Reading this article on Babe.net by Rosie Lanners on 14th September 2016 prompted an interesting thought. Do our friendships influence our monthly cycle? If they don’t does that mean we aren’t as close as we should be, or not spending enough time together?
Many people believe that when women spend lots of time together, such as living together, their menstruation cycles will sync and the women will begin their period within days of each other, if not beginning and ending precisely on the same day?! Apparently this has something to do with the pheromones produced, so we smell each other into bleeding?! Lol
I can’t say for sure if this would be a good thing for female friendships or not. On the one hand, if it were true, each of you would be much more understanding of the other… On the other hand however, PMS at the same time sounds like a recipie for trouble!
By the time my mother was making an announcement to welcome me into the world of womanhood because I had experienced my first period (quite literally, at the dinner table with family friends?! Cringe. Thanks Mum! Lol) she herself was facing the early signs of menopause. (Maybe I should have made an equally inappropriate announcement for her?! Haha) As I don’t have sisters, I never experienced this syncing of cycles when I lived at home.
When I moved out of home with my best friend at the time, we still didn’t sync. She was irregular and I was like clockwork, on the 13th of the month, naturally! It did happen occasionally that we would bleed at the same time, but as it was so infrequent that we put it down to coincidence, despite making jokes about the world being doomed if we did sync. Maybe we just weren’t close enough, although we did spend lots of time together. Perhaps we didn’t spend enough time smelling each other?! Hahahaha
Eventually though, we became more than friends. And even as we embarked on a romantic livein relationship for years, where we were very close, it still didn’t happen. I have never experienced this syncing. Not then and not now. Not with any of my friends. So in my own experience, this is a myth.
That said, I know women who swear by it. Best friends, roommates, sisters, mothers and daughters and even colleagues who claim to have synced with one another and proudly proclaim to be bloody buddies! One friend even refers to herself as a “follower” claiming she quickly follows the cycle of anyone she is close to.
This begs the question though, what if you are close to more than one friend? Maybe that has been my issue, close to too many women to choose? I guess it is possible I have actually synced with a few, but never known. I have friends who always openly discuss their monthly and some who seem to feel it would be uncouth to mention.
Recently I came across as somewhat creepy to a friend of mine experiencing fertility issues, as she was saying she couldn’t remember the date of her last period and needed it for a medical form or something. Without thought I easily recalled the date of her last period, mostly because she happened to do something significant that day and was mildly annoyed by her monthly visitor getting in the way. (I am a good listener and I remember the details ok?! Don't judge me!) At first she said “Oh, that’s right!.... then her eyes narrowed as her gaze uncomfortably shifted to me with a confused look on her face and she exclaimed “Why would you remember that?!” haha *Awkward!*
Just because I haven’t experienced it yet, doesn’t mean it isn’t real…. I guess I still have time to find out…. I hope….. My daughter is only 6 so we have hopefully quite some time before I test the live in theory again. To be honest, I hope it doesn’t happen. If it does, I think my husband and my son best take up residence someplace else for a few weeks a month, because I don’t envy them in the crossfire I imagine! Lol Either way, the puberty versus menopause hormone battle wasn’t pretty either, so plan ahead guys! haha
I don’t know if I believe this phenomenon is fact or fiction. Coincidence is my best guess. If it is fact, perhaps my pheromones are weak, or bleeding to the beat of their own drum, but what I do know for sure is that whenever I go on holiday, have a birthday, anniversary, stay at a hotel or have an event I am looking forward to I will get my period. That is a FACT!
What are your experiences? Do you have a blood buddy? Are you a pheromone leader or a follower?
Do you believe it is symbolic of your closeness or lack thereof if it doesn’t happen?
Do tell!!
❤ Love
Your Best Friend ForNever
xx
