It can be frustrating to deal with vaginal issues. They can make life miserable, and when you try to get help, most of the treatments don’t work. The more treatments you try, the more tired, frustrated and depressed you become.
What do you do then? How do you manage your mental health while treating vaginal issues?
That’s what today’s article is all about.
Sometimes it takes a while to treat vaginal issues like dryness, BV, odor and yeast infections. But that doesn’t mean that you have to also suffer mentally the whole time.
With the right attitude, you can cure your vaginal worries without impacting your mental health. To do that, there are a few things you need to know. One of them is the mind-body connection — how your mind and your vagina are closely connected.
The Mind-Body Connection — How Vaginal Issues Affect Your Mental Health
Our vagina is the most intimate part of our body. It’s the pleasure spot. It is the home of our hottest erogenous zones — our clitoris, g-spot and vulva. And that’s why most women are deeply connected with their vagina.
That connection we have with the vagina forms the basis of the mind-body connection. In this case, the connection is between the vagina and the mind.
That’s why making love feels so good. When your vagina is aroused, it communicates that pleasure to the brain. When you orgasm, your vagina and your brain “catch fire” at the same time. Both of them always work together.
But this brain-vagina connection doesn’t just stop at pleasure. It extends everything else. The connection is why we feel so self-conscious and aware whenever we’re struggling with vaginal issues.
That’s why women who struggle with vaginal issues feel less confident in their body. And in extreme cases, that leads to feelings of embarrassment, anxiety and even depression.
The Emotional Weight of Vaginal Issues
Vaginal issues lay a heavy emotional burden on your shoulders. It makes you feel so self-conscious. And from there you start to feel less and less confident in your body.
But recognizing these emotions is the first step. And then after you recognize them, you have to learn how to sort them out.
So here are the top 3 emotional burdens women carry when they struggle with vaginal issues:
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Self-image struggles —This is a big one, especially for women who maintain good personal hygiene. You start to wonder how you could get an infection in spite of how careful you’ve always been. Thoughts like that make you feel less confident in your body, increasing the feeling of self-consciousness.
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Fear of intimacy — From feeling less confident, you develop a self-conscious body image. You’re constantly thinking about your vagina all the time, and not in a good way. You start to feel less sexy and, in many cases, your libido may suddenly drop. At this stage, the last thing you want to do is make love to anyone, and that starts to affect your relationship with your partner.
- Feelings of isolation — As that continues, you start to prefer to be alone. No one should find out that you’re dealing with a vaginal issue. You avoid people at work… at home… everywhere. You’re living 24/7 in your head, thinking about your vagina issue and the way it’s ruining your life.
How to Care for Your Mental Health While Trying to Treat Embarrassing Vaginal Issues
While you get treatment for your vaginal issues, it’s important to also take care of your mental health. Don’t allow yourself to wallow in self-pity. You want to stop focusing on your vaginal issue and how it’s ruining your life.
Instead, be optimistic about your healing.
Studies have shown that people who have a good attitude heal faster from surgeries. And it’s also the same for those struggling with vaginal issues. So try to be as cheerful as you can.
Here are 7 practical tips that can keep you cheerful as you get treatment:
- Talk to people who’ve been where you are: Speak with other women who have struggled with similar issues. You’ll be surprised to find out that many women share similar experiences with you2. You will also find those that had it worse than you. And when you see that they were able to solve their problem, it will be easier to have hope that your treatments will work. Plus when you hang out with other women, you’ll have people to share your thoughts with. Opening up alone will make you feel so much better. (To help our customers get close and help each other, we created our FlowerPower women-only Facebook group. Join now if you haven’t.)
- Try to practice mindfulness and meditation: It’s very hard to be calm when it looks like the vaginal issues won’t go away anytime soon. You want to panic and lose your cool. But that’s exactly what you don’t want to do. You do NOT want to convince yourself that your treatments will never work! So keep those gloomy thoughts out of your mind by doing some meditation. Here are some thoughts that can help you: remember that for the majority of your life, you didn’t have those vaginal issues. Also remember that there are women who had it worse than you, but they eventually got cured. Thoughts like that will make it easier for you to have hope. They’ll help reduce your anxiety and give your treatments time to work.
- Spend more time doing things you love: Hobbies are a great way to keep yourself happily engaged. When you do what you love, your mind is able to forget that you’re struggling with a vaginal issue. The mere fact that you’re not thinking about the issues constantly will allow your body to heal faster.
- Seek Professional Counseling: If vaginal issues are ruining your life to the point that you think about them 24/7, then you might need professional help. Hire a good therapist who can help you. They will help you come up with coping strategies and a safe space to express your feelings.
- Eat meals that boost your mental health. Some foods contain nutrients that support your mood while fast tracking your healing. Foods that are known for that are yogurt, fish, and flaxseeds. Also, drink enough water. If you can afford it, add a good probiotic supplement to your regimen.
- Keep close tabs on your hormones. Our body makes hormones, and these hormones play a huge role in our vaginal and mental health. Drops in your key hormones can easily affect your mood. So monitor and manage your hormones with your doctor’s assistance. Some women have noticed dramatic improvements by just regulating their hormones.
- Do exercises that boost your vaginal health and your mental health. Vaginal issues will make you want to curl up on the floor and do nothing but feel sorry for yourself. You don’t want to do that. Be active. Do some exercise. Any exercise at all will boost your endorphin levels and lift your mood. Even better, do kegels exercises. Kegels not only boost your mood, but it also strengthens your pelvic floor muscles. That directly benefits your vaginal health.
Add These Tips to Your Regular Self-care Routine
Vaginal issues are sly little demons. They tempt you to focus only on your vagina AND to ignore the rest of your body. That’s how many women who struggle with vaginal issues gain weight, eat poorly and neglect a part or all of their wellness routine.
Don’t fall into that trap.
Make sure you continue doing your exercises and taking your supplements. Maintain your personal hygiene and continue to eat good meals. And spend quality time with those you love. These things will help you stay healthy overall, while helping your vagina heal faster.
Here are 3 more tips to add to your self-care. They’ll help you gain faster control over your vaginal health:
- Take short breaks during the day to relax. Yes, relax. Snuggle into your favorite chair and remind yourself that soon this will be over.
- Engage in activities you love. When you do things you love, it tricks your brain to play. And when you play, you have a good time. You temporarily forget your problems and give your brain time to focus on healing. That’s a good thing. So read your favorite books… watch your favorite shows… dance… take a look at your garden… eat your favorite meal. Doing things you love can go a long way to keep depression far away from you.
- Prioritize sleep. Don’t stay up late googling your symptoms. Don’t spend way too much time reading other women’s horror stories. That’ll only make you think more about your struggles. What you want to do is to take care of yourself, and that usually starts with getting a good sleep each night. Sleep is good for your brain and your mental health. Plus, as you sleep, it gives your treatments a better time to do their thing and help you get well3.
Finally, don’t spend too much time in online forums
It’s usually not a good idea to spend too much time in forums. Why? Because you might read about women who had it worse than you… and that’ll make you believe that you might suffer for years like them.
So don’t spend too much time there.
Use that time to read up on funny stories that’ll lighten your mood. Sometimes, a dash of humor can lighten the weight of the situation.
Conclusion
As you take care of your vaginal health, don’t neglect your mental health too.