Joanne O’Riordan: I used to think missing a period was a blessing

Joanne O'Riordan wx221022

I was a little bit older when I first got my period. I think I was 14. When I got it, well, I have no limbs, so I had to tell someone straight away. 

I remember getting really annoyed [by my period] because I used to have to skip swimming training and stuff like that. At that time, I was petrified by tampons because someone else has to put it in for me.

What I didn’t know when I was younger was that everyone experiences periods differently. I wouldn’t have had experience of the cramps my friends had, and my menstrual cycle wasn’t 28 days, which we were told it was, so I thought I was a weirdo. 

One thing I’ve noticed from writing myself about periods, is the number of younger girls who thought because the liquid on the ad is blue on television, they thought it was supposed to be blue, and they freaked out when it was red. That’s one thing I thought was an urban myth, until I was talking to younger girls about it.

Joanne O'Riordan: When I was 16, I had a major back operation, and I lost my period for a little bit because of the stress my body underwent. I

A couple of us would have [talked about periods with friends in school]. You’d only know they were on their period because they’d ask you for a spot check. We would never have sat down for lunch, and said ‘oh my god, like I’m on my period like I’m dying’ or ‘oh my god I’m ovulating like I’m sweating so much,’ it never would have been that.

When I was 16, I had a major back operation, and I lost my period for a little bit because of the stress my body underwent. It took me a long time to regain a proper, full, natural period. 

When I was younger, If I missed a period, I would have thought it was a blessing in disguise, when it’s actually a sign that something is wrong. I think that’s something that is important to highlight.

• Journalist and activist Joanne O'Riordan  is one of eight women who shared her period story as part of our series on Period Shame. Read the full piece here.