Your pain is real. And your brain is trying to protect you.
In episode four of our period pain miniseries, Jess sits down
with Andy Leggat, registered Health Psychologist and
Fertility Counsellor with over 15 years of clinical experience,
for one of the most validating conversations we've had on this
podcast.
Andy is a returning Cyclist guest, and if you haven't heard her
first episode on the emotional side of infertility, we'd highly
recommend going back to that one too.
If you've ever been told your pain is in your head, been referred
to a psychologist and felt confused or even insulted by that, or
spent years quietly gaslighting yourself into thinking you're
just not coping, this episode is for you.
Andy explains why psychological care isn't the ambulance at the
bottom of the cliff when it comes to period pain. It's a core
part of the picture. She breaks down how the brain actually
processes pain, not as a simple tissue-based experience, but as a
deeply contextual one shaped by the nervous system, past
experiences, trauma, environment, and the relationship we have
with our own bodies. Two people with the exact same diagnosis can
experience pain in completely different ways, and this
conversation explains why.
They get into pain memory and how significant pain experiences
shape future ones, the cyclical nature of anticipatory anxiety
around periods, and why years of chronic dismissal, from doctors,
from family, from ourselves, can create deeply entrenched thought
patterns that spill over into health anxiety, hypervigilance, and
conditions like panic disorder. Jess shares honestly that this
conversation hit close to home, describing how she was body
scanning and messaging her husband in a spiral just minutes
before they sat down to record.
Andy unpacks self-gaslighting, what it is, why it's concerningly
common, and why it makes complete sense when you've spent years
being told your pain is normal. She talks about the grief that
quietly sits underneath chronic pain, the grief of missed career
milestones, changed relationships, and lost trust in your own
body, and why naming it as grief can be one of the most
validating things a person can do.
There's practical guidance throughout, too. How to navigate
period pain conversations in the workplace, how to raise children
who feel safe talking about their bodies without amplifying
anxiety, and exactly what a first session with a health
psychologist looks like so there are no surprises before you walk
in the door.
This is episode four of five of The Cyclist's period pain
miniseries. All episodes are available now.
Follow and connect
Instagram: @wearethecyclist
Website: wearethecyclist.com
Hit play. Your body is working hard to keep you safe. This
episode will help you understand how.
Listen to Andy’s episode, Infertility Unfiltered: The Emotional
Side of Infertility with Psychologist Andy Leggat
Here’s the link to it on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1S5M8ob4zVC0kDGi1J44wi
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