If we had a penny for every time our guy friends told us we’re exaggerating about how we feel when we’re on our period, we’d have been able to afford a sex change. The monthly event is painful and full of complications that only women will understand. Think about it as a terrible reenactment of the movie Alien. Still can’t picture it? This article is for you, then. Did you know that…

 

 

 

 

 

 

1- The Uterus Shatters itself Each Month

 

It’s every bit as terrible as it sounds. Let’s clarify what a menstruation cycle is, for those of you who skipped biology. Each month, a woman ovulates. The uterus prepares itself by building up a lining on its walls, so as to be a safe place for the fertilized egg. When the egg arrives unfertilized to the uterus, it starts cramping. This shatters the inner walls of the uterus. The shattered uterus is then processed through a woman’s system in the form of the period. Do you realize how painful it is for your insides to break themselves down and process themselves out of your system? Now imagine that happening every month.

 

 

2- The Cramps are Mini Contractions

 

Basically, we’re being prepared for childbirth since we hit puberty. In order for the uterus to shatter itself and get rid of the shattered lining, it contracts with so much ferocity, you might as well be giving birth! 

 

 

 

3- Your Uterus isn’t the Only thing that Cramps

 

Have you ever heard two women talking about how they go to the bathroom more often when they’re on their period? No? Let us scar your soul forever. A woman’s body releases prostaglandins, which triggers cramps in soft tissue muscles, like the uterus. This substance isn’t too picky about what soft tissue muscle it will trigger to cramp, though, and will cause similar muscles to cramp as well. This results with the intestines and stomach cramping up as well, which, in turn, leads to an upset stomach and more trips to the bathroom.

 

 

4- Periods Last up to 7 Days

 

Sometimes even more! Can you imagine that? Bleeding for 7 continuous days and not dying? Now imagine that happening every single month. Women are supposed to eat more foods that are rich in iron than men. This is because we lose just that much blood during our periods that we have to substitute it!

 

 

 

5- Overall Emotional and Physical Pain

 

Women experience severe mood swings, which they can’t help for the most part. If they appear over the moon one moment, then suicidal the next, it’s not a cry for attention, they really do feel all those things at once. Keep in mind that it’s not just the hormones. It’s also the physical pain. Right before our periods, we suffer from fatigue, breast tenderness, and migraines. Making matters even worse, any physical weakness a woman has will become a lot more apparent when she is PMSing. If she has sciatica problems, it’ll hurt even more, if she has sinus allergies, she’ll have a runny nose until her period is over. Basically, the 5-7 days of her period, and the 5-7 days before it are more or less torture.

 

So next time your girlfriend, wife, or sister complains about their period, don’t be mean about it. Buy her a chocolate bar, heat up her water bottle, or order her a pizza. Give the girl a break, because she definitely deserves one.