Voilà: A Week in the Life of My Period During Self-Isolation

Haha do I have PMS, you ask? Oh, I have more than PMS. Hormonal imbalances and an IUD that can make cramps feel like someone is squeezing my insides into a fist, and the erratic condition of an unreliable period that kind of comes and goes as it pleases, making its appearance a surprise almost every time. It’s a party!!!!!

One thing I know, though, is that by the time of its arrival, I always have an audible “Ohhhhhh, that’s why I cried three times on Monday” moment. In a way, it’s comforting. It’s an answer! The intense moods are not my personal volatility—they’re biology. A fact of life. A signal that the operating system is working smoothly. Relief.

I mention all this to tee up the below diary of a week in the life of my PMS, accompanied by the stylings of the wick-ed-ly-tal-en-ted one-and-only Monica Morales. Originally, this shoot was intended to accompany a narrative more directly correlated to Man Repeller’s theme of the month (I’ll remind you it is “chaos,” which now seems sinisterly befitting) but given the events of the past two weeks, and the new meaning to chaos we’re all pretty much learning, all the programming we had, erm, programmed, was put on hold.

I mention all this to tee up the below diary of a week in the life of my PMS, rendered for your bemusement. Consider it an act of solidarity for those who empathize, accompanied by the stylings of the wick-ed-ly-tal-en-ted one-and-only Monica Morales. (And as an FYI, I’ll just add that I tend to look less like these photos, and more like if you put these looks in a snow globe and shook them violently.)

Day 1: On the Verge of Screamin’ and Have No Clue Why