đ€Ż INCRĂVEL: âItâs Not Studied Properlyâ: 70 Women Are Sharing The Totally Normal Things About Their Bodies No One Explained To Them Growing Up đČ
If thereâs one thing in this life that we should all understand, itâs ourselves. If you have a question about your health, a doctor should be able to clear that up for you. And if youâre struggling with your mental health, a psychologist might be able to help you make sense of everything going on in your mind. But for some reason, the female body continues to confuse many people, even some medical professionals.
Because their bodies are often shrouded in mystery, women have been opening up on Reddit about the information they wish they learned as teenagers. From assurances that certain things are perfectly normal to warnings of when to seek medical attention, this advice might be able to help many young girls. So enjoy scrolling through, whether youâre a woman or just want to understand the women in your life better, and be sure to upvote the info that you wish you had heard sooner!
Itâs okay to have body hair. Having body hair, anywhere on the body, doesnât make you any less of a woman.
No_Foundation7308:
It’s also okay to pluck or not if you choose to. Donât let anyone make you feel bad about it one way or the other.
How long perimenopause lasts. I assumed your periods just stopped like a car running out of gas.
Commonfckingsense:
I genuinely still thought this until your comment, so thank you for educating me today.
Fantastic_Fig_8559:
Mine has changed me. I donât feel like me anymore. All I thought was I might have some hot flashes and my periods would stop. Itâs literally been eight years of hell so far. Every day a new ailment.
That itâs not normal if youâre in severe pain every time you have your period. That it isnât ânormalâ to barely function when you have your period.
That if youâre dealing with such pain and heavy bleeding, thereâs a decent likelihood you have endometriosis (or a similar condition like PCOS)
That one in ten have endometriosis. That one in three miscarry.
That none of these things make you weird or less valuable or less of a woman. That youâre not alone.
That it’s not studied properly, so don’t trust doctors much. They have professional blindness here.
Grizzlyfrontignac:
The book “invisible women” by Caroline Criado-Perez HUGELY opened my eyes to this. I wish it was just doctors, but much pain and suffering by women has been ignored by professionals of all kinds simply because our issues aren’t exactly like those of men. And we’re just left there to accept it! It’s crazy.
Not about bodies specifically, more so about periods. Teens; it is okay if your pad or tampon wrapper makes a noise in the bathroom! Donât feel ashamed about your period, you donât need to hide them or feel dirty.
That being skinny isnât always safe. I donât mean being obese is what we should aim for, but starving myself and doing more to maintain a small size was more harmful than healthy.Â
That no matter how skinny you are, your body has very specific markers of change that generally come around approximately each decade due to hormonal changes, and thatâs okay.Â
That stretch marks are okay and sometimes come because of growth spurts.
So much⊠so, SO much.Â
I was raised in the 80s and 90s, when women were judged very harshly. I wish we were kinder to girls and women back then.
That the strength, vitality and health I was enjoying then would fade and I should have appreciated it as the gift it was.
That my concerns over being too flat chested, having too pointy a nose, or being too âmuchâ were someone elseâs insecurities being projected onto me.
That every photo in every magazine depicting perfect hair, flawless skin, and long legs was retouchedâŠa lie being told to convince me I was âless thanâ just to sell me something.
That sometimes âmental health symptomsâ are actually hormonal disorders. I was almost convinced I was bipolar until my OBGYN diagnosed me with PMDD and I got on a birth control that regulated my progesterone. It was like an instant fix.
That our hormones are constantly changing. I was taught that we all go through puberty and then thatâs it until we hit menopause. My acne was horrific as a teen and everyone promised me it would stop and here I am at 35 with acne still and new hormonal changes.
That having a little belly pooch is totally normal because of the reproductive organs being in the way.
I just thought I was always fat, even when I weighed 110lbs.
You need to eat. You are gonna have people equate your worth with your weight.
You need to give your body nutrients, and you need to eat protein and fruit. It doesn’t matter if it’s fashionable to be super thin, or be on ozempic, or take stackers and phenphen, or barf up lunch, or cut calories to nothing, or be a smol girl or mpdg.
Men– boyfriends, alpha males, fathers, husbands, pastors, influencers, fashion designers are trying to make you starve yourself so you are not nourishing your brain enough to detect their manipulation of you.
Companies are trying to instill in you a dissatisfaction with your body that makes you consume, consume, consume.
You are okay. Your human body deserves nourishment. You are dulling your sharpness, your vitality, your mind.
If your mind is screaming to Get Away, whatever your Get Away is, start working on your plan to Get Away. You got this.
Rather the opposite: I wish they **hadn’t** called all those actresses and singers ‘fat’ (90s-00s).
To start strengthening your pelvic floors – not wait to be pregnant to be told that.
Weight fluctuation is NORMAL. Iâm 30 and Iâve had an ebb and flow of 15-20 pounds throughout the year, even with a healthy lifestyle and active lifestyle. My mom still to this day comments on my weight loss (if thatâs the phase Iâm in) when I go home, and Iâm working through it in therapy. I feel the need to be the most slim when I see my mom, so I restrict and become obsessive weeks before a planned trip home.
Sounds obvious but⊠your body is going to go through a lot of changes. Try to love yourself through every part of it, care for yourself as best as you can, and allow grace. Itâs ok if youâre not the size you were a decade ago.
I wish someone would have told me how drastically having a baby would change my whole body, shape, size, all of it. My feet even grew a whole half size. And I have not been back there since.
Youâre only supposed to lose about 5-80 ml of blood during your period! Having to dump out your menstrual cup multiple times a day is WAY too much! (I turned out to have endometriosis and bleed triple the usual amount.).
That women go through four phases.. not just periods then daffodils the rest of the month.
Also that the luteal and follicular phase will have you questioning your choices, sanity, true weight and give you slight body dysmorphia đ.
The 4 phases of the menstrual cycle and how it affects your mood, appetite, and even appearance. Being in tune with the phases of my cycles has helped me live a better life.
I went to a Catholic school and leaned about womenâs anatomy there. It wasnât until I was in my early 20âs that I realized that there are two separate openings in the vulva.
Iâm a woman.
That your downstairs looks perfectly normal. It’s organic and supposed to be what it is. Love yourself.
If your doctor tells you itâs âjust anxietyâ or ânormal painâ get a second opinion. i ended up with chronic back pain from not pushing back on this conclusion.
That your body shape will change drastically in perimenopause, regardless of dietary habits.
I wish someone just had the talk with me. I come from a traditional South Asian family and had NO IDEA WHAT A PERIOD WAS. It’s called bamari which translates into the sickness.
I was handed the biggest pad by my grandma and was told to wear them and stay away from boys. Puberty was the worst time of my life and I wish someone just had a conversation with me đ.
That youâll still sometimes have period accidents and bleed through your pants even as an adult.
It is normal to have:
Hip dips.
A “trail” of slightly darker hair on your lower abdomen
Issues with lifting/moving heavy things.
A softer frame than men. This “my thigh is bigger than my boyfriend’s” thing is absolutely normal and common.
Ugh, this caused me so much stress in my teens.
How many changes your body will go through and how most of them are entirely unacceptable to society at large.
It is not normal to not be able to insert a tampon.
Hey teenage me. If you’re reading this, you have vaginal nerve compression and pudendal neuralgia.
That the only time it seems to take precedence is when lawmakers legislate it. Outside of that, itâs not prioritized – not in medicine/science, the bedroom or innovation.
That pregnancy is basically surviving a 9.5 month long chronic condition + remission recovery time.
Stop eating so much sugary [stuff] and lift weights! Find ways to love your body, even your least favourite bits & make it a religion! Everyone told me my metabolism wouldn’t be the same, everyone told me after having kids the weight would be harder to shift. Sadly its all true. I never had self esteem issues though until I was a size 24 & the realisation that I want to lose weight, but will be left with loose skin and have no time/mental energy to start a weight lifting routine at this phase of life.
Labia comes in different sizes. I seriously thought something was wrong with me because mine were/are large.
That body changes can/do continue into your 20s/30s. I was really disappointed with my body as a teen but Iâve filled out better now. I thought puberty was the only time that would happen.
That it isnât in fact ânormalâ to only get your period every 6 months đ turns out had insulin resistant pcos which messed up my hormones.
It’s normal and healthy to be “soft”, women need to have some body fat to be healthy, our bodies aren’t supposed to be shredded and “firm” like the magazines used to sell when I was a teen. I have been dieting since I was 9, developed eating disorders and hated my soft belly even when I was underweight, I always thought I should lose weight untill it was “firm”. Knowing it’s normal and healthy to have body fat helps me to accept my softness as a part of being a woman and even more feminine because of that (I am still mortified by the idea of putting on weight but things are getting better).
To never get too comfortable in our bodies because the minute you do, it changes.
That everyone grows their parts a little different. I got really confused and it was a bit temporarily uncomfortable when my lower part developed. I tried asking a teacher when she said I could ask her anything about it, and she got confused, so I stopped talking. Recently did more research and i’m glad to know we are all different, and this is normal. For years I thought i was abnormal.
Also are there any ways to stop the excretion from bleaching underwear? Not like I can help it because I have a shorter cycle than probably most, so I ovulate more. (Or maybe I just have to stick to using toilet paper). Its pretty embarrassing since I’m quite acidic. (Occasionally theres a slight burning if I sit, so I lean back a bit).
How to insert a tampon properly.
I gotta kinda lift up the bits and angle it right. When I got my first period, my bio mom just threw a tampon at me.
I have to pick ONE?? đ Lord, help me.
Top: Your hormonal changes do NOT make you irrational — maybe more sensitive (to ACTUAL problems) and in need of SERIOUS rest, decreased stimulation, and certain nutrients…but NOT irrational. I’ve made the most insightful, life-changing observations about my life when I truly LISTENED to myself during my luteal and menstrual phases. Follicular and ovulation phases are for planning and doing…luteal and menstrual phases are for rest and reflection.
For teens, especially: teen pregnancy is HIGHLY risky…it’s safest for you and your future baby to wait until your body has completely finished getting ready! (I say this, because I had wanted children from a very young age, so I know they’re out there!)
Unrecognized perimenopause seems to be a HUGE factor in a TON of women’s health issues — everything from anxiety/depression to heart palpitations or joint pain! It can start as early as your 30s, AND you can safely take hormones to treat it! Get treated!
The vast majority of women CAN breastfeed!! Educate yourself DEEPLY about this. It is SO worth it, and you CAN do it!
“Bouncing back” from birth is rarely a thing. Research after-birth recovery, rest for a couple of weeks, then slowly build your body back up with smart exercises.
Ok…Imma stop there, for now, but I know I have a ton more locked away. đ.
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. You will want to trust your doc/OBGYN when they tell you they “don’t see anything”. Do so…to an extent. Women’s health and illness are NOT well-researched, so even our docs are ignorant af. If YOU think something is wrong, keep looking!
Queefing is totally normal, if air goes in, air will come out. My first boyfriend told me to ânever do that againâ, that stuck with me for a looooong time and I was always so embarrassed when itâd happen.
Somewhat related but if you go on the Hormonal Pill Progestrone your period could be horrendous and you give birth/pass something called a Dicidual Cast (Google it at your own risk) when it happened to me I was in the worst pain and on the toilet passed something I thought I was dying and had cancer. What else was I to think!!! Then you go to the Drs and they say oh yeah thats a very rare side affect. Why is it not on the flipping leaflet!!!!!!!Â
Thanks school and thank you Drs.
Your hips will get wider as you age, even just into early adulthood. wouldâve saved a lot of time worrying about why i only had a partial thigh gap.
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