Hoards of Hormones

Either you’re going through it right now, you’ve already been through it, or you’re watching your daughter/sister/niece whoever go through it with popcorn at the ready, waiting to see what her next dramatic moment or meltdown is going to be.

I like to think I’m slowly emigrating out of those dreaded pubescent years, quickly approaching 19, and yet, I sit back and I manage to count the number of drama queen moments I’ve had in the past week. I nearly run out of fingers to count on!

Either it’s an acne attack, exam stress, lack of sleep, or a disappointing sigh at the mirror as I try on an outfit that just "isn’t right," screaming I have "nothing to wear" and throwing all my clothes all over my floor (which I then feel even worse about when I come home and have to tidy them up again—or just sling them over the back of my chair in most cases). Whatever it may be, the issue is always dramatised by some little chemicals we call hormones—AND THAT’S TOTALLY NORMAL!

For too long I’ve been hearing the phrases, "oh you’re a drama queen," "stop over reacting," or "oh you’re moody, you must be on your period," when in actual fact, to me, any actions or behaviour that I demonstrated felt normal (in the moment, that is). It felt like a normal reaction because I just couldn’t help it, I was feeling an emotion and my chemical imbalances (the ones all teenagers, regardless of gender, experience) aided in the delivery.

But you know what? Looking back on those "hormonal moments," I don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed, I don’t wish I hadn’t shouted, and I don’t wish I hadn’t been moody, I just laugh. I just laugh to myself, thinking "wow, you go girl" because it’s not about feeling embarrassed about what’s going on inside your body, it’s about knowing what’s going on, understanding it, and accepting it. Knowing when it’s out of control and to what extent we can control it. Because although we cannot change the chemicals inside us, we can learn to minimise the negative impacts they attempt to have on our livelihoods.

These chemicals make the human body what it is, and without them, our temperature, our growth, our reproduction—none of it would be possible! We truly are amazing beings; whether you feel like that all the time or not, it’s true. And so I say to you, embrace your moody moments and harness your hormonal meltdowns because without them, you wouldn’t be you. And that’s what’s important.

PSA, over! :)

Han x