When my gorgeous girl cat of 18 years died, I grieved more than for my father.

And still most people who have never experienced it think that it's just "being sad". Nope. I wish I would have felt anything like being sad when I was clinically depressed... at least it would have been something else than this emptiness... I was more brokkoli than human.

When I first met my wife I was seriously alarmed at the pain she went through every month. Never realised it could be so crippling. I almost called an ambulance on one occasion.

If every man on earth simultaneously experienced having a period, with all that comes with it, everything would come to a screeching halt. They’d consider it a global emergency.

It's not the lack of understanding, how could someone understand something they never experienced? It's the disbelief of it like somehow women are lying about it..

Heck, I can't even understand it. Mine have always been merely annoying and just a general ick feeling. 🤷‍♀️

I have a specific bank account that i put a bit of money in through the year and when it's that time of the month for my gf i use that money to buy whatever she needs and i take as much care as i can of her. It sucks and i see you ladies, I'm so sorry.

Non-uterus having person here, but my partner's experience with having a Morena IUD for most of the past decade+ makes me think that it's the sort of thing that anyone who experiences even moderately painful menstrual cramping or moderate levels of bleeding should at least look into or discuss with their doctor. The main "side effect" is greatly reduced menstruation, and the other side effects from oral birth control are greatly reduced or non-existent. Everybody is different, I'm not trying to "fix" anyone and I certainly don't want to invalidate the very real experiences of people, but if you really do suffer every month for several days, it's worth having a frank discussion with a doctor (if you think your pcp will be dismissive, or don't feel like you can afford it, this is a thing Planned Parenthood can help with) about whether you could be feeling a lot better on a fairly safe and, except initially, usually quite easy medicine that should last about a decade at a time.

I really don't miss these at all, but the hot flashed make me want to murder someone

I’ve had cramps so bad I can hardly stand up. Most of the time it’s less bad for me, but it’s still walking around with constant pain. It’s not just your stomach, it can hit your back. And I know many women have it worse! It can be downright debilitating, and yet it’s treated as a joke by men and women without bad cramping.

I'm going thru perimenopause and my last period (1st in 6 months) and my cramps were the closest I've had to contractions since my son was born 22 years ago

Yup. I used to pass out and miss a day or two of work per month. Lost clots the size of my fist frequently. Maxipads needed hourly changes. Tampons were pointless. Caused worse pain, and used to prolong periods. That were 7 days minimum! Irregular. Unpredictable. My miscarriage was less painful. Gynaecologist tried many oral hormonal treatments, but I became a lunatic. Mirena was my saviour. More localised hormones. Reduced bleed, reduced duration. We decided after 5 years to leave it out as kids were being discussed. Kids not had but periods have been better since. Three things I have learned. Tampons generally increase pain, due to internal irritation, and prolong a bleed. They can also make the following months bleed heavier. Cups/ discs, increase pain due to internal irritation but reduce period by a day or two. Freeflow is the best way to reduce pain and duration.

I just recently had an emergency appendectomy. I have had cramps that were nearly that bad. Burning pain and spasms from my waist to my knees 5 days a month for 40 years, before I found out I had severe endometriosis. Hysterectomy was a godsend.

Been there, done that, got the hysterectomy. Get it checked! Could be endometriosis.

I used to have cramps so bad I would pass out. Apparently it was because I was fat (5kgs overweight) according to the doctor.

My pain was so bad I would be curled up in a ball on the floor. Eventually at 38 I had to have an hysterectomy. Childbirth is painful but omg the pain of a period can be so much worse.

Every man should have to be connected to a period cramp simulator at least once. Perhaps annually from ages 10-55.

Mine have always been pretty bad. When I became pregnant, I read about all these women giving birth naturally because their period cramps were worse than labor. Holy f####ck was I wrong. Being in labor in 5489320890483 times worse than period cramps.

I was lucky until my hormones got all screwy after a couple of miscarriages. For a few years after that I found out what real cramps were. I had no idea they could be so bad.

It's all Eve's fault, but you women are so strong to survive all you go thru!!

This is sometimes referred to as "ADHD paralysis" which may not be a perfect term but is easier for neurotypicals to understand.

Yeah, one of the worst part of depression is that you don't even feel love for your most loved ones anymore. You know you love them, but you don't feel anything but emptiness.

Oh eww, I know that feeling. Or you stand up and it happens, it’s so ick 😣

And it can be loud to you while no one else hears it. I don't want to be triggered by lip-smacking and it is certainly far beyond a little annoyance. Not something I can 'just ignore.'

I've been under a couple times and it is not like sleeping at all. When sleeping you have a sense of time, with anesthesia you go out and then you come back in what feels like it could be a blink even though it was hours - absolutely no sense of time.

Oh hello other me! I think the weirdest part of this type of pain is how insidious it can be. When the back pain and breathing problems are chronic like mine, you start to acclimate to the pain. But there really is no acclimating to not breathing enough. It just steals your brain from you.

I don't have or want children, but the pure joy in a young child's laughter is something else.

Horrible, traumatic losses are like this. There are times I wish there was some sort of physical sign you would get so that others could understand how bad things are, but I guess that is evolution keeping our enemies from knowing how vulnerable we are at the moment.

The amalgamation of hurt, rage, and betrayal is overwhelming.

I'm just a bathroom and car singer, but I do love the feeling of it

Oh heavens at 17? That must have been extremely devastating! I‘ve lost my first child shortly before her due date and I think I will forever be gratefull, that she died like that and has not lived to be any age within her childhood or teen years. That would have broken me.

And the other way round with loss of a child. No parent should outlive their child

I had sleep paralysis and it truly terrified me. Not long after I watched a programme about it, now I just think oh it's that again.

And it doesn't go away just because they grow up either.

eughhh *shudders* that feeling when it's coming out though it feels like getting that one spaghetti in the back of your throat when you ate too much 🤢

But I am sure you did your very best!

I experienced these for the first time a few days ago, after my pharmacy screwed up my Rx and I ran out prematurely. Good thing I knew what they knew what they are. Mine lasted maybe five seconds each, but that five seconds is weird and disconcerting.

It' sounds like a terrible feeling. Try talking it through with a therapist? May be a lot of hurt and pain mixed in there.

It might be because I've just read the pie post, but that curtain doesn't half look like rhubarb

Why am i crying?

You can be alone but not lonely and you can be with people and feel lonely..

Memories you get if you smell some particular smell.

It's crazy. It's amazing. It's scary. It's wonderful. It's painful. It's exhausting. It's life changing. (Currently pregnant for the third time. 8th month. I still try to process all the feelings every day)

Yup. Borderline Personality Disorder here. I hate it

That's got to be incredible, and so affirming. Hard to duplicate that with self-affirmation.

Firstly, well done!! To keep working through this is so incredibly draining, you're doing amazingly! I feel this! It's a very hard one to explain, I've suffered with hypoglycemia for years to the point of blacking out, the only way I can describe it is like a dream state world where you're detached from everything but still there with the feeling of being very drunk movement, speech and brain functionality wise but not. Feeling trapped by it all. Unfortunately this is a daily/weekly occurrence my end and the feeling never changes. My heart goes out there to all you other type 1's! ❤️