You can have irregular cycles when you're stressed or ill, when you're breastfeeding, when you've stopped taking hormonal contraception, or when you're approaching menopause. Sometimes there is an underlying hormonal disorder or other problem that needs medical investigation.
Stress and anxiety can have a big impact on your hormone levels, and this in turn can affect ovulation. For the guys, stress can contribute to problems such as impotence. Having difficulty conceiving is itself stressful, and can lead to feelings of helplessness, guilt, anger and sadness that only worsen the situation.
You may be wondering which irregularities in your mucus pattern and your menstrual cycles should be considered abnormal. There are different kinds of ovarian activity that are completely normal responses to different times and events in your life. Your Billings Ovulation Method® chart will help you make the connection between what is going on with your mucus pattern and menstrual cycle and what is going on in your life and your body. So let's take a look at these normal "irregularities" before we look at what might be abnormal.