
I still remember the day my mum took me to the local GP to request a script for the oral contraceptive pill.
I had just divulged to her (cringe) that my then boyfriend and I had done the deed and I was ready to take control of my woman bits. After a large gasp and what felt like hours of silence, she agreed.
Over the next seven years, I would then experience the emotional roller coaster of not only navigating the world of being a young woman with a chin full of cystic acne, but also the irrational dummy spits, many tears and my 8am iPhone alarm buzzing to remind me to take my pill.
While it wasn’t all bad, during that time I enjoyed being able to know and control when my period was coming (hello skipping my period for a NYE camping festival), minimal if any period pain, and most importantly not starring on Australia’s first season of Teen Mum.
It wasn’t however until I finally went off the pill for two years that I realised how it had actually made me feel. I was no longer burning up into balls of rage when something didn’t go my way. I had more energy, and losing weight felt much easier. Instead of constantly battling a labile mood, I felt more in control of my emotions. More like me.
Now I know some will say all of those experiences are just adolescent hormones and that many women still suffer from a good ol’ bout of PMS, where even someone breathing wrong will make you flip. But anyone who has “gone off the pill” after years of taking will agree you just feel different.
Fast forward to my adult years where I could no longer frolic around in the contraception-free universe (ahem, barrier contraception not exempt), and I needed a new alternative.