

These Period Subscription Boxes Will Alleviate Your Time Of The Month
Maybe I'm in the minority but I love my period. Every month, I get a bloody reminder that yes, I'm fertile, and no, I'm not pregnant. Thank the Lord. It's another way for me to feel one with womanhood and the act of my uterine lining shedding feels oddly feminine for me. Perhaps the biggest downsides come by way of symptoms. And although I don't experience cramps (after Day 1), I do experience mood swings, cravings, inner thigh aches, back pain, and hormonal acne (jawline breakouts become the bane of my existence for about a week).
That being said, I'm almost certain that period-related symptoms are the reason most of us with vaginas aren't a fan of menstruation situations. And I must say I definitely empathize, sis. If you're in need of a little more TLC during your period, we've got you covered on all things period essentials. From tampons and pads to treats that will fulfill your cravings, below is an array of period subscription boxes sure to alleviate your time of the month. The best part? You don't have to leave the comfort of your home to fulfill your period needs. Convenience is king.
LOLA
Courtesy of LOLA
Customize your own period subscription box through LOLA for as little as $9 a month. Depending on your needs, you can curate a box that's a mixture of organic cotton feminine care products absent of dyes, synthetic fibers, and fragrances. Choose between pads with wings, cleansing wipes, tampons, liners, and an essential oil blend for cramps. Ante up your monthly box on the sexual health side of things by including natural lube and/or condoms. And for young ladies in your life who haven't had their first period yet, LOLA has a special First Period Kit. For $34, you will receive a specially curated box that includes 5 regular pads, 5 heavy pads, 12 liners, 10 light tampons, an instructional card for each period product, etc.
Femly
Femly is another period subscription box that touts the fact that it is made of 100% organic cotton. Years ago, I tried one of their boxes and loved the combination of products that were good for my reproductive health as well as snacks that didn't compromise the rest of my body's health with its use. Femly is a black woman-owned company and includes a product line of pure cotton pads, pure cotton liners, pure cotton night pads, as well as the eco-friendly menstrual cup.
Kali
Courtesy of Kali
In an effort to make you "rethink your period", Kali is an organic luxury period subscription box service that allows you to design the box your cycle needs. Whether you want a box delivered to your door every month or once every three months, you can modify the frequency and the contents of your box at any time. As a luxury option, the box is more on the expensive side than other boxes on this list, starting at $16 a month. The Kali box features an array of sustainably sourced feminine care products free of chlorine bleach, synthetic fibers, dioxins, or dyes. What makes Kali different is that they also include self-care products like virgin coconut sugar scrub, lavender-infused bath soak, and rosewater facial mist.
Cora
Cora is a customizable period box. Like the others, you take a quiz and make selections based on your personalized period needs. You then choose between their pads, tampons, or menstrual cup the Cora Cup (you can also click all if they all apply). You then select the duration of your period and your flow. You will be sent the amount of pads or tampons based on those two selections. Add-ons to your subscription box include 6 period liners, 6 lavender body cloths, 6 rosemary eucalyptus body cloths, 6 rose-geranium body cloths, body cloth pouch (10 cloths), 2 individually wrapped heat relief cloths. The cost starts at $12 per month.
The PMS Package
The PMS Package
The PMS Package is a period subscription box that acts as your period survival kit. It's a care package comprised of feminine essentials and comfort snacks synced to deliver to your doorstep at the start of your monthly cycle. The name of the game is pampering and The PMS Package makes sure to do exactly that with unique items like Skinny Pop, Oreos, chocolate, makeup wipes, Chex Mix, socks, and more. The premium boxes start at $34.99.
Athena Club
Courtesy of the brand/Athena Club
Athena Club is redefining self-care by allowing you to get 18 premium or organic tampons for less than $8 a month. In addition to this, the period subscription box offers toxin-free essentials that range from liners and pads to TLC wipes and their menstrual cup. You can also create your own subscription box incorporating other needs Athena Club covers like wellness and body care with their razors, daily probiotics, daily multivitamins, body lotions, and deodorant.
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Best Menstrual Cups For Period
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TW: some depictions of intrusive thoughts may be disturbing for readers.
Have you ever caught your mind drifting off to entertain the most disturbing scenarios imaginable? Maybe you can’t stop thinking of all the ways a loved one could pass away or worrying that you left every candle lit in your apartment to which you’d return to a home in ruins. If distressing ruminations like these have crossed your mind, you may be experiencing an intrusive thought.
What Are Intrusive Thoughts?
Intrusive thoughts are unwanted or distressing thoughts, images, or impulses that pop into your mind without your control or consent. These thoughts can be repetitive, unsettling, or even violent in nature, and can cause anxiety and frustration for those who experience them.
“Generally they're unwanted thoughts that come up in our head that interrupt what we're doing or thinking, and can feel very foreign,” says Adia Gooden, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and host of the Unconditionally Worthy podcast. “It’s any thought that intrudes or interrupts what you are doing. They can be distressing and upsetting for us because it feels like we are not in control of them, and they're coming up out of nowhere and aren’t in line with how you normally think.”
What Causes Intrusive Thoughts?
Certain trauma or stress can contribute to the development of intrusive thoughts, so having a challenging experience from the past or current life situations may trigger them to form. “An intrusive thought could come in the form of a flashback, image, or a thought about something that's happened to you,” Dr. Gooden tells xoNecole. “When it gets to the point where you feel like you can't function or make clear decisions, that's when intrusive thoughts become really challenging.”
While some of the 1 billion videos found under the #intrusivethoughts hashtag on TikTok would lead you to believe that these thoughts are nothing more than casual displays of our imagination going untamed. Intrusive thoughts are more than sticking your hand in a soap dispenser, wanting to cut all your hair off at 3 a.m., or having a random impulse to eat fake bread in public.
The Anxiety & Depression Association of America reports that approximately six million individuals, equating to roughly two percent of the American population, encounter intrusive thoughts. Intrusive thoughts are often linked with obsessive-compulsive disorders, but they can also manifest in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or anxiety.
Examples of Common Intrusive Thoughts
Because of the explicit nature of intrusive thoughts, they tend to cause shame and internal conflict in those who experience them. Although these thoughts can differ from person to person, these ideation can consist of:
- Violent or aggressive thoughts towards oneself or others, such as harming or killing someone;
- Sexual thoughts that are unwanted or inappropriate;
- Repetitive thoughts, such as a song or a phrase that keeps repeating in your mind;
- Contamination or germ-related thoughts or the fear of contamination and getting sick;
- Religious or blasphemous thoughts, such as questioning one's faith or having thoughts that go against religious beliefs;
- Doubts or uncertainty about one's own actions or decisions, such as fear of making a mistake or fear of not doing something right.
Intrusive Thoughts and OCD
That’s why Dr. Gooden encourages everyone to understand the difference between our fleeting thoughts and impulses and true, intrusive thoughts. “What level of distress does it cause and is it something you would never consider,” she says. “If you're finding that these thoughts are getting in the way of you living your life and that you're controlled by the thoughts, those are some signs that it would be good to get some support in navigating it.”
She also emphasizes the importance of understanding that while we may not always have control over our thoughts, we can control our behavior. “On TikTok, people are sort of blaming intrusive thoughts on their behavior, and our behavior is always a choice,” she says. “If we are in our right mind and we're not having a psychotic episode, our behavior is our choice — we are not obligated to follow any given thought that we have.”
Are Intrusive Thoughts Normal?
With intrusive thoughts, it’s natural to question whether these thoughts are “normal” to have. However, these thoughts are not meant to define who you are as a person but simply indicate that you have a functioning human mind with automated thoughts that you, or any of us, can’t control. These thoughts may come, but they don’t have to be acted upon, nor do they define who you are.
“I've worked with clients in the past who say, ‘Why am I thinking these things? What's wrong with me?’ But if you're not acting on the thought, then it's probably not a huge issue,” Dr. Gooden says. “If you are thinking a harmful thought towards yourself or someone else and you are making plans to act on that thought, then yes, we need to do something about it.”
How To Manage Intrusive Thoughts
If you are struggling with managing unwanted thoughts, Dr. Aida suggests taking these tips to help manage your mindset when they occur:
- "Recognize that it's a thought and thoughts are just thoughts. We often put a little bit too much weight on our thoughts, and that can create a lot of distress. But remember that thoughts are not facts."
- "Having a thought that's disturbing or upsetting doesn't make you a bad person, and it doesn't mean that you are suffering from a mental illness."
- "Sometimes the best thing you can do is say, 'Huh, that was an interesting thought. I'm going to let that go. That thought is not helpful for me right now."
- "Ask yourself: is this helpful? Is it helpful for me to buy into this thought and believe this thought? Asking that question can be really helpful because we are not at the mercy of our thoughts. If it's not helpful, you can let it go."
Intrusive thoughts can feel bizarre and foreign when they come up, but they aren't inherently "bad." Our minds can sometimes be filled with random and inappropriate thoughts, but that's what our stream of consciousness does: it thinks. Fortunately, we can release those thoughts at any moment; you don't have to follow through with them.
And ultimately, not every TikTok diagnosis is one that we should label ourselves with.
"It's important for people to acknowledge what they're experiencing but not run too quickly to diagnose themselves with some mental illness or disorder," Dr. Gooden advises. "It ends with confusion, and we miss the opportunity to understand the people who really do have that mental health challenge."
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