29 Aug Readers weigh in: How to make your relationship better each week of your cycle
Yesterday, I wrote about how your hormones can impact how you view your relationship throughout your monthly cycle.
I was going to add a few of my own tips about how you can encourage, guide and/or cajole your partner into helping you make your relationship stronger based on each week of your cycle. However, I was on deadline for a magazine article I was writing and ran out of time.
Luckily, I received a bunch of emails from longtime Hormonology readers in response to yesterday’s post who’ve already been sharing hormone cycle secrets with their sweeties–and they generously shared with me their own tips about how they coach their partners in how to work with their week-to-week changes to rev their relationship.
So, today I thought I’d share one great tip from four of these readers that you might be able to use in your own relationship for each week of your monthly cycle:
Week 1: Lee says she gets crampy and tired during the first few days of her period, so she asked her sweetie to do the heavy lifting for her on these days, like taking out the trash and vacuuming. Last month during her period, not only did he take over the more strenuous household chores, he brought her a heating pad and painkillers and told her he DVR’d her favorite chef reality show so she could sit on the couch and just relax. Wow!
Week 2: Kendra says she downloaded my free Hormone Horoscope app onto her partner’s cellphone so he knows exactly when her Week 2 arrives–and when high hormones make her enjoy being swept up by big romantic surprises. So far, she’s been surprised with tickets to a show, reservations at a new restaurant she wanted to try and a weekend getaway to wine country. Not too shabby!
She also says that (like me), she’s big into scents, so she asks her partner to put on a new cologne during her Week 2 when high estrogen and testosterone are turbo-boosting her libido so it revs her desire for romance even higher. (This sounds exactly like a Week 2 gal’s love of super-intense experiences.)
Week 3: Lynn says she gives her honey a heads-up that a change in hormones means her libido is going to be far lower in this week of her cycle than it was in her Week 2–so he doesn’t take her sudden lack of desire personally like he used to.
She also (wisely!) lets him know that this is the week of her cycle when her cravings for treats are going to be peaking due to rising progesterone–so he makes a special stop at her favorite Greek bakery to bring her home baklava. Yummm!
Week 4: Sarah says just tried something new–this month, she warned her honey ahead of time that she was about to start her “hell week” (her words) and he should expect a bit more irritability and negativity than usual. She went on to ask him to be a bit more patient with her when she experiences a sudden downturn in mood. Sure enough, the very next day, she had a premenstrual meltdown–and her hubby was more patient and kind and knew not to take it personally. And that was all it took to avoid a big argument–and for her to return to her usual mild-mannered self again!
Thank you to everyone who wrote to me with your relationship tips yesterday and this morning. They were all wonderful–and it was incredible to hear how you’re applying Hormonology to your own lives!
If you’ve got a great tip you use to make your relationship–or any other part of your life–better that you want to share with other Hormonology fans, let me know!
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