Stress and menstruation

[Raffles]

Hello all, I have a period question.

I’ve had a regular cycle for years now with minimal deviation, but I completely missed my period last month. It just started today after about 40 days. I know I can’t have been pregnant because I have never been sexually active, so I’m not sure what happened. Right after my last period, I broke my wrist (technically 3 fractures in one). I was upset about it, and it disrupted my typical exercise routines which has lead to a loss of muscle and gain of fat. I’ve read that stress and snowy changes can make your period late/missed. Does that seem like a sufficiently stressful event to skip a period? And is it something I should be worried about, or is it probably okay assuming that it goes back to normal next month?

[Sam W]

Hi Raffles,

Stress can for sure cause a skipped or delayed period, but so can a radical change in exercise routines or body weight, which it sounds like you also experienced after breaking your wrist. So, it's likely that one (or some combination of) those things is the reason for the period weirdness. If you miss more than two periods, the you'll want to check in with a healthcare provider just to see if there's another, underlying cause that needs addressing.