Death and taxes are two sure things in life. For women, a third sure thing is that your period will start at the worst possible time. Worried about a late period or delayed menstrual cycle? Your worry, plus added stress or illness can delay your period. The holiday season with it’s concomitant rush, craziness, busyness, stress and worry, is a prime time that many women experience delayed periods or menstrual deviations. Illness, especially a flu-like illness can cause delayed periods, too. Given the recent H1N1 health issues, it is very likely that women who have had H1N1, either from the vaccine or contagion, may experience delays in their menstrual cycle.
This is not to say that if your period is late, that you shouldn’t take a pregnancy test. There is no harm and all good in finding out as soon as possible if you are pregnant. But if the test is negative and your period is still late, it will be very helpful to you to be aware of the effect that stress and illness can have on the timing of your period.
It is eminently possible to hold your period at bay, as it were, with worry, stress, anxiety and panic attacks. When we feel stress and panic, we tighten all our muscles. We clench our jaw. We hold our breath and breathe shallowly. Stress causes us to effectually gather inside ourselves and protect our reserves. This is part of the body’s natural system of defense.
But this defense system can turn against us also. Some things need to be expelled or they become toxic. Sometimes, we need to consciously talk ourselves through stress and panic, so that we don’t allow stress to shut down basic body functions.
Increased defensive action to stress is one reason why your period will often begin during the night. When you are sleeping, you are relaxed and not worrying so much. The body is freer, during sleep to move through its nature patterns and cycles. Your involuntary rhythms can move at their normal pace.
Stress and worry are arguably the top most dangerous health concerns. Stress affects every area of our lives. Stress and worry exacerbate almost every known health condition: reproduction, circulation, respiration, digestion, the nervous system, muscular-skeletal systems. No bodily system is immune to the disastrous effects of excess stress and tension. It’s no wonder that stress should affect a woman’s biorhythms and monthly cycle.
If your monthly cycle is off this holiday season, or any time of year and you are not pregnant, look to your emotional well-being. Panic and worry will only make the situation more stressful. Relaxation, deep breathing, yoga, rest, positive cognition, all these strategies will help you get back on track. For more health information, visit me at www.emotionalhealthhelp.blogspot.com and www.healthhelp4u.blogspot.com.
