Last night was the first time
I’ve ever been awakened in the middle of the night by Pre-menstrual Syndrome (PMS). Really weird and not fun. Today in my scripture study I decided
to look for scriptures that could help me endure PMS well. (Does this seem like a topic that is not blogged about by polite LDS
bloggers? Well, hang with me; I’m going to try to make this as edifying as I possibly
can.) Anyway... so the following is what
I found.
3 And
not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:
knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
PMS is a certain kind of
tribulation. (What? Are we women
supposed to glory in PMS? Evidently we are…)
PMS for me is like the beginning of an insurrection. The usually
compliant natives suddenly start murmuring for no reason and begin fomenting
rebellion. I just have to have
patience to get through it and I have to pray for self-control. The patience brings experience of
knowing it is possible to bridle my irritability so that I don’t hurt the
people around me or beat myself up.
Experience brings hope that with God’s help I can become a better person
even when my hormones seem to be working against me.
Behold,
we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and
have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender
mercy. (James 5:11)
Job didn’t have PMS, but he
had a lot of terrible things happen to him, so he is known for patience. Even if we aren’t enjoying peace with
PMS, enduring well through it will bring happiness and satisfaction…
afterward. Also, the Lord knows
all things and will not withhold His tender mercies from us if we ask for help.
One of the ways that I think
Heavenly Father has helped me endure though PMS in the past is by giving me a
heightened awareness so I notice when I’m about to say something hurtful and
ornery. And I keep my mouth shut
and then think about whether the irritant is something that usually bothers me
or not. And it usually isn’t, so I
know I should definitely keep my
mouth shut.
Is
any among you afflicted? let [her] pray. (James 5:13)
How could it possibly be
made clearer what we should do when we have PMS? We can pray that we will overcome our hormonal afflictions
and that we will not be overcome by the irritable or aggressive or saddening
impulses that come upon us.
And
now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon [Michaela and her
sister Saints] were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they
could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with
patience to all the will of the Lord.
(Mosiah 24:15)
Okay, so I put us women in
there to apply it better to us.
One of the difficulties I
have when troubled by PMS is that the irritation is an underlying current in my
subconscious and when I want to have peace, I have a hard time feeling it; I’m
just rumpled inside. I want to
feel the peace of the Holy Ghost inside when I’m doing my callings or reading my
scriptures, but with PMS sometimes I can’t feel it. This scripture teaches me that I can still submit cheerfully
and with patience to the will of the Lord even if I don’t feel the peace yet. It also assures me the Lord can
strengthen me to bear my burdens with ease, to bear the little irritations that
pop up and which suddenly seem maddening.
There
hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to [woman]: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it. (1 Cor 10:13)
This assures us we are not
alone when suffering PMS, and we will not feel it forever. God makes a way for our bodies to bear
it. I’ve found a number of ways by
which I find some relief. When I’m
feeling irritable and aggressive, it really helps me to go running, or do hard
housework or to work in the yard, or to play hard fast songs on the piano where
I can just pound away. The energy
needs some place to go, and there are good things I can use it for.
The odd thing is that after
doing one of those things, I feel satisfaction for only about five minutes and
then I get irritable again and have to do something else. It is a queer feeling to tire myself
out all day like this and still have an irritable feeling fighting with the
physical fatigue of having worked so hard. At least the next day the PMS is gone and I can finally feel
satisfaction for all I got done.
How do you deal with it?
O
Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O
Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with
patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of [my hormones].
(Alma 31:31)
Alma anticipated afflictions
coming upon him because of the people’s wickedness, but I thought his prayer
was appropriate for PMS just by changing those end words a little. With enough experience with PMS,
we may start to anticipate the afflictions from hormonal imbalances and we can
ask for our souls to be comforted in Christ. Might it be possible to have a “soul” comfort that goes
deeper than biological pique or sorrow?
When my PMS is of the weepy
variety, I often look at myself with chagrin saying, “Self you really don’t have
reason to cry. You’re life is a
very good one right now. You have
all these blessings.” In the past
I have gotten frustrated myself for the mismatch and irrationality of the
sorrow, but maybe I can just accept that sometimes I will feel that way and let
it happen, knowing deeper down that God is in His heaven and all is right in my
world.
But
that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that
ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions. (Alma 34:41)
I wonder. Will we have to worry about hormones in
heaven? Or is that just part of
mortality?
Here are some other
scriptures and even a hymn that are applicable:
All
these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.” (D&C
122:7)
My
people shall be tried in all things… (D&C 136:31)
…thou
didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee. (Alma
38:4-5)
Be
still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With
patience bear thy cross of grief or pain
Leave
to thy God to order and provide;
In ev’ry
change he faithful will remain.
Be
still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
Thru
thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
(Be
Still My Soul, hymn 124)
Do you have any scriptures
that particularly help you when you are going through PMS? How do you deal with it in a
constructive way?
6 comments:
Thanks for your insights...wish my patience had to be tried on something as simple as PMS. Next question: why does it seem like OUR trials are always the hardest? But I suppose you probably already addressed that somewhere on this bloggaroo!
Michaela
I hope you are feeling better, I never enjoy PMS and there doesn't seem to be a cure.
So this may help you on a deeply spiritual level. I am reading this book "Gospel Symbols" Finding the creator in his Creations by Mark A Shields. What intriqued me in this book was the heading on Obedience.
He notes that all commandments given by God are commandments of obedience. Obedience applies to the whole body, the whole soul and spirit. As the heart obeys the commandment to come unto me, then it is in progress to heal. The body likewise is commanded to obey and heal.
He gives this example: Death of the body is a form of disobedience. He considers two major causes of death in America; heart disease and cancer. They are disobedience. The heart ceasing to function the way it was designed to function and cells behaving out of control"
So in the case of PMS, it involves hormones, and next to the brain and heart, hormones play a major part in every function of our bodies, even to the point of preventing a scenario for a disease. So in this case, the hormones are "out of order". Can we pray for our hormones, that they would repent of their abnormal behavior? Not to make light of your discomfort, but I beleive we can. Laying on of hands by a tender priesthood blessing works wonders. You may still have discomfort, but your homones will have peace. I say this Michaela in the name of Jesus Christ.Amen
xoxoxo
Well...as far as PMS goes, it has always taken me a more focused effort - to be kinder. For me, a lot of the irritation was based on pain (I had Endometriosis). Recently, I had a hysterectomy. A little radical, maybe, but it has really helped my moods!
As far as spiritual understanding helping me, I found that my hormones - especially PMS always made me a little bit more depressed. One thing that has helped has been the understanding that my biology - these hormones - all of this was a result of the fall. The Lord cursed bringing forth children for Eve's sake.
I used to think that this curse was relegated to the nine months of pregnancy and delivery. But I'm realizing that it is so much more - and it effects all women - even if they don't or can't have children. (which isn't really fair). This hormonal change is truly a result of the fall. And it is what makes me a woman.
Knowing this brings me a measure of peace. I'm not irritable because I'm some kind of weakling. I'm not depressed because I can't appreciate God. There is a biological reason. And I can turn to the Creator of my body for comfort and assistance through these trials.
so...that's the long answer for your question.
The short answer: these three scriptures help me:
Moses 4:22 (In sorrow Eve will bring forth children).
Matthew 11:28-30 (Come unto the Lord, all ye that labor and are heavy laden [with hormones and PMS]
and
Doctrine and Covenants 112:5 - Contend morning by morning, day after day...(I always need this one).
Dawn, it sounds like you have more difficult challenges that are trying your patience.
Ramona, I never considered that hormones could be disobedient. Interesting perspective. It may be disobedient to something, but I don't think it is under my conscious control. I will take responsibility for my behavior, but I prefer not to be held responsible for my hormones.
Catania, yes, pain does try our patience too. Sounds like you had a big trial with that endometriosis. I really hope heavenly hormones (if there is such a thing) will be more friendly..
Thank you so much for this blog post. The last week has been a rollercoaster and at times its very hard to get out of the hormone cycle with PMS.
(Nice to meet another Arizonian!)
Jolene, I'm so glad this was helpful to you. Sending good wishes for serenity and peace your way.
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