Women's Health, Your Way

Ask & Search With Clara

Welcome to a new standard for women's health answers.

GIRLHOOD / Blame It on the Full Moon

Blame It on the Full Moon

Blame It on the Full Moon

Apparently last week was a full moon, and suddenly everything makes sense. My ADHD was already running wild (see: previous entry), my period arrived out of nowhere, my mother-in-law had surgery, the kids were still adjusting to their new school, and we had to pack up our family of five to visit relatives a few states away. It was… a lot.

It’s funny how we can be completely unraveling one minute and then our period starts, and we’re like, oh, okay. Suddenly all the chaos has an explanation. Except this time, it was that moment multiplied by a thousand. The full moon energy made everything feel louder, heavier, more emotional. (Costar was not kidding when it warned me my lunar phase would be intense.)

As a Pisces, I feel everything a little too deeply on a normal day, but last week it felt like the moon had me on a string. My moods, my energy, and my sleep were all over the place. It was like the universe had turned the volume up on everything, and I was stuck listening.

I’m still not fully recovered, honestly. But I’m trying to give myself grace — to remember that sometimes everything just collides at once, and all we can do is the best we can with what we’ve got. It’s messy, unhinged, exhausting, and yet somehow… still manageable with the right amount of humor and patience.

Here’s to softer weeks ahead. And a little wisdom from the late Diane Keaton to carry with me: "Choosing the freedom to be uninteresting never quite worked for me."

Ask Clara: How can I manage hormonal mood swings (without losing my mind)?

More from GIRLHOOD

You know what I haven't been doing lately? Blaming things on my ADHD.Not because it went anywhere. I was diagnosed in my mid-30s, the same year I finally understood why... Read more
In the most recent GLP-1 news, a new study out of Harvard found that women are more likely to land a job and find a partner while on the drugs... Read more
If you're anything like me, you can't stop scrolling #lindsayclancy — not just for the trial itself, but for what's underneath it: thousands of women saying some version of "I... Read more
I've spoken a bunch on here about how, after years of infertility, my menstrual cycles are finally "normal." What I didn't expect was the flip side: a really crappy luteal... Read more
This week, the New York Times ran a piece that could genuinely lower women's odds of getting ovarian cancer, then put it behind a paywall. I clicked, hit the wall,... Read more
I spent part of this week at a fertility conference, sitting in a talk on "restorative reproductive medicine," a term I'd seen floating around fertility TikTok but never actually had... Read more
I don't think I'm alone in not being able to look away from the Lindsay Clancy case — the Duxbury, Massachusetts mom currently on trial for killing her three children.... Read more
I had a 15-hour travel day on Monday, so naturally, I binge-watched the last few episodes of the most recent season of The Ultimatum, and DAMN.For anyone who hasn't fallen... Read more
I used to love summer. Warm sunshine on my face, a good book in my hand, the salt air wind in my face.Then I had kids.I should start by saying... Read more
One of my brother's best friends was just diagnosed with breast cancer at age 33. When he told me, I was taken right back to when my friend Lisa called... Read more