Pink Nails & Panic Attacks

On the quiet endurance required to manage an Anxiety disorder while being a woman.

I genuinely love being a woman. There is so much joy in the rituals of girlhood: the fun of painting my nails, getting dressed up, and playing with makeup whenever I want. But behind that beautiful exterior, the hormonal reality of womanhood is incredibly heavy, especially when you are also navigating an Anxiety disorder.

We are all familiar with the standard rhythms of PMS. We know the cravings, the sudden drops in mood, and the inevitable irritability. But when you introduce an Anxiety disorder into that mix, your entire nervous system is already heightened. For me, PMS means sudden waves of nausea, the terrifying sensation that I might faint in a humid room, and battling through insomnia so severe it overpowers medication designed to make me drowsy.

Then comes the period itself. Beyond the intense lower abdominal pain and the physical exhaustion from a sudden drop in iron, there is the silent, constant mental load. We are tracking hygiene, worried about leaks, and hyper-aware of how we feel and smell, all while showing up for work and fulfilling our daily responsibilities as if nothing is happening. Women truly do not get enough praise for carrying this invisible weight.

Now, add a sensitized, anxious mind to that physical toll. The pain is usually something we can tolerate, but it’s the hot flashes, the tension headaches, and that terrifying, spiraling feeling that you might actually be losing your mind that break you down. Every baseline Anxiety symptom is magnified. It is our most vulnerable phase, and the hormonal shift alone is often enough to trigger a full-blown panic attack.

To say being a woman is hard is a massive understatement and it makes me wonder how much heavier that hormonal shift becomes during pregnancy. Navigating an Anxiety disorder means fighting this exact battle every single month. Even with a period tracker, cycles aren’t always perfectly timed. Often, you find yourself spiraling, convinced something is terribly wrong with your body or your mind, only to realize a few days later that it was just the hormones playing their monthly trick.

But do we give up? Never. We still show up to work, care for our families, and keep our lives moving forward. Because that is simply what it means to be a woman: we are as tough as nails.

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If you’re currently navigating a loud storm and need a bit more guidance, I created a small gift for you. You can download my e-book, When Your Body Feels Unsafe, which covers how to manage physical anxiety symptoms when you feel unanchored.

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