Have you ever asked your mom what her periods are (or were) like? What about the other women in your family? How about your friends? Do periods and cycle care make it to the group chat? 📲

Connecting with other women about our cycles is a beautiful way to experience-share, support each other, and create safe, intimate bonds with people we love 💜. More than that, we can learn so much about symptoms that run in our family (and why they do) from how our mothers and caregivers cared for themselves.

I’m gonna say something you may not have heard before… Your mental health and your menstrual health are closely connected to one another. Read on to learn how and what you can do to take care of yourself with this connection in mind. Mental health resources are also listed at the end of this post.

I didn’t know much about “cycles,” or “having PMS-free periods.” I didn’t realize that paying attention to your menstrual health is about more than just planning (or avoiding) pregnancy. Heck, I thought having a period was ALL there was to know. I had to go back to the basics and re-learn (or perhaps learn for the first time) what makes up a menstrual cycle and how menstrual health is tied to our overall health.