You're welcome.

I hear you, and I get wanting to avoid that regret or anxiety or the feeling that you should have been doing something else. That's just the way life goes sometimes though, you know? Sometimes we will experience those feelings, sometimes we have to make choices where it seems like there is no ideal ...

I actually don't know whether EC would possibly be compromised by penicillin. The best person to ask about that would be a pharmacist: obviously not the pharmacist who gave it to you in the first place, as you're home now, but you could talk to someone at your local pharmacy and see what they say. A...

Hey Fender. Nice to see you back and glad to hear things are going well for you! :) There's not really much to be said about bleeding during active pills, other than that sometimes it happens. Spotting or irregular bleeding can be a symptom of some STIs, so if you aren't up to date with your sexual ...

It can definitely be tough when you're busy to figure out a way to carve out some time to see a therapist (or whatever else you need to do to take care of your mental health) but it's usually possible to skip one sports practice session, or rearrange a tutoring schedule for one week, and I can promi...

Making decisions can be difficult, yep, although the staff at the phone hotline Heather gave you may be able to help you work through that decision-making process. But ultimately this is something you're going to have to decide for yourself: we've already made it clear here that we don't think your ...

Hi lovelyninny, and welcome to Scarleteen. :) One question, first of all. When you're having sex, are you letting your girlfriend know that whatever it is she's doing isn't feeling good to you, particularly if it hurts? One of the most important things in partnered sex is communication, not only bef...

Hi Kim, I'm inclined to say that how you take your pills in the first week of a new pack is only relevant for any sex you have going forward from that point, not sex you had before your last withdrawal bleed, but I'm not 100% certain so I'll double check with some of our other staff members and get ...

I'm not a linguist either, but I totally geek out over language and gender stuff (my PhD research is actually about homophobic language, so not totally the same, but in a similar sort of area). Personally, as a cis woman, I get interrupted a LOT (including the time I was interrupted while explaining...

With any health issue - mental or physical - the more information, the better, pretty much, especially if it's something ongoing. Noting patterns in when it happens, what seems to set it off, that kind of thing, just makes it easier for a healthcare provider to figure out the best way to help you.

Just poking my head in to say that the book Heather suggested is available at Dymocks: https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/the-mindful-way-through-anxiety-by-zindel-v-segal-9781606234648/#.VsTuEpN97fY. Also, if - now or in future - you figure you would like to check in with a psychologist, Headspace is ...

It's always a good idea to be cautious meeting up with someone we've only interacted with online, but it sounds like you know that. Personally, I agree with Heather that the key thing here isn't the fact that you met this person online or his age or any of that, but that you have a lot to deal with ...

We will not answer ANY questions about pregnancy fear or anxiety in our direct services from users who are not pregnant or who are not or have not otherwise been directly involved with an actual pregnancy. Please do not post this kind of question. If you are seeing this text, and your thread is loc...

You already know the answer to that question. Asking for reassurance is something we know keeps people stuck in anxiety rather than helping, and so I'm going to ask that if you need to check the information you have, that you look at what I have already told you. In terms of dealing with anxiety, ha...

Would you like any help in figuring out how to initiate that conversation?

You're not being overly dramatic, not at all: you got terrible care and it's understandable that you feel the way you do. For what it's worth, though, it is not likely to happen again; the majority of sexual/reproductive health care providers are NOT like this one, not at all, and it's totally possi...

From my understanding, when one has a period it indicates that one did not become pregnant (i.e. a fertilised egg did not implant into the endometrial lining) in the days/weeks directly preceding Day 1 of that period. My concern is if a risk occurred very close (i.e. 1-5 days) before a period then ...

When you're switching pill brands, as long as you don't take any longer than the usual placebo week, the effectiveness should not be compromised.

We actually have an article on that very subject, right here: Whoa, There! How to Slow Down When You're Moving Too Fast Some of the bits of advice in that piece will be more applicable to your specific situation than other parts, but it's a good place to start. If there's anything in there you want ...

Welcome to Scarleteen, jasflower. I'm sorry to hear you're having a rough time with this. Ultimately, while you're the one who has to decide whether or not continuing to have sex with your boyfriend is a positive thing for you and something you want to continue, there are a couple of things in your ...

Hi Gavin. We have a piece on the main site that might be helpful for you: Whoa, There! How to Slow Down When You're Moving Too Fast It focuses more on how to slow down when people are feeling nervous or uncomfortable, but there's some good stuff in there that could be useful in your situation too. O...

Periods can vary for all sorts of reasons, including stress, but sometimes it just happens: bodies aren't entirely predictable and they won't always do what we're expecting. It's not unusual for a period to start off with a bit of spotting and then get heavier over the course of a couple of days, so...

Yep, when condoms break it's obvious. If you think of the way a balloon looks after it's been popped, a broken condom is the same idea: they pretty much shred.

To add to what Carmen said: there's no way to predict whether or not you'll have a bleed next week. Stopping one method of birth control and starting another one can both cause a bit of cycle irregularity, and irregular bleeding is one of the most common side effects of the implant on top of that. D...

Yep, when in doubt, always follow the directions from the manufacturer and/or the person who prescribed it to you.