How I reclaimed my period after seven years – guest post from Amy Molloy

I first met the inspiring Amy when she was the editor at Grazia here in Australia.  I felt really drawn to her beautiful energy but I never knew how much of a power house she actually was.  When she told me her story, I felt compelled to ask her to put it into words that she could share, because I knew her journey was not only profound, but she would absolutely change women’s lives as a result.  She’s a very powerful message to share – one that I hope you may pass on to collectively come together as women and make a difference.  Before I hand over to Amy, perhaps her story resonates with you but your not sure where to turn to next?  Remember Debunking Stress is on the horizon and early bird prices are still available (shameless plug but one that I know might change your life!  So I’m prepared to plug until I can plug no more..)  Now over to Amy.


When I didn’t have a period for seven years, friends, therapists and doctors offered many different theories on the reason; because I’d had an eating disorder as a teenager, because I’d been on the pill for an extended period, because I was widowed when I was 23-years-old and my body had ‘shut down’ with grief. Over the course of its absence – from 2007 to 2013 – I blamed all of the above at times. Yet one common denominator between all these causes jarred with me. They were all in the past and there was nothing I could do to change them. I couldn’t undo my eating disorder, I couldn’t untake my contraception, I couldn’t go back in time and turn down the offer of a drink from the man I’d fall in love with and, three weeks after our wedding day, bury.

I am naturally a ‘fixer’. I face problems head-on and do everything in my power to solve them.

There is nothing more frustrating and disempowering then being told that an event from your past is damaging your present. So, I attacked my missing period, with the same aggression I’d put into my eating disorder. I Googled ‘infertility’ ferociously, I changed my eating habits dramatically. I banned running (which had been one of my favourite hobbies) and forced myself to meditate three times a day. I drank parsley tea by the bucketful and I avoided soy with a vengeance. I thought I was doing the right things and I was in a sense, but I was too merciless in my methods. In hindsight, rather then working to remove the fear that I carried, I was only adding to it with a new set of rules and regulations.

I remember my mum saying that my period would return when I was ‘happy’. This was in 2012 – five years after my husband died and even longer since I’d beaten my eating disorder. I thought I was happy… wasn’t I? But it seems my body knew something that I didn’t. I remember telling a friend that I felt my body didn’t trust me. If I put my palm on my abdomen below my belly button I felt like my insides were constantly clenched. If I loosened, if I softened, I was scared of what might happen. But instead of looking inwards I searched outwards. Despite the fact I knew on an intuitive level that my missing period had emotional causes, I still went for endless blood tests, scans and ultrasounds.

I remember leaving a doctor’s surgery in tears because I’d been told to ‘just’ go on Clomid. When I asked what mystery ailment we were treating he said the tests were inconclusive but that ‘It doesn’t matter what’s wrong because the medication will solve it.’ I couldn’t help feeling that, if my body was blocking it’s most natural function, it must be doing it for a reason. I never made a follow up appointment.

At the time, I remember a girlfriend telling me that I should ‘enjoy’ not having a period because when it came back the novelty would soon wear off. She was right in a sense. I was single at the time and not in a hurry to have a baby, however my thirtieth birthday was fast approaching and it had been nearly seven years since I’d bought a box of tampons. It sounded like a cliché but, as I tried to explain to my friend, I didn’t feel like a real woman. The question is, was that a consequence or a cause? Did I not feel like a woman because my periods had stopped. Or had my periods stopped because I didn’t feel like a woman? This question turned out to be key in my healing process, although I didn’t realise it at the time.

As I write this I am in the midst of my period – my sixth one in a row, which I greet like a lost friend every time. So, what changed? I’ll try and join the dots as best as I can, because I know other women in my situation will be looking for answers.

Firstly, I got distracted. As part of my work as a journalist, I accepted an assignment to hike 140km across the Tarkine rainforest in Tasmania and write about it. The preparation was so exciting and all-consuming that for six months I simply forgot to worry about what I was missing – and instead focused on what I had.

In January 2014, I spent a week in the wilderness of the rainforest with a group of eight, where my usual diet and fitness regime was impossible to follow. I was exercising more than ever (walking 30-40km a day) but I wasn’t doing it to punish my body. I was there to simply celebrate nature rather than count calories. Every night I’d look up at the moon (many cultures believe a woman’s period will sync with the lunar cycle) and before going to sleep I thanked my body for supporting me through the day’s adventure. I also let it rest when it needed to, with lunchtime naps and 8pm bedtimes, rather then pushing through tiredness as I would in my usual life. And on my final day in the rainforest my period arrived…

Since returning from the rainforest I’ve hung onto the lessons I learnt; to listen to my body, to invite flexibility into my life and to soften and be more vulnerable (these aren’t attributes that come easily to me but I’m getting better at it).

Recently I had an appointment with a spiritual healer, who I’ve visited every six-months since I was 23-years-old. The first thing she did was compliment my hair. It might sound superficial, but my hair says a lot about my psyche. In the aftermath of my husband’s death I dyed it dark brown and cut it into a harsh pixie bob. Now, it’s long, blonde and wavy. As I’ve into my femininity it’s softened with me.

My spiritual healer has her own theory on why my periods stopped in the first place. In a past life, she says, I died at the age of 17 after drinking contaminated water shortly after I started menstruating. On a cellular level, my body remembers what happened and so I associate becoming a woman with danger. The fact I was poisoned also explains my past obsessive eating habits, because I am frightened of trying new foods that could harm me. Of course, this theory will not resonate with everyone, as it’s easier to look to solid evidence, concrete cures and Western medicine.

However, I do believe that all of the pills in the world wouldn’t have coaxed my period back unless I’d made emotional changes. I needed to make peace with my body, with my gender and with myself. Now, when I put my palm on my abdomen it no longer feels like it’s caged.

AmyM
Amy Molloy is a journalist and author specialising in health and women’s wellbeing. Amy also runs yoga and therapeutic writing retreats as well as offering one-on-one workshops on how to use creative writing to enhance personal wellbeing. Follow her on Facebook.

21 Comments

  • July 23, 2014 By hayley 10:03 am

    very powerful x

  • July 23, 2014 By Renee 1:33 pm

    What a powerful story. Thankyou for having the courage to share it with others!

  • July 23, 2014 By Summer 1:57 pm

    This is so timely for me. Thank you!!
    I am 33 and going on 13 years without a period and I too have a past with an eating disorder. I am currently doing all the natural holistic things as you described but still no period. I’m constantly beating myself up as to why and what am I doing wrong.
    Hearing your story has put new light into my healing journey and I thank you for your honesty and openness.
    Thank you xx

  • July 23, 2014 By Sarah Caracciolo 3:24 pm

    Wow! Thank you for sharing this amazing story! I am so happy to read such inspiring stories! I truly believe that we can all heal ourselves, so when I hear and read stories such as yours, it just re-confirms everything that I believe! I hope you continue to share your story with the WORLD! This is what so many people in our world need to hear! YESSSS! With Love, Sarah.

  • July 23, 2014 By Kate 9:36 pm

    Thanks Amy for sharing your story, I really resonate with it and found it inspiring xx

  • July 25, 2014 By Domonique 3:30 pm

    So awesome! Thanks for having the gutso to share this powerful message Amy and help so many other women. I guess it says in itself just how far you’ve come.
    And thanks Nat – as always, with love!

  • July 25, 2014 By Skye 4:22 pm

    All I can say is THANK YOU for sharing! It has been 4.5 years so far for me x

  • July 25, 2014 By Irene Giakoumis 5:01 pm

    What an incredible story! Thanks so much for sharing. Very inspired to continue on my physical, emotional and spiritual healing path and rediscover my long lost friend too xx

  • July 27, 2014 By Mel 4:53 pm

    Your story brought a tear to my eye! Thank you so much for sharing your battle and your journey. I am coming up to 2 years since my last period which now seems like nothing compared to yours, and others, stories. But, irrespective of the time, its so nice to know there are others out there fighting the same battle and who understand and can put into words what I am feeling and try to help me understand it myself! Thank you thank you thank you! xx

  • July 28, 2014 By Luisa 5:45 pm

    Beautiful story and inspirational xx

  • July 31, 2014 By Isabelle 4:20 pm

    Thank you for having such tremendous courage to open up about such a profound transformation. A powerful message. X

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  • August 16, 2014 By Jazmine 4:35 pm

    This is so timely for me. Thank you!!
    I am 32and going on many years only gotten my period 4 times and only on vacation abroad so strange i stubbled with depression and bad anxiety, I too have a long past with an eating disorder. I am currently doing all the testing again and again no answers natural holistic still no period. I’m constantly beating myself up as to why and what am I doing wrong.
    Hearing your story is a blessing and i haven’t been happy for so many years my dad died 10 years ago and i feel that i died too and i have been thru so much i never have even opened myself up to a man i wonder if thats been blocking my women hood. i think its true and you are right i wish i could speak with you more. thank you again xxx

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  • September 4, 2014 By yvonne ferrell 1:26 am

    Hello, I was that healer, that worked with Amy, I am so glad she shared her story , reading all of your stories, there is a common theme, being out of control, with an incident that has happened in your life, try to find a way, to get your power back, turn things around, into the way you deserve, that is your birth rite ……….. PCOS can also be caused by this . blessings Yvonne

  • September 21, 2014 By Megan 12:07 am

    Amy, thank you for your honesty and courage to share.
    I cannot even begin to find the words to express how and why this story has touched me so.
    I am 27 yrs old, soon to be 28, and my period has been mia for 6 yrs. For the past 5 years I have been struggling with eating disorders, faced the death of my father and adopted father, and sexual abuse.
    For years I have not felt like a woman, no ears have understood why. To be able to read this story, and know that there is hope, and what I feel and am going through isn’t crazy out of the norm…I am comforted. I too have and still find myself searching outward for answers.
    I know I have to forgive myself, somehow.

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