‘The awkward things I didn’t talk about until I realised my friends were going through them too.’

Have you ever wondered what someone would think of you if they could take a listen to your innermost thoughts? The idea is enough to scare most of us, not because we have deep dark secrets to hide (or maybe you do, I don’t know) but simply because what we worry about throughout our inner monologues are usually things that we wouldn’t dare discuss among friends or acquaintances. The funny thing is that it’s not until you find a friend close enough to confide in that you realise your worries are actually far more common than you might think.

Here are some of the most common awkward worries that flood our minds:

1. Hair loss.

Hair loss is generally something experienced by maturing gentlemen, yeah? Well not quite. Hair loss is surprisingly common in women but it’s just not something we like to talk about because, well, it’s kind of awkward.

However, it seems from a quick peek at the "anon" post cropping up in various Facebook mothers' groups, hair loss is very common. This is especially during the up and down hormonal roller-coaster that is the child bearing years. Responses came thick and fast with women everywhere admitting to suffering hair loss that concerned them.

It wasn't a question that I’d ever asked any of my friends but after hearing this, I decided to put the feelers out. Amazingly, almost all of my friends with children said that they too had noticed increased hair loss after pregnancy but said that never mentioned it as they didn’t think of it as one of the more common side effects.

2. Body odour.

I’ll admit to overusing that can of deodorant before and after gym classes, simply because I don’t want to be the "smelly girl" that didn’t know she stank up the room!

I’ve heard of people not being able to smell their own body odour so yeah, it worries me enough to spritz a bit more under the wings before feeling the burn of body pump. It’s not the kind of thing that someone is going to tell you (unless you’re really close) so it’s normal to worry that you’re ‘that’ person.

3. Back to school ‘delights’.

I use the word ‘delights’ very loosely here because I’m actually talking about all the nasty little extras that start to come home with your children once they start preschool/daycare or school.

I mean nits, various bugs and illnesses and the dreaded worms. Again, it’s not the kind of thing you like to talk about at the school gate but it’s something that all of us have to deal with, whether our kids are playing sports, playing or just making everyday contact at school.

I almost laughed out loud when my friend recently told me that she put on a fake voice when she called to tell the school of a confirmed case of nits.

The good thing is that you don’t need to worry about these kinds of things, they are normal parts of school life for pretty much every parent. Like most things, it’s just about being prepared. Have your treatments available at home to avoid a late night trip to the chemist for supplies.

That way, should you come across a child with worms and an itchy backside at 11pm at night, you know that you’ve got what you need right there in the cupboard (thank you Combantrin chocolate squares) to manage the situation quickly and easily.

4. Finances.

The term 'keeping up with the Jones's' is still very much alive and well as much as most of us hate to admit it. For many people finances are just another one of those awkward things we all worry about but don’t like to discuss socially.

Salaries, expenses, schooling, holidays blah blah blah. All of these things cause internal concern that is all too familiar to others- it’s just that we don’t talk about it.

At times when money is a concern we tend to keep our worries to ourselves to try and deal with our issues privately but again. It’s not until a few glasses of adult lemonade flow that you start to realise you’re not alone in your stress- most of us are concerned about the cost of living, our jobs, our children future and our expenses.

Life is stressful but we don’t need to deal with it alone. Be confident enough to share your concerns with people you trust and you might just find that your problems are also their problems too.

What are some awkward things you experience but rarely talk about? Tell us below.

This content was created with thanks to our brand partner Combantrin®.