According to a new survey by Always, three quarters of women in the UK describe their period as an 'unhappy' experience. But over in Europe, things are very different. Nearly 70% of Greeks describe their periods as happy, followed by 58% of Swiss women, 54% of Austrian women and 45% of French women. What's wrong with us? Is it the weather? What we're eating?
Most women surveyed describe the experience as 'a minor convenience' or a 'natural part of life', but for some it's thoroughly dreaded. One in twenty refers to their period as 'horrendous' and one out of ten 19-24 year olds are simply unable to function.
Not to piss you off, but irritability is the top scoring PMS symptom, at 69%, followed by pain (56%), stress (49%) and anger (41%). On the other hand, 21% of 19-24 year olds experience heightened sex drive at this time and comfort food and comfort clothes, unsurprisingly, are favoured by most women.
If you still can't be cheered, make like the Greeks and see the week as an opportunity to celebrate the fact you haven't accidentally fallen pregnant.
Here Lucy Porter, Wendy Wason and Hils Barker talk about how we deal with the 'time of the month.' More videos like this over on the Always site. Go on, watch it. Humour makes everything feel better.
