You know that annoying buzzing sound that you get in your ear when a bee is whizzing by your ears? Imagine that noise gradually becoming louder and louder as your psyche tries to fight the inevitable as an indication that you’re possibly about to have a psychotic break.
Welcome to Swarm.
Created by the minds of Donald Glover and Janine Nabers, who was also the writer on Glover’s FX Atlanta show, Swarmfollows Dre (Dominique Fishback) as she fights for the love and adoration of a fictional pop superstar, for whom she is willing to travel across the country, spend her last, and take on new personas. Some may even say that the cult-like behavior demonstrated in the show is similar to that of the Beyhive- but you didn’t hear it from us.
In addition to Fishback starring in Glover and Nabers’ new Prime Video series - on top of gearing up to star in the new Transformers: Rise of the Beast film alongside Anthony Ramos - she had the opportunity to step behind the scenes as a producer. In contrast to her previous on-set experiences where directors didn’t allow their actors to have access to the production side, Fishback was given the opportunity to see playbacks and watch what she referred to as “dailies,” which in the world of acting refers to the measurement used to see how filming and the actors’ performances are moving along.
“Originally, I didn't really want to watch dailies. Around the episode three or four, I was like, Let me watch the dailies, because I was trying it in so many different ways, and I wasn't quite sure how she was portrayed,” Fishback told xoNecole about how she was working on set as her character Dre, who played opposite of Chloe Bailey and Damson Idris. “I wanted to make sure that even though she might be a little off, there's still throughlines with the things that she does. Even if we don't understand it as an audience, I need for her to understand why she does the things she does and is able to track.”
Warrick Page/Prime Video
While portraying Dre, who (without giving too much of Swarm away) is the definition of toxic pop culture stan culture, Fishback made it a priority to put her mental health first, especially while playing a character that endures so much trauma, anxiety triggers, and wavering manic depression spells. “One thing I asked for sure was that we had a therapist on set, especially for the days in which we had to do kill scenes," Fishback said. “And not just for me but other actors and for crew members because you never know how people are triggered in our lives, even though this is particularly acting.”
Sometimes, Fishback would even receive visits from her friend of over 10 years and High School Musical alumna star Monique Coleman on set, which would help her find comfort in familiar faces while she was filming uncomfortable scenes.
“I took a lot of baths. I love baths,” she revealed to xoNecole about her self-care routines outside of filming. “Did a lot of meditation and praying and asking God for guidance and to watch over me and my steps - and that was how I did it.”
Overall, she found that the character of Dre would really challenge her range and versatility as an actress, which is what drew her to the project in the first place. “I told Donald that I wanted to do it because I didn't want to catch up to my own self as an actor, and in my life, I've been looking for freedom,” she said. “In 2020 when we all got quarantined, [we] realized that freedom was in the mind and that we had a lot of limited thoughts and societal ideas that might be dictated in the way we show up in life, and so I wanted to extend that to myself as an artist.”
Courtesy of Prime Video
"I told Donald that I wanted to do it because I didn't want to catch up to my own self as an actor, and in my life, I've been looking for freedom."
Long before she was offered the role in Swarm, Fishback turned to Charlize Theron in Monster and Hilary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry for inspiration to pursue projects that dug deep into the human psyche. Little did she know that her research would soon come in handy for one of the most highly-anticipated releases on the Amazon Prime video platform. But there was one piece of homework that Glover assigned Fishback, Bailey, and the rest of the cast and crew that would ultimately put her on a seesaw decision-making journey as to whether or not she was really equipped for the role she’d been praying for.
“He wanted us to watch The Piano Teacher - it's a French film, and that is crazy,” Fishback prefaced. “But it really made me question myself as an artist because I was like, Am I that brave of an actor? I always thought I was a brave actor, but would I do that? I don't know if I would do that. What will I do? What won't I do? Sometimes you have to go further out to see where you land and see where you're comfortable, too, as well.”
Once all was said and done with the filming of Swarm, Fishback made one of the best decisions that she possibly could have made for herself after filming a horror-thriller-suspense hybrid limited series with some of the most creative minds in the industry.
“After Swarm, I did not look for acting for six months at least. I told everybody, I was like, I'm taking a break, and I really let myself do that, which is a gift,” Fishback revealed. “I think we could get scared, especially when things are essentially taking off or you don't want to miss opportunities, but what's for you won't pass you by. I really believe that, so if I believe that, I have to operate like that, and taking care of myself was first and foremost.”
Quantrell D. Colbert/Prime Video
“After Swarm, I did not look for acting for six months at least... I think we could get scared, especially when things are essentially taking off or you don't want to miss opportunities, but what's for you won't pass you by."
Straightaway following the wrap of the show, Fishback traveled to her “favorite place in the world,” which is Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. “I stayed in the jungle for a week. In the middle where me and my friend, we stayed, there was the living room area [that] was all open on each side, so you really had access to the jungle. Then it just had a roof over top, so whenever it rained, you could still kind of be outside. The butterflies were going by in your living room and birds are flying by, and it was cool to be with nature that way.”
Swarm is streaming on Prime Video.
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Featured image by Corey Nickols/Getty Images for IMDb
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These days, it's for a completely different purpose, though. Now that I am in the hopefully latter stages of perimenopause (I’m not sure because my mother had a full hysterectomy at 29, her mother died at 53 and I don’t deal with my paternal grandmother because…chile… ) — although I have always had relatively easy cycles and I could definitely set my watch to them, about two years ago, my periods started to show up whenever they felt like it and it was damn near a crime scene once they did.
It was driving me crazy, and so, my nurse practitioner recommended that I take progestin-only pills to shorten, if not completely stop, my cycle: “After a year or so, we can wean off and see if you are entering into menopause on your own.” (Whew, perimenopause, chile.)
Although the first five months of being on this particular pill made me wonder if it was worth it to take this approach, I actually re-upped for another 12-month cycle because the extra progestin (a synthetic form of progesterone) has benefitted me in other areas as well because I am sleeping more soundly and my weight is more stabilized (by the way, when these things are “off,” they are signs of low progesterone levels). However, I did ask my nurse practitioner if, once I do decide to wean off of the pill, would there be any issues.
Her response is what inspired me to write this article because, until she said “post-birth control syndrome” to me, I had no idea there was such a thing. Anyway, if you give me a sec, I’ll explain to you what it is and why you should care if hormone-related birth control is currently a part of your life.
Yes, Post-Birth Control Syndrome Is a Very Real Thing
GiphyOkay, so it’s important to always remember that the way that birth control works is it “manipulates” your hormones so that you can significantly reduce your chances of conceiving. This means that taking them could result in some side effects including nausea; weight gain; headaches; irregular periods and/or spotting; increased stress; depression; blurry vision; breast tenderness, and/or a lowered libido.
That said, even though birth control pills are basically 99 percent effective (when taken correctly and consistently), if the side effects that you are experiencing are making you close to miserable, you should absolutely share that with your healthcare provider because…what’s the sense in preventing pregnancy when you don’t even feel up to having sex because you don’t feel good or your sex drive is shot? More times than not, your provider can find you another pill brand or option that will help you to feel more like yourself.
With that out of the way, think about it — if going on the pill can produce side effects, why would going off of it…not? And this is where post-birth control syndrome comes in.
For the most part, it’s what can happen to your body once you decide to come off of birth control. Typically, the symptoms will last anywhere between 4-6 months and, although the symptoms seem to present themselves most intensely as it relates to going off of the pill, any hormone-related birth control (like IUDs, injections, patches, the ring or implants) could produce similar outcomes.
Outcomes like what?
- Irregular cycles
- Breakouts
- Excessive gas and/or bloating
- Weight gain
- Anxiety and/or depression
- Fertility issues
- Migraines and/or headaches
- Shifts in your libido
- Sleeplessness/restlessness
- Hair loss
Whoa, right? And if a part of you is wondering, “Okay, if this is indeed the case, why have I not heard of this syndrome before?” It’s because it’s not a term that conventional method uses nearly as much as alternative medicine does. Still, it makes all of the sense in the world that if your body has to adjust to an uptick in hormonal intake, it would also need to adjust to removing those extra doses of hormones from your system as well. COMMON. DAMN. SENSE.
Anyway, if you were thinking about taking a break from birth control and taking all of this in has you feeling a bit…let’s go with the word “trepidatious” about doing so, I totally get it. There are some things that you can do to make experiencing post-birth control syndrome either a non-issue or a far more bearable one, though.
7 Home Remedies That Can Make Coping with Post-Birth Control Syndrome Easier
Giphy1. Take a multivitamin.Something that’s fascinating about what going off of birth control can do is it sometimes has the ability to lower your nutrition levels as it relates to certain vitamins and minerals; this is especially the case when it comes to vitamins B, C, E and minerals like magnesium, selenium and zinc. So, if you don’t currently take a multivitamin, now would be the time to start (along with consuming foods that are particularly high in those nutrients as well).
2. Up your vitamin D intake. Speaking of nutrient levels, a vitamin level that commonly drops after going off of birth control isvitamin D. This is hella critical to keep in mind as a Black woman since many of us tend to be naturally deficient in the vitamin as-is and vitamin D is important when it comes to fighting off diseases, regulating weight and keeping your moods stabilized (for starters). So, make sure that your multivitamin has vitamin D in it. Also make sure to consume vitamin D-enriched foods like fatty fish, eggs, mushrooms, yogurt and fortified orange juice.
3. Drink herbal teas. Since going off of birth control will cause your hormones to be all over the place for a season, consider drinking some herbal teas that will help to stabilize them. Black cohosh contains phytoestrogen properties, Chasteberry can help to level out your prolactin levels and green tea can help your hormones out by helping to balance out your insulin (which can sometimes directly affect them).
4. Keep some ibuprofen nearby. The headaches and migraines? Until those subside, you and ibuprofen are probably going to become really good friends; although I will add that ginger tea and inhaling essential oils like chamomile and lavender can help to ease migraine-related symptoms too.
5. Do some meditating. Waiting for your hormones to get back on track can be stressful as all get out. That said, something that can get your cortisol (stress hormone) levels to chill out is to meditate. If meditation is new for you, check out “7 Meditation Hacks (For People Who Can't Seem To Do It).”
6. Get massages. As if you needed an excuse to get a massage, right (check out “12 Different Massage Types. How To Know Which Is Right For You.”)? However, there is some evidence to back the fact that regular massages (somewhere around once a month) can help to lower your stress, boost your dopamine, increase blood flow and drain your lymphatic system so that you will have more energy.
7. Sleep/rest more. There is plenty of scientific research out here which says that sleep deprivation can throw your hormones out of whack — and since your hormones are already trying to stabilize themselves, you definitely need to get 6-8 hours of sleep and not feel the least bit guilty about taking naps sometimes too.
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Post-birth control syndrome may not be the most pleasant thing about getting off of birth control yet it is manageable. So, now that you know all about it, you can feel more confident about taking a birth control break (or getting off altogether) — without the surprises that can come with doing it. Give thanks.
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