What Does Your Gut Tell You? Emotions and The Pill

I've been on the Pill on and off for several years now, and a few months ago I started taking them again on a fairly regular basis. There are many reasons why women take birth control: to regularize their periods, to prevent pregnancy, and even (amusingly enough) to get clearer skin and lose/gain weight. Feel free to choose whichever reason you're most comfortable with.

All pills have side effects, however, and the trick is to find which pill you're least bothered by. I used to take a different brand when I was a bit younger, and that pill gave me a scratchy throat and a rather run-down feeling during a certain time every month. It reached the point where I was so sick of getting a regular sore throat that I stopped taking it entirely.

I saw my gynecologist before restarting my pill-taking late last year, and she prescribed a different brand. I didn't get sick any more, though I did start experiencing a fairly strong emotional side effect. I like to think of myself as a fairly sensible gal-- one who doesn't worry overmuch and stress about too many things (beyond the obvious work issues). But ever since I started going on the pill, once a month I feel like the world is ending.

I used to PMS (albeit very mildly) just like any girl, but usually it manifested in the form of irritation and not sadness/depression. Weeping into one's pillow for no reason is something quite alien to me, and my mind seems to compensate for these rather physical emotions by inserting random devastating scenarios. I used to pride myself on having fairly good instincts, and more often that not, "listening to my gut" has gotten me through some fairly tough situations.

Because of my current state, however, I've found that I simply cannot count on my "gut feel" anymore. For example, messaging my brother a couple of months ago and not being able to reach him made me think two things: 1) He must be busy. 2) He's died in fiery car crash!!

Any sane and rational person would gladly accept the first answer, but for some reason, instinct kept drawing me to the latter conclusion. Thus, I spent the night curled up into a fetal ball and sobbing into my pillow and, when day broke, my brother texted that no, he was not dead. :|

Instances like that make me feel foolish to say the least, but bulkhead determination makes me want to be able to rise above these paltry feelings. There are many other methods of preventing pregnancy, but when a pill makes you lose more than ten pounds in a month, it's not something you readily want to let go of.

Ah, vanity! :P