The Woman with the Issue of Blood: Navigating the Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Impact of Uterine Fibroids

Author: Shakira K. O’Garro, LMHC-D, LPC, LPCC, NCC,

You know the feeling all too well. You're sitting and chatting with a friend, or you just killed it at your board meeting, and the next thing you know, you feel it—that unmistakable sensation of blood sliding down your backside.

You quickly excuse yourself and head to the bathroom. Once you're there, you see it. If you're someone who came prepared, you might have to change clothes entirely. But if you got caught off guard by heavy menstrual bleeding, you're standing there trying to figure out how to cover it up just so you can return to your life.

This is the exhausting reality of living with uterine fibroids.

Why Are Fibroids a Major Concern for Black Women?

July is Fibroids Awareness Month, a crucial time to shed light on a condition that disproportionately impacts our community. Out of every ethnic group, Black women are more likely to have fibroids, more likely to have them go undiagnosed, and more likely to experience life-disrupting symptoms. In fact, research shows that Black women develop fibroids at younger ages and experience significantly larger and more numerous tumors than white women.

Environmental Triggers and Endocrine Disruption

Some of our usual everyday items are currently being studied as possible contributors to fibroids. Chemical hair relaxers carry the strongest evidence so far. Other factors are more suspected than proven, but they consistently come up in lifestyle and environmental studies:

• Chemical hair relaxers

• Synthetic braiding hair

• Perfumes and scented lotions

• Fried and fast foods

A lot of these products involve endocrine disruption, where certain synthetic chemicals interfere with the body's natural hormones. Endocrine disruption is one of the primary threads researchers are following in several other conditions that have become major women's health concerns lately, such as endometriosis and PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome).

What Are Uterine Fibroids? Understanding the Types

Fibroids are painful, non-cancerous (benign) tumors that grow within or on the muscular walls of the uterus. Because they can grow anywhere, they are classified into several different types based on their location:

• Intramural Fibroids: These sit completely within the muscular wall of the uterus.

• Pedunculated Fibroids: These grow on a slender, mushroom-like stalk attached to the uterine wall.

• Submucosal Fibroids: These develop just under the inner lining of the uterine cavity.

• Sub serosal Fibroids: These grow on the outer surface of the uterus and extend into the pelvic cavity.

• Transmural Fibroids: These extend halfway out of the muscle and halfway inside the uterus.

• Cervical or Calcified Fibroids: Some grow specifically on the cervix, while others calcify and harden over time if left untreated in the body.

The Reality of Fibroid Pain and Symptoms

All fibroids have a different impact depending on their location and size, but the most common and disruptive symptoms are ones we know too well: heavy bleeding and intense cramping. When I say cramps, I'm not talking about regular period discomfort. I'm talking about painful, vice-grip cramps that literally take your breath away. This debilitating pain can completely derail your daily routine, causing you to miss school, work, and important social engagements.

The Invisible Burden: How Fibroids Impact Mental Health

While the physical side of fibroids is devastating, we must shed light on the mental health toll. Dealing with chronic pain and unpredictable bleeding can cause severe anxiety, depression, and medical trauma that can lead to PTSD.

Many women face the grief of undergoing major surgeries or unwanted hysterectomies at incredibly young ages, leaving them to carry immense trauma around their reproductive health.

The Connection Between Hormones, Anemia, and Mood

Another angle that doesn't get talked about enough is the direct association between shifting hormones and mental health:

• Anemia and Brain Fog: Heavy bleeding frequently causes severe anemia. Iron deficiency brings its own mental fog: exhaustion, trouble focusing, and a low mood that sneaks up on you.

• Hormonal Sensitivity: For women who are highly sensitive to the monthly rise and fall of estrogen and progesterone, those shifts can stir up intense emotional struggles.

For some, this hormonal sensitivity is so acute that they develop PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) on top of their fibroids, leading to severe symptoms like:

• Irritability and fits of rage

• Severe brain fog and tearfulness

• Deep sadness and feelings of hopelessness

• Suicidal ideation

Sadly, there is still a massive gap in funding and medical research for all of these conditions. However, major voices have been breaking the silence. Recently, actress Lupita Nyong'o spoke out publicly about her own experience with fibroids, sharing how defeated she felt knowing how few treatment options were available despite her intense suffering.

The Spiritual Struggle: Faith, Suffering, and the "Issue of Blood"

For a woman of faith, physical suffering is a layered, complicated experience. Sometimes, unrelenting pain impacts our theology and our relationship with God.

You’ve been praying. You’ve been going to church. You’ve been asking your community to intercede, anointing your belly with holy oil, and doing all the things you know to do. And still, the next month shows up filled with debilitating bleeding and pain.

These experiences can distort our view of God’s sovereignty. We might start to think God is cruel, or that He only wants us to suffer for His glory. We might begin to believe He doesn't want us to have a good life, or that He doesn't heal and deliver anymore.

Deep down, we know those things aren't true. But when you are hurting, the truth can get distorted by the weight of your pain.

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." — Psalm 34:19

Although fibroids are finally getting mainstream attention today, we can look back at how this exact trial affected a woman of a different era.

The biblical "woman with the issue of blood" is described as having an overflow of blood for twelve long years (Mark 5:25-34, Luke 8:43-48 and Matthew 9:20-22). She went to doctor after doctor, spent all her money, and nothing changed until she touched the hem of Jesus' garment. Doesn't that story sound heartbreakingly familiar?

The promise she held onto is the same promise we can hold onto today. In the meantime, keep praying, but also stay educated on how to manage your physical, mental, and spiritual health.

Find Support for Your Journey

This Fibroids Awareness Month, I hope this post helps you understand the complex, interconnected ways fibroids impact a Black woman's life. You do not have to carry the emotional and spiritual weight of this condition alone.

Shakira K. O’Garro, LMHC-D, LPC, LPCC, NCC, is a Black Christian therapist dedicated to supporting individuals facing medical trauma, chronic illness, and crises of faith. Her lived experience with severe stage 4 endometriosis and adenomyosis has deepened her empathy and strengthened her belief that God meets us tenderly in our suffering. She writes to help others feel seen, understood, and spiritually anchored.

If you are looking for mental health support from a professional who truly understands this complex interplay, Cheerful Heart Mental Health Counseling is accepting new clients visit Faith-Affirming Therapists Shakira O'Garro, LMHC-D | S.W.I.M. Inc (Instagram and Facebook @cheerfulheartmhpllc)

Suggested Further Reading:

"The Uterus Keeps the Score: Black Women Academics' Insights and Coping with Uterine Fibroids" (Research Study) – Read it here(https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12125492/)

"It’s a Sistah Thing" by Monique R. Brown - https://a.co/d/0edfctbG 

"Hope Beyond Fibroids" by Gessie J. Thompson and Felicia T. Scott - https://a.co/d/0fb2WLWr 

What They Don't Tell Us by Valorie Evans - https://a.co/d/0dTTJ33w 

References

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2. Bulun, S. E. (2013). Uterine fibroids. New England Journal of Medicine, 369(14), 1344–1355.

3. Chiuve, S. E., Huisingh, C., Petruski-Ivleva, N., Owens, C., Kuohung, W., & Wise, L. A. (2022). Uterine fibroids and incidence of depression, anxiety and self-directed violence: A cohort study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 76(1), 92–99.

4. Ghant, M. S., Sengoba, K. S., Recht, H., Cameron, K. A., Lawson, A. K., & Marsh, E. E. (2015). Beyond the physical: A qualitative assessment of the burden of symptomatic uterine fibroids on women's emotional and psychosocial health. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 78(5), 499–503.

5. Katz, T. A., Yang, Q., Treviño, L. S., Walker, C. L., & Al-Hendy, A. (2016). Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and uterine fibroids. Fertility and Sterility, 106(4), 967–977.

6. Munro, M. G., Critchley, H. O. D., Broder, M. S., & Fraser, I. S. (2011). FIGO classification system (PALM-COEIN) for causes of abnormal uterine bleeding in nongravid women of reproductive age. International Journal of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, 113(1), 3–13.

7. Wise, L. A., Palmer, J. R., Reich, D., Cozier, Y. C., & Rosenberg, L. (2012). Hair relaxer use and risk of uterine leiomyomata in African-American women. American Journal of Epidemiology, 175(5), 432–440.

8. CNN. (2025, July 15). Lupita Nyong'o advocates for uterine health legislation after revealing fibroids diagnosis.