Before We Get It Right
Real moms. Real conversations. A safe corner for the messy middle- where moms can exhale, find connection, and the courage to lead with intuition.
Before We Get It Right
You’re Probably Not Actually a Psycho: Hormones, Cycle Seasons & Why You Feel Different Every Week
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This week on Before We Get It Right, we’re talking about something so many women feel but were never really taught to understand: hormones, cycle tracking, energy shifts, and why you might feel like a completely different person from one week to the next.
We’re diving into the four phases of the menstrual cycle, how hormones can impact creativity, anxiety, confidence, motivation, motherhood, relationships, and business — and why understanding your body can help you stop fighting yourself so hard.
This isn’t about becoming a perfectly optimized “girlboss.” It’s about self-awareness, compassion, and realizing maybe you’re not lazy, inconsistent, emotional, or failing… maybe your body is simply cyclical.
We also talk about:
• Building workflows around your energy
• Why your luteal phase might actually hold important information
• Cycle syncing with motherhood and business
• Perimenopause conversations women need to have more openly
• Learning to work with yourself instead of constantly against yourself
If you’ve ever wondered why some weeks you feel unstoppable and other weeks you feel completely overwhelmed, this episode is for you.
Follow along and connect with us @polishedprints and @memle.moms.
You're listening to Before We Get It Right. Real moms, real conversations for the messy middle. I'm Leah, and I'm Catherine, and this is a space for honesty, not perfection, before we get it right.
SPEAKER_01Welcome back to Before We Get It Right, the podcast where we talk about motherhood, business, identity, hormones, burnout, friendship, overwhelm, and all the things we're actively trying to figure out before we get them right.
SPEAKER_00Which honestly, at this point, is like everything, I feel like.
SPEAKER_01Truly. And today's episode is one that I feel like so many women are going to hear and immediately go, Wait, this is why I feel this way. Because we are talking about periods, hormones, cycle tracking, and specifically how understanding the phases of your menstrual cycle can completely change the way that you approach your workflow, creativity, energy, motherhood, relationships, and honestly, your entire life.
SPEAKER_00But not in a weird productivity hack way. Like this isn't how to become your most optimized girl boss self through menstruation. That's not what we're doing here today.
SPEAKER_01No, definitely not. Because honestly, women already have enough things that they're supposed to optimize. This is really more about understanding yourself better and realizing maybe you're not inconsistent, maybe you're not being lazy, you're definitely not dramatic, but maybe your body is literally functioning differently week after week.
SPEAKER_00And I'd like to throw in there, you're not a crazy psycho. No, because sometimes we do feel that way. But like, I mean, that sounds obvious now, but I genuinely don't think most of us were even taught this. Like growing up, or even right now, I feel like I have just started to learn more about these types of things. I feel like when we were growing up, it was just you'll get your period once a month. And that was like the extent of it. Oh, totally.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, nobody really explained that your hormones are shifting the entire month. Nobody explained that there are different phases. Nobody explained that your mood, energy, focus, confidence, your anxiety levels, your social battery, I don't know, your creativity, like literally all of that can fluctuate throughout the month. And I think especially as women in our 30s and beyond running businesses, raising kids, managing homes, just trying to show up for people, stay healthy, not to completely lose our minds in the process, understanding all these patterns can actually be life-changing.
SPEAKER_00So before we get into it, it's probably important to say that obviously Leah and I were not doctors by any means. This is not medical advice, but your menstrual cycle can be a super helpful indicator of what's actually going on in your body. And the American College of OBGYNs has even described the menstrual cycle as an important vital sign when evaluating your health, which I honestly didn't know.
SPEAKER_01Same. So I guess this conversation is really more about awareness. It's about noticing patterns, it's about using your body as information instead of treating it like an inconvenience.
SPEAKER_00And I feel like a lot of us, especially around the time of getting our periods, where like, why do I want to kill someone? What is going on? And then we feel like there's something wrong with us. So we really just want to show you that I don't know, I don't think it's just you and I, Leah. I think we're all in this together.
SPEAKER_01Totally. And then actually understanding your menstrual cycle can be a superpower rather than a hindrance. And so how do we, how do we do that? Because obviously it's something that we don't really have a lot of control over. So let's dive into really what that that looks like. Now I think before we really do start explaining it all, let's talk about what the phases are because I feel like a shocking number of women don't actually know this. I mean, I really didn't until recently.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, same. I mean, I knew the names of them, but I actually I didn't know what that actually meant or what was actually going on. Like I knew what ovulation was, but I didn't really understand that your cycle is the entire month. It's not just when you have your period.
SPEAKER_01So there are four phases of the menstrual cycle: the menstrual phase, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase. And a cycle is counted from the first day of your period until the first day of your next one. So a typical cycle, which I think all of us have been taught for so many years, is that it's around 28 days. But according to places like the Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine, anywhere from 21 to 35 days can be completely normal. And throughout all of these phases, hormones like estrogen and progesterone rise and fall, which is why you can feel like a completely different person from one week to the next.
SPEAKER_00Which honestly, that explains so much. And I also think it's BS for those of us that have those shorter cycles, because I'm like, as I've gotten older, I've noticed that my cycle has gotten shorter. And I'm like, I just ended my period. Why am I getting it like two weeks later? I think it's BS. So for any of you out there that are also experienced that, I'm sorry because it's I don't think it's fair.
SPEAKER_01Definitely not. You're dealt a shorthand. And it's interesting too, and we'll we'll get into this a little bit more how period length can change from one month to the next, and that really throws you off.
SPEAKER_00It's been throwing me off the last year.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Thank you and not thank you to the aura ring. So totally. So the menstrual phase is your actual period. This is day one of your cycle. Hormones are lower during this phase, which is part of why a lot of women feel more tired, emotional, inward, reflective. They feel slower or even really overstimulated. And honestly, this is where I've started realizing my body really does force me to slow down. I sometimes leading up to this actually get kind of sick physically, which is something that didn't start happening until I got to, I mean, probably in the past couple years in my 30s. And, you know, I genuinely feel like that was kind of a shock to my system because hormones just hit differently now than they did even five, 10 years ago. There are weeks where my anxiety is higher, I feel more emotionally sensitive, my sleep is weird, I get puffy physically, and I'm exhausted and honestly just very disconnected from myself. And I think for a long time I interpreted all of this as okay, what is wrong with me? Instead of, oh, wait, there's a pattern here. This literally happens every single month. Maybe I shouldn't trust these feelings in this moment and just wait a little bit.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, I feel like I'm still learning that though. Um I'm still learning the patterns because also sometimes they do change like a little bit timing-wise, as you know, cycle days or cycle times are longer or shorter. But, anyways, this episode is perfect timing, not to be too TMI for you, but I'm actually on day one of this phase right now. So welcome to the menstrual phase for me. But right now, I literally want to eat everything in sight, especially sweet stuff. Like I had a donut for breakfast this morning, which I normally don't do, but it tasted great. I feel like I don't sleep as well. My sleep has really been off. I'm definitely more tired. And like you said, overall just feeling a little bit more off. And I also feel like this is a time that forces me to slow down too, for sure, whether I want to or not.
SPEAKER_01Definitely. Like, I don't know if it's the same for you, Catherine. I'm sure based on everything you just said that it is. But when I get into this phase, especially the first day or two, it's like I just feel like uh, like I no matter, you know, busting. Yeah, like I don't really want to like shower, honestly. I just kind of want to like be, I want to get things done. But it's almost like you can't snap out of a funk and you're just in this weird foggy disconnect.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, totally. Like I have to force myself to shower after we record this, actually, because I'm getting a massage and a facial later, which I'm very much looking forward to. But my hair is so greasy that even though I know it gets oily and stuff during a massage, but I still I can't not shower before going.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there's definitely like a self-conscious element to that.
SPEAKER_00I feel like I have to be like very clean and like, yeah, that gives you a whole I'm already feeling disgusting. So I at least have to shower. Definitely.
SPEAKER_01Well, and then after you finish your period, that is a whole other phase. That's the follicular phase. And that's actually the diamond. So perfect timing here. This is where the estrogen starts rising again. And it's usually where we start to feel a little bit more energized, optimistic, social. You get creative, a little more motivated, and your mind just clears up. And honestly, this is the phase for me that I suddenly start believing in myself again. Like the world is not ending. I'm not about to burn everything down. I am getting into a groove. I'm start brainstorming, I'm planning collections, I'm getting excited about ideas. And I want to just like organize everything. It is quite literally my favorite phase of the month. I think a lot of us get agree because you just feel like on top of your shit in a way that you're not in some of the other phases. And and I used to wonder why I couldn't be like this all the time, but now I realize that it's actually my body just shifting into a higher energy phase. Research has shown estrogen can influence your mood, your energy, cognition, which helps explain why so many of us do feel more motivated and sharper during this phase.
SPEAKER_00I think this is something I'm still like learning and paying attention to. I honestly I'm not the greatest at this. Like I'm just happy when my period is over. So I don't, I feel like moving forward, I do need to pay better attention. But I have noticed there are certain times in the month which I'm deaf I'm guessing it falls into this phase where I do I feel more creative. Like I want to create more content. Like there's certain times where, especially for social media or like running your business, it's like you feel like you have to constantly be creating content, right? And or just people that are creators out there are doing, you know, side hustles and recording videos and stuff. But there's I'm like, why can't I want to do this all the I just want to do this all the time, but I feel like you can't. And this is definitely the phase where I'm like, yes, let's hit record, let's get all this content done. And then I'll record it. And then by that time I'm all done with that. I feel like I get to another phase and then I don't actually even hit post. We haven't gotten it right yet.
SPEAKER_01You guys know this about us by now. We're a work in progress, as are you. So after the follicular phase is my actual favorite phase of the month, I think. My period, like also side side note, my period is also very weird, like not to be too TMI, but this year, and Catherine and I've talked a lot about this because we both have the aura ring, and I feel like it's allowed us to really track all of these things a little bit more closely. And I used to think that the follicular phase that I was in that for longer than I was, but for me, ovulation tends to be a little bit longer, and that's what comes next. And as we all know, anyone who has kids, I mean, that's when the ovary releases an egg. And it's also where we tend to be more outward-facing. So for me, I do find myself to be a little bit more social, more confident, more magnetic. Like it just feels a little bit more natural to me. I am not an introvert, but I do tend to like want to pull back a little bit socially and not be as out there, especially in social situations like kids' sporting events, things where you know a lot of people, but you don't like really know them. I'm not the social butterfly that's going around talking to everybody. But for some reason, when I'm ovulating, it does seem to like be that way. And it's something I've noticed more recently than not. And one of the things that really sticks out to me, and we'll kind of get into is that, you know, all these different phases of your period do kind of represent seasons. So we'll kind of allude to that in a little bit and dive in. But this is where the summer comparison does come in because basically ovulation does tend to be when like you're more likely to be hosting events where you are enjoying being on camera. You're like, I can do everything and it doesn't feel as intimidating.
SPEAKER_00Maybe now that you're talking, maybe I'm also more in like the ovulation phase longer than I think. I think I don't know the difference between my follicular and my ovulation. I feel like for me, they just kind of blend together. Now that I'm done having kids, I don't, it's not something I pay attention to. But thinking about this on the other side, ovulation could also be a really stressful time for people as well if you are trying to conceive. Absolutely. So this could also be a stressful time. And then it makes that, you know, from a hormone standpoint, you're kind of you're kind of battling each other too. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Like, didn't have this in the show notes to get into a little story time, but I will say, just reflecting back on when I was trying to have Lily, that I tracked my, and I don't know if you did this too, whenever you were trying to conceive, but tracking your ovulation pretty closely. Like you'd have the ovulation sticks and all of that. And there were several months where I literally would pee on those things every single day to try and figure out when I was ovulating, and it never said ovulating until when I act like the month I conceived her. So I don't know what was going on because I was still having my period, or if that phase was so unbelievably short because I was so stressed about trying to get pregnant for so long that it just wasn't really lining up. So yeah, that's a really good point that you brought up. Yeah, and I think you know, our our purpose too in sharing all these is just kind of sharing you guys like you're not imagining this, these things do exist.
SPEAKER_00You're not a psycho, you're not a psycho. Maybe that's what we're just Leah and I just really need that external validation that we are not psychos, so we just did an episode about it to make ourselves feel better.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Maybe that's how we should start off every episode moving forward. Today we are coming at you from the luteal phase.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, oh my god, I can talk about this phase because this phase gets me in my feels and has me some type of way.
SPEAKER_01So this is the phase that does come after ovulation. And I think this is the phase that really deserves the most compassion because this is usually where PMS symptoms start really showing up. I mean, we have mood swings, irritable anxiety, fatigue. For me personally, this is where I'm really hard on myself, but it also is the phase where I think everything, like I said earlier, I literally want to burn it all down and start over and question every single life's choice. And I think I had those types of symptoms prior to being in my 30s, but they've really shown up a lot stronger in the past five or six years. And, you know, I think a lot of us too, we're entering some level of perimenopause or hormonal shifting that, you know, tends to be a more popular topic right now, right? Like we're hearing about it a lot. I didn't even know about perimenopause probably until two or three years ago at max. And I think women don't talk enough about how early that can really start. So just doing a little bit of background research, looked into the Mayo Clinic, and what they say is that perimenopause can begin years before menopause and can affect everything from your mood and your sleep and your energy to your overall emotional regulation. That felt very validating because suddenly I stopped feeling like I was psycho and failing. And then I started realizing once again, like, okay, no, my body is actually just changing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I definitely feel like perimenopause is like this buzzword right now. But don't even get me started about the ludial rage. That's what I like to call it because I get so ragey. Like you said, let's just burn it all down.
SPEAKER_01Burn it all down. Stop chewing so loud. Don't ask me another question.
SPEAKER_00Shut up, leave me alone, most definitely. What I like to question in the ludial phase is what the hell am I doing with my life? That is what I asked myself, at least, you know, this time in the cycle of what am I doing with my life and questioning literally everything.
SPEAKER_01But then pause any major distance until we get into the next phase. Because at the end of the day, I feel like you could make some very intense, horrible decisions during that time to later come back to and be like, shit. Do you remember that song that was like, forgive me for all the things I said when I was drunk? I didn't mean to call you that. Do you remember that song? Oh, can we forget about the thing? Yeah, I feel like that needs to be said about the luteal phase. Don't make any decisions in the luteal phase. You might have regrets. And once I started really understanding not only that phase, but all of them, the thing that really did help me, as I mentioned before, is thinking about them like seasons because suddenly it stopped feeling so random. It started to feel a little bit more rhythmic because honestly, women are cyclical. We really aren't meant to feel the exact same way every day.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so if we're thinking about them as seasons, right? So think of winter is your menstrual phase. This is your inward, you're resting, reflecting, slowness. And honestly, I think society has taught women to completely ignore winter because I don't know about you, but I'm not a huge fan of winter. But you know, we're told to just push through it, override it, stay productive, keep performing, doing all the things. But maybe winter isn't a flaw. Maybe it's necessary. You guys know, if you have listened to us, you know that I am all about slowing down. But this is usually the week where I need quieter work, just more inward. If you want to start looking at different tasks you could be doing in your winter/slash menstrual phase, it could be more like admin stuff, planning, reflection, organizing, just cleaning things up mentally and clearing some space for yourself. And it doesn't necessarily mean to be like the phase where you're hosting events and becoming the most social version of yourself. You can't plan like all of your social calendars around your menstrual cycle, but like, I don't know, maybe you can if you start like finding patterns and you have full control of your schedule. You can be like, nope, on my menstrual cycle, cannot attend. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01And after winter, as we all know, talking about seasons comes spring. So that's gonna be where you're gonna enter the follicular phase and spring is start blooming. But I do most of our designing for polished prints in the spring. It tends to be like February, March, where I start to get this buzz where like you get a couple warmer days outside, things start to kind of dive, things start blooming, it's a little bit greener, and you kind of start to feel like you again. And and honestly, I think this is where we really lean into that. We batch content here, we brainstorm here, we dream here because creativity is not always equally accessible. And instead of forcing ourselves to be endlessly creative all month long, which of course, as we all know, just leads to more burnout. Maybe we work with our energy instead of trying to extend it out.
SPEAKER_00And then we have summer after spring. So think of summer is ovulation. This is visibility, connection, confidence. And honestly, if you know this is when you are going to feel your best socially, use that to your advantage. This is where you could schedule meetings, interviews, record content, also post it. Don't just record it and let it sit there forever on your phone and not do anything with it like I do. Host your dinner parties here and yeah, just use that to your advantage. Because for so many women, confidence really does fluctuate hormonally, whether we do realize it or not. And after summer comes fall, which is the luteal phase.
SPEAKER_01Honestly, I know we just talked a lot of shit about the luteal phase. Yes, this is when fight up ourselves, but at the same time, this is where our disconcernment shows up. This is where I do start to notice things that maybe in the other times of the month, I'm not going to pick up on it. I start to look at the clutter, the inefficiencies. I look at the things that are draining me, and they get to me a lot sooner than they would at other times. My tolerance is lower. The inefficiencies, the things that are draining me, the overcommitment, bad boundaries, all of those things do get to me in other points. My tolerance is just a little bit higher. So instead of seeing this phase as, okay, I'm being a psycho, I think I've tried to start seeing it as all right, there may be a little bit more information here, but I'm not really gonna dive into that until I get over how I'm feeling.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like we said earlier, not making any actual big decisions in this phase. But you do start to notice things. Things are a little more bit more heightened. Exactly. That's a great way to say it. Okay, so let's be practical here. Like you know, we love to do, because I think the people, you listeners, are going, cool, but I still have a job and kids and responsibilities. Like, what am I supposed to do with this? Right?
SPEAKER_01Like, unfortunately, your alluteal phase does not cancel school pickup or really anything else in your life, but I do think when we can create more realistic workflows around ourselves. For example, maybe we should look at not overbooking ourselves during our lowest energy week. Maybe we intentionally leave margin before our period because we know that's usually when we start to feel very overwhelmed. Maybe we batch social content during ovulation and kind of plan for these moments a little bit ahead of time. And maybe we plan our brainstorming sessions during the follicular phase because we know we're going to be a little bit more creative. And honestly, maybe we stop making every low energy day seem like something is wrong with us. Because for years, I would have one low energy week and immediately spiral into. I'm failing, I'm burnt out, I can't handle my life. When really I was just entering a lower energy hormonal phase that literally happens every single month.
SPEAKER_00I no, I totally agree with all of this. And honestly, this episode, I do feel like I need to, you know me, I'm constantly complaining about how I feel like I have so many things to do, and then I get paralyzed that I can't do anything. I really do think I need to sit down like with a monthly calendar and try to start scheduling things in different places that are more aligned with the season that I'm in. Because I definitely, everything you just said, I do not do. And it would be very beneficial, I think, to my mental health if I like sat down and actually took a look at that. Like you talked about earlier, working with your energy and using it to your advantage based on where you're at energy level-wise.
SPEAKER_01Definitely, you know, it'd be so cool if there was some type of calendar app that accounted for these things in it where we could look at it and be like, okay, I'm currently in this phase of my cycle, just putting it out there.
SPEAKER_00I know, I know. I'm working on it. I think the biggest thing that this has taught me is that our bodies are not the enemy, because I think women spend so much of their lives trying to just override themselves, ignoring exhaustion, anxiety, ignore those emotions, ignore the overwhelm, like just push through it. But honestly, our bodies are communication. And I think, especially in motherhood, business, all areas of life where we're constantly expected to perform and produce and care for everyone else, understanding your own rhythms and your own flow, no pun intended, it becomes really important. And it's not because you can perfectly control them because we cannot control them at all, but because you can support yourself through those different cycles. Definitely.
SPEAKER_01And it even goes back to if you didn't listen to last week's episode about self-love, we touch on this a little bit too, but I think it's also just accepting and embracing the whole part of ourselves and not always pushing ourselves to do more and more and more, but kind of meeting ourselves where we're at. And that ties in here too, right? Because yes, there's a difference between, I see a lot of women talking about this, like in Facebook groups, having hormone imbalances, entering peri-menopause, like we touched on today, and just being a little bit outside of themselves. But also, I think I know for me, I have been trying to fight the natural cycle of my body for since I started having a period in the first place, instead of kind of embracing it. And I think that's really, you know, the the overarching theme here is really just learning how to love yourself and use that energy for good rather than always trying to go against it.
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm. Okay, so before we wrap this up, let's give our tangible takeaways for people listening.
SPEAKER_01Yes, because I don't want this episode to just be women have hormones. Goodbye. We actually want to give you some things to take into your own life.
SPEAKER_00Takeaway one, start tracking your cycle. You don't have to be obsessive about it. Just start to notice the patterns, your energy, your mood, anxiety, if you're feeling creative, your social battery. Because after a couple months, you may start realizing, oh my gosh, this happens literally at the same time every month. And maybe it doesn't. So just even noticing that as well, too, I think could be beneficial.
SPEAKER_01We talked about the aura ring using some type of app or something to do that, I think does help a ton because then you can really see the patterns within your cycle too, especially if you are the type of person that does have fluctuating cycles where it tends to be longer or it tends to be shorter, it can be hard to track all of that on your own. So the next one is to stop making every low moment your identity. I need to say this 20 times for myself. I definitely struggle with it because even if you have one hard week that really doesn't define your entire life. I used to make every emotional dip mean, oh my God, my business is failing. I'm failing. Everything is terrible. The world is ending. But now I can just kind of pause and say, okay, where am I at? Am I at this place where I'm not thinking clearly? If the answer is yes, you can take a step back and at least give yourself a little time to snap out of it.
SPEAKER_00Takeaway three, build more margin. If you know certain phases are harder for you emotionally or physically, stop scheduling yourself like a machine. Leave some room and rest before you desperately need it. I feel like a lot of us, especially as women, we don't rest until we're actually forced to. And as I've gotten older and have really started to slow down and listen to my body, like if I even get the littlest like inkling that I'm starting to get sick, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna put my life on pause right now because I don't want to like get to that place instead of waiting till I'm like so sick that I can't get out of bed and then you're forced to stay in bed.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, just taking control of it and being a little bit more preventative, which I think is hard for us because I don't know about you, but sometimes you you are pretty good about that. I definitely sometimes find myself where I'm like, hmm, I might be getting sick. Let me just write it hard so that I don't lose out whenever I am sick, instead of being like, maybe I should just take a pack a notch so that I don't actually have to go through that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I've it's taken practice, but I feel like that's one thing I am very proud of myself for being able to just notice that a little bit sooner. But it's definitely taken a long time to get there.
SPEAKER_01Definitely. Number four, use your high energy phases intentionally. When you do feel energized, confident, creative, social, just use it intentionally. We've talked a lot about batching content, making decisions, connecting with people. For me, I'll try and plan events that we have in the store around these times so that I do feel a little bit more social instead of anxious. I learned that the hard way, I'm not even gonna lie. When I did our first In Good Company event, it was literally the day before I, well, I think I started my menstrual cycle that day. So I was very just like out of it. I wasn't feeling good. And it led me to feeling very anxious. And honestly, before I basically let our panel, I had to drink some wine, which is not even my normal at that point. It's very much like I just had to find something to be able to calm down. And that's not always the norm for me in those types of situations. Okay, takeaway five.
SPEAKER_00Your irritability isn't always random. So this is a big one for me. Something I am definitely still learning, but a lot of women I think dismiss themselves immediately during certain phases. Like I'm just PMSing, I'm overreacting, I'm hormonal. And yes, hormones absolutely impact your emotions, but sometimes your luteal phase is also the phase where your tolerance for things drops really low enough that you finally notice what is actually draining you. And like we talked about earlier, I think it just heightens all of those things. The friendships that are requiring too much energy, the overcommitments, lack of support, the broken workflow, feeling unorganized, uh, lots of clutter, like the fact that you've said yes too much, all of those types of things. So instead of immediately gaslighting yourself, maybe just take a step back and ask, is there any information here? And not straight to should I blow up my life at 11 p.m. before my period? Like Leah sometimes thinks. I'm just kidding.
SPEAKER_01And find yourself a friend that can bring you back down to earth in those moments too.
SPEAKER_00Like, wait, what phase are you in right now, Leah? Let's take it back here. No, I'm the same way. Like I said, I call it the luteal rage. But overall, you can ask yourself, is there something I need to pay attention to and just give yourself a little bit more grace when you're asking yourself that? And if you haven't, listen to our self-love episode from last week. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Now, takeaway number six, bringing it all back, especially for our mom listeners, embrace your cycle in a way that can help you create better rhythms with your family. I think in relationships overall, this really matters. Once you understand your patterns, you can communicate them better. Like there are certain weeks now where I know I'm gonna feel more overstimulated. So maybe that's not the week I overbook my family socially. And maybe that's also the week I kind of give my husband a heads up. Like if I'm starting to feel that way, him and I have pretty open communication about that. If I am just being short and, you know, sometimes you just like want to be mad and everything is like really bothering you, and you can't really explain why. Those are the times where I do kind of explain it. I feel like it's given him a little bit more insight into where I'm at as well. And I think the thing with us is that, you know, we so many of us have the tendency to like overcommit ourselves, make dinner every night. We have all these activities. Like maybe at certain times, those are the weeks you simplify dinner. And so many of us were carrying things silently that we don't even realize that we're allowed to prepare for ourselves. So take this as permission and just imagine if instead of waiting until we completely crash, we actually supported ourselves proactively.
SPEAKER_00It would make a huge difference. Easier said than done, I know, but in an ideal world, we could all do that for ourselves, right? Takeaway seven. This is about self-awareness, not perfection. And I think the final thing is do not turn this into another thing you have to do perfectly. Like you've hear you've heard us go back and forth. Definitely not perfect by any means. You do not need the color-coded hormone spreadsheet. I definitely don't have one of those. You do not need to suddenly become the world's most cycle-aware woman, not by any means. It's literally just about a little bit more awareness, under understanding yourself a little bit better and being kinder to yourself, working with yourself instead of constantly against yourself. And Leah and I needed these reminders as well, too. So we're not here to preach to you. We literally need them ourselves. Because honestly, most women, we spend our entire lives trying to force ourselves into systems that were never really built with women's bodies in mind. And I think there's something really powerful about finally saying, maybe I don't need to fight myself this hard. A million percent.
SPEAKER_01So if you take anything from this episode, let it be this. You're really not supposed to feel the same way every day. You are cyclical, you are seasonal, you are human. And maybe understanding that isn't weakness, maybe it's just wisdom.
SPEAKER_00And honestly, maybe some of us need to stop trying to function like middle managers at a corporation designed by men who have never had a hormone fluctuation in their life. Maybe that can actually be the thesis of this entire episode. I mean, yeah. Do we make that the title of our podcast? Should we put it on a t shirt?
SPEAKER_01We could put that on a t shirt. I mean, the can somebody please put a woman in charge is our top selling design outside of be the good. So, anyways, probably should happen. But thank you guys for listening. We love you guys. See you next week. Bye.