear that you talked to your doctor about it and I hope that this encourages someone else to do the same. PMS is very real and sometimes takes some extra measures like medication to get a handle on it.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
sarah
Hi! I also deal with PMS and I star over analizing everything, and I tend to be over sensitive, then I realize it was just PMS once again, but at that time, I already said things that hurted, so I pray to God to control my emotions. Thanks for this!