RED one. Done

Periods. They really do suck. My question is, why the hell aren’t sanitary products FREE?

It’s not like we chose this. We didn’t choose to bleed every month. Some of us bleed for a whole month, some so heavy we need transfusions, some of us have incredible debilitating pain.

So why are we forced to pay through the nose for something that we don’t choose? Something that happens to me every month? Bleeding through my clothes and sanitary pad. Because why not?!

Sanitary towels are two packs for £5.50 or £3.35 for one pack of 16 in Asda! I don’t know about you but that’s a lot of money and if you are a heavy bleeder like me you can get through a ‘night’ ‘12 hour protection’ every half an hour.

How many packs do I get through a month? Two and a half. That’s £8.75 every month I pay for something that I never asked for.

Yes, we need to menstruate so that we can ovulate but really? It feels like we’ve drawn the short straw.

Men get to age like fine wines and get called a silver fox whilst us, we age and we are either mutton dressed as lamb, a has been or passed it!

Everyone knows women get a raw deal and there are some men out there that do too but I mean, I’m due on and my back pain is second to sciatica. Every month.

My scar tissue where I had my two caesarean section gets tender too so if anything brushes it, it’s painful.

I’m reminded everyday both how strong women’s bodies really are and how we have also been put upon from the very start. Even before we are born we are given a ridiculous amount of things to juggle and we just have to get on with it.

Is there anyway we can strap a hot water bottle to our bellies when it’s feeling tender? Or is it one those rubbish heat pad things that don’t stay on?

No, we need something that can stand the rest of time, is hardy and utilitarian. It needs to stay in place all on its own, provide pain relief, and handle being knocked about a bit. Kinda like us?

The mood swings that come, goodness me. I hate everyone and everything when it’s almost that time. I feel like my blood is on fire and I just wake up seething for no reason and everything annoys me. Even when I’m trying to be nice, whatever comes out my mouth is accompanied with malice.

All we want sometimes is just a little break. To find some peace, have a thought to ourselves or an actual adult conversation uninterrupted. Again, this goes back to a previous article about finding your priorities, you could do this it if was high on your list.

But on mine? Planning the next month's worth of food and bakes, writing down all activities and everything needed for it, buying experiences for the family, cleaning the house and doing the deep clean or that job I’ve wanted to do for weeks that I haven’t gotten around to do and if it’s not that I’m buying someone’s shopping or volunteering.

I would much rather get my life in order and be meticulous about it than go out or go to a spa, because if my head isn’t sorted and organised then neither is my life, and then my mental health suffers and then I’m on my period. Again.

It is an endless cycle of anxiety, chasing my tail, and only progressing an inch or so. Is there any way we can make sanitary products for FREE in Weston? Surely?!

Jolene Wilson, Weston Mum.