If one more person tells us that PCOS is “just stress,” I might start stress-throwing my hot water bag at them.
Let’s talk about the world’s longest-running scam: women’s pain being ignored. Since the dawn of time, people with uteruses have been told to calm down, stop exaggerating, it’s just hormones. Meanwhile, people are out here clutching their stomachs, missing classes, fainting on the bathroom floor, and Googling “is this pain normal or do I write my will tonight?”
September is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Awareness Month. Which basically means this is the one month the world pretends to care about a condition that affects about 1 in 5 women in India. That’s 20%. That’s not rare. That’s not a niche. That’s not “oh my friend’s cousin’s neighbour has it.” That’s literally your hostel roommate, your cousin, your favourite class topper, your bestie.
And yet? PCOS is the silent, shapeshifting villain of women’s health. It wears too many masks like irregular periods, acne, hair loss, weight gain, infertility, fatigue, insulin resistance. No two cases look the same, which makes it harder to diagnose and way easier to dismiss.
PCOS isn’t a lifestyle choice. It’s an endocrine disorder. While lifestyle management helps, dismissing it as laziness or a bad diet is deeply harmful.
Periods have always been political.
Fun fact (not fun at all, actually): the word “hysteria” comes from the Greek word for womb. Ancient male doctors decided women’s uteruses just wandered around bodies causing chaos. And that’s why they cried. That’s why they fainted. That’s why they dared to complain.
Cut to 2025, and people are still hearing doctors say “it’s all in your head.” Bro, if it’s in their head, why is their scalp shedding hair faster than a cat in summer?
PCOS ≠ laziness.
If we had a rupee for every time someone implied PCOS is just “bad lifestyle choices,” we’d buy a planet where only women make medical policies. Spoiler: we’d finally get research funding.
Yes, exercise and diet matter. But so does actual medical care. PCOS involves hormonal imbalance and insulin resistance: conditions you cannot green-tea your way out of.
PCOS can increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and endometrial cancer if untreated. Early intervention and proper medical guidance are crucial.
https://diabetesjournals.org/diabetes/article/70/2/627/39489/Polycystic-Ovary-Syndrome-and-Risk-of-Type-2
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/polycystic-ovarian-syndrome-how-your-ovaries-can-affect-your-heart
https://cancerblog.mayoclinic.org/2024/12/19/endometrial-cancer-associated-with-polycystic-ovary-syndrome/
So no, aunty, skipping parathas won’t cure anyone’s ovaries. Thanks for your TED Talk though.
The emotional chaos no one talks about.
It’s not just cysts and cycles, it’s identity. PCOS can trigger body image issues, depression, and anxiety. Imagine battling acne, hair thinning, or fertility scares in a world that already makes women’s worth revolve around their looks and ability to reproduce.
PCOS is as much a mental health issue as a physical one. Many young women feel defective, which worsens anxiety and depression.
https://www.pcoshelp.com/blogs/how-pcos-impacts-self-esteem-and-mental-health#:~:text=Living%20with%20PCOS%20%28Polycystic%20Ovary%20Syndrome%29%20can%20affect,higher%20risk%20of%20anxiety%2C%20depression%2C%20and%20eating%20disorders.
Even the idea of PCOS, the possibility of it, can be panic-inducing. A scare alone is enough to send someone spiraling into bathroom-floor tears and late-night doomscrolling. I’ve been there. Now imagine living with that reality every single day.
Why PCOS Awareness Month matters.
Because silence is expensive. Awareness means earlier diagnosis, fewer teens crying in hostel washrooms over skin flare-ups, fewer women gaslit into believing their bodies are lying.
September isn’t about performative teal ribbons. It’s about refusing to accept “it’s normal” when your gut knows it’s not. It’s about demanding better research, better doctors, and better conversations.
The pain Olympics ends here.
Here’s what we should all be screaming from the rooftops: their pain is valid. Whether periods knock someone out for days, cycles ghost them for months, or their chin sprouts hormonal acne like it’s starting a community garden. They deserve compassion.
Stop comparing. Stop minimising. Stop apologising for being “dramatic.” Dramatic is their body, not their voice.
Where we go from here.
- Listen when someone talks about their symptoms. Believe them.
- Learn what PCOS actually is, not what some random YouTuber said.
- Lobby for better reproductive health research (yes, tweet angrily, write emails, annoy your MPs).
- Love people with PCOS for who they are—not for how well they can “manage” symptoms.
These are the L’s you should be worried about instead of the L you’ll take when you dismiss somebody’s pain.
Want more unfiltered truths, taboos, and tales no one else will say out loud? Catch us at Her Campus at MUJ for the full vibe. And if you’re wondering who dared to stitch together an ovary-sized rant that jumps from ancient hysteria myths to aunty’s paratha advice — hi, it’s me, Niamat Dhillon at HCMUJ.
Periods, PCOS, pain… it’s all been dismissed since the dawn of time. But we’re not quiet anymore. Not this September. Not ever again.