Sweater weather, sipping tea for hours, reading and cuddling up in bed with a hot water bottle on your tummy. That’s how you’ll make the grey, foggy fall weather and some crampy PMS days work for you – not against you.

Before diving into this post, I want to be clear on one thing: having PMS or bad period cramps is not like being sick. It’s about your body needing some time off while your uterus is shedding lining and you’re hormones are going crazy – basically, just mother nature doing her job. It’s about giving yourself and your body what it needs.  And sometimes you just need a little reminder that you can make the best out of what seemed to be a difficult day. 

Here are the 5 things you’ll need to beat PMS

* Time and the right mindset.
Be strong and prioritise: make yourself your Nr.1 for today. 

* The right outfit.
Obviously, I’m talking about comfy sweatpants, woolly socks and a big jumper.

* A Ruby Cup.
You need the right menstrual hygiene product that enables you to lie in bed for a long time without having to worry about leaking on your newly made bed or having to get up every two hours to change it.

* Entertainment.
Arm yourself with your favourite books, a bunch of new magazines or your laptop for endless Pinterest browsing and Netflix.

* Accessories.
There’s nothing like nice lighting, scented candles and a warm, comfy bed while it’s grey and cold outside. Build your own wellness-cave. 

Step 1: Destress and say “no”

We’re so busy and our calendars are so filled with appointments and social commitments that we sometimes don’t know how to destress and take a break anymore.  I’m not saying it’s easy and it takes some practice to be able to cancel appointments. But the first step is to put yourself as Nr. 1 on your own priority list. Cancel everything that does not depend on life and death. Be bold and just say: Sorry, but I’m staying home today, I have really bad period cramps – every person with a period will understand that and secretly admire you. And the best thing: you’ll set an example!  You’ll be breaking a social taboo by talking openly about your period and normalizing it! Super Period Gold Medal for you ;) 

Step 2: Preparation

Once you’ve shoved all the appointments off the calendar it’s time to get comfortable. Get into your favourite comfy clothes. Then take all the blankets and pillows you can find and heap them on your bed or sofa, making it the softest and most cosy PMS-Cave.

Next, equip yourself with your Ruby Cup. It’s your best friend if you want to have a nice relaxing long day in bed. One of the great perks of wearing a menstrual cup is that you don’t even feel it – because let’s be honest, there’s nothing more annoying than being reminded of your period by a displaced, damp, disposable pad every time you shift position.

Also, Ruby Cup can hold a lot more liquid (to be precise, 3 x of what a super tampon can hold), so you don’t have to get up every hour to change it and, when inserted correctly, there’s no leaking on the freshly made sheets in your PMS-Cave.

Another great bonus, especially for those with a heavy flow:  if you’re watching an extremely sad or funny scene (or simply have to sneeze), you can laugh and cry as hard as you want, you can really let it all out, get carried away as much as you want –  without having to worry about squishing out some blood or leaking from laughing too hard, promise!

Step 3: Accessories

Your credo for the next couple of hours should be: stay warm in every aspect. Warm lighting, warm beverages and an actual warm item on your abdomen can do wonders!

Scented candles, especially lavender and vanilla, act very calming and destressing. Make sure to drink hot beverages without caffeine, cause caffeine actually makes those mean cramps go wild again. Also, during the first days of your period, you should let yourself get some extra hours of sleep, so rather than having the usual Moccachino go with something relaxing like a good cup of herbal tea. 

Next up is my favourite accessory here, a cherry stone pillow: it’s perfect for cramps. The warmth relaxes your muscles and the texture of the cherry stones gives you a good massage, increasing blood circulation which also leads to de-cramping. Win-win situation here.

Step 4: Surrender, Relax & Indulge

Now that you’ve got the free time and the perfect surroundings go ahead and surrender to the miserable weather and bad cramps and stay in bed.  No bad conscience for binge watching on Netflix or browsing the internet for hours. Or just taking a very long nap.  Treat yourself, own your PMS and cramps and be as grumpy and moody as you like.

Trust me, you will not even want to be grumpy anymore, but much rather feel strong, in control in your safe, warm, cosy PMS-Cave.

So remember, it’s always what you make of it. Now you have the instructions you need to own your PMS and make the best out of the worst. Just stay #periodpositive, get that cherry stone pillow heated up and cuddle up in a million blankets.