Later this week, British Professor Karen Pine (and author of the book Sheconomics) will be presenting her findings to a British Psychological Society meeting. A study she conducted suggests that in the 10 days leading up to a woman's period, she is more likely to go on a spending spree as a way to deal with negative emotions accompanying hormonal changes during that time.
Pine asked 443 women aged 18 to 50 about their spending habits.
Professor Pine, of the University of Hertfordshire, said: "Spending was less controlled, more impulsive and more excessive for women in the luteal phase [later stage of the menstrual cycle].She also had this to offer:
"We are getting surges and fluctuations in hormones which affect the part of the brain linked to emotions and inhibitory control. So the behaviour we found is not surprising."What do you think about this?
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7 comments:
During the days leading up to my period, I'm in discomfort and pain. I'm a lot more likely to say, "Fuck, I can do whatever the fuck I want" and just go for it. I think you'll find the same correlation for people with hives and broken toes. Pain=impulsiveness.
Yes, its the same for me. Just days before I get my period, I am more impulsive and moodier than usual. Thus, I am more likely to do something more implusive or be more rash.
that's when I buy chips and things. My kids really love it when I get a migraine at the grocery store because I come home with the weirdest stuff. "A giant box of jalapeno poppers! 2 pomegranites! 8 pints of coconut sorbet! Its dinner kids!" So yes pain = impulsive attempts to alieviate pain.
Not gonna lie, this was not at all the reaction I was expecting to this post.
To me, pain = uuugh don't wanna do anything. So your experiences seem very different from mine.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.
I haven't noticed if I do things differently based on where I'm at in my cycle or not. If anything, I try to be/feel/act the same regardless of what my vag is doing. I'm fairly certain it's a reaction to society's ideas of what PMS and menstruation does to women, so in order to be less "emotionally driven," I'm none of those things (and thus, less stereotypically woman-like).
If anything, I shop when I'm stressed. I enjoy stores that have clean layouts and are super organized, like office supply stores and Target (but I always love Target).
its not a reaction to what society perceives of menstruation and what PMS does to women. as a former physiology student, premenstrual syndrome is a scientific fact. Most women i know PMS from low to moderate to high levels and become irrational, emotional or impulsive. shopping is just one of the many ways they deal with the stress. but this article makes it sound like shopping is the "only" way when in fact, there are other ways some of us deal with PMS too.
i know that when i PMS, i get irrationally moody, impulsive and snappy. this is when i go to my favorite store and buy up my favorite chocolates or organic teas or beautiful scented soaps.
I meant that my reaction is as a result of society's perceptions of menstruating women. Without getting too in depth about it, when I was growing up, I view[ed] emotions and mood swings as a gendered trait - women did that and it was a bad thing, therefore I didn't want to be emotional or moody. I know I experience PMS, but it influences me very little. Or at least, I haven't noticed that it influences me. Maybe I feel stressed at those times and just haven't connected the two.
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