Make a Woman Feel Better While She's on Her Period
Sometimes men have a hard time understanding what a woman goes through during her "time of the month", and therefore do not know what to do to help her. Being a reasonable, considerate person all the time ought to be everyone's goal. If you want to give a woman or girl in your life some extra support whilst she is suffering a bad or heavy period, these steps will guide you.
Contents
Steps
- Realize what a woman goes through during her period. Obviously men can't put themselves in the place of a woman and understand what it's like to have a menstrual cycle, but they can try to understand what symptoms they go through. Woman can get terrible stomach cramps, which are never fun, and can range from a dull pain that simply annoys, to a stabbing pain that practically paralyses a woman. Women can get mood swings, they can get headaches, restlessness, become extremely tired or sleepy, become sore in their genital regions, and their appetites can dramatically change. Symptoms will vary from woman to woman and some women may not even have symptoms at all! Women having a heavy period may want to use the appropriate facilitates as often as every couple of hours which is a drag and can curtail trips out and about. Periods are just generally uncomfortable and the symptoms that go along with it are never any fun. Hopefully this will help give you an idea of what a woman goes through during her menstrual cycle.
- Make her feel good about herself. Give her compliments. Say things that will make her feel just as beautiful and intelligent when she's on her period as you find her the rest of the time. This will help boost her confidence, if she needs it, and may help a little with her mood swings.
- Help her out with things. If she has any little chores or errands to do, help her out. Take the stress off of her by doing the dishes or taking her things down to the laundry. This will help lift some weight from her shoulders and give her time to relax. Keep in mind she may not just have little or chores. Women who work for a living and run a family of kids and pets and everything else have periods too and HAVE to cope. Be considerate.
- Comfort her. Have her sit down and give her a massage or give her a warm hug. Even a comforting arm rub might make her feel better and will at least show you care.
- Make her feel loved and appreciated. Let her know how happy you are to have her in your life. Tell her she's a great friend, girlfriend, or wife. If she's at work or away from you, call her cellphone, work phone or email them and tell her how beautiful, sweet and all-round awesome she is. It's not even describable how nice it is for a person to do this. Don't go over the top her if she's snappy and irritable from the mood swings.
- Don't act disgusted. Show her that you are not grossed out by the very thought of her menstrual cycle (even if maybe you indeed don't feel comfortable with it at first). If she tries to talk to you about it, do not make faces or say 'Go talk to one of your girlfriends". This will just make her feel like you don't care. Another part of this step is to be willing to run errands for her. Go get her the supplies she is out of, (thinking of sanitary items as "girl stuff" is immature and unhelpful, tampons, etc.) and pick her up some chocolate or her favorite magazine while you are at it! It will make her feel like you really care.
Tips
- Just holding her, or letting her sleep in your arms can make her feel comfortable. Just being there and being sweet makes anyone feel better.
- Don't make rude (mean) comments when she leaks or when she is trying to tell you how she feels.
- Offer her a hot-water bottle: the heat and pressure will decrease the cramps.
- Even if a woman doesn't go through any symptoms during her period, it's still nice to help her out and comfort her to make it less hard on her.
- Just chat with her, keep the conversation light, avoid confrontational subjects. She will just enjoy you helping her forget about the way she is feeling.
- Make her smile. Tell her a funny joke or story to get her spirits up.
- Try not to mention it at every opportunity—just act normal but still let her know you're there for her.
- Sometimes, going out can be a lot of hassle for her. Maybe you could set up a restaurant in the dining room. She will find it funny and it will help get her mind off the symptoms.
- Do things she wants to do. If you're going out to eat, let her pick the restaurant, or if you're going out to the movies, let her pick what movie to see.
- If you're unsure of whether she's on her period, it may be best not to ask. Regardless, make sure she's comfortable with you and doesn't feel offended.
- Try to get her out of the house. Ask her if she wants to go see a movie or go out for a walk in the park. If she doesn't want to leave the house, don't force her.
- Some women are perfectly capable of dealing with their monthly period all by themselves. Your understanding and consideration will be appreciated but don't treat a woman on her period like an invalid unless she is actually suffering.
- Let her sit quiet if she prefers.
- Don't be upset or angry if she doesn't want you to touch her or if she asks you to leave her alone. Give her space.
- Bring/buy her food, she will love you forever!
- Give her chocolate. Many women crave it, and dark chocolate helps with cramps and mood swings.
- Don't worry her with everything. If it can wait, just wait or even do it yourself.
- If a woman is ever angry or upset at you, do not by any means automatically assume she is on her period. Yes, it is possible for a woman to get angry without being on her period. Unless you physically see her opening a pad/tampon or bleeding, Do. Not. Assume.
Warnings
- Never be rude and tell her "You'll get over it".
- Remember that she is very emotional, so don't take her action to heart but know and expect that she will take every thing to heart.
- Remember to be patient and understanding. If things get too out of hand, take a deep breath, and leave the room to cool off.
- Don't make any joke about periods and PMS.
- If a girl actually faints during her period, it's important not to panic. Google the 'recovery position' or just make sure she's laying on her side and she's able to breath. You an put a pillow/something soft under her head and (if nothing else is showing, blood or trouble breathing etc.) just wait until she wakes up again. Make sure to tell her what happened and that it's going to be alright. It's possible she will vomit after she fainted, or maybe cry and you have to make sure to be prepared for those things. If she has experienced this more often, she'll probably tell you about it, and you will have to make sure you know what to do.
- Some women vomit or faint during their periods. Feeling dizzy or lightheaded is common, actually fainting is a bit more rarely, but it happens. Make sure to leave the room if you really can't stand vomit, but if you can, just touch her arm/hold her hair and just 'be there for her.' Make sure she has no reason to feel embarrassed, don't say 'ew' and do not stroke her back or head, because this can only make the vomiting worse and she'll most likely say; 'Don't touch me, it's distracting!'
- If she is in extreme agony, leave her alone. Sometimes there is nothing you can do about her pain, and being there might just make it worse. Comfort her later on when the pain has eased off a bit. Ask her what she prefers.
