Ladies, you're not alone. Cramping, bloating, and general irritability aside, scientists at Cornell University are giving us another reason to hate our monthly visits. Girls who get their periods at a younger age are more likely to experience depression and other mental health issues that last into adulthood. 

The average age of menarche (first period) is around 12.5 years, but according to the study about one-third of Americans enter puberty – marked by the development of breasts – as early as eight.

When girls develop at an early age, their emotional and mental maturity “mismatch” their physical development. People treat them as if they’re older, even though they might rather be playing with toys than thinking about boys. This can lead to being bullied, sexually harassed, and gossiped about (raise your hand if you were ever accused of stuffing your bra) – all things that make it difficult to maintain friendships.

It’s not just depression, either. Early developers are more likely to act out, break the rules, experience anxiety, develop eating disorders, and have problems with substance abuse.

"It can be very easy for people to dismiss the emotional challenges that come along with growing up as a girl, and say, 'Oh, it's just that age; it's what everyone goes through,'" said study author Jane Mendle in a statement. “But not everyone goes through it, and it's not just 'that age.' And it's not trivial. It puts these girls on a path from which it is hard to deviate."

^{Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt like you've been personally victimized by your period. via GIPHY}

The study, published in Pediatrics, took place between 1994 and 2008. Researchers interviewed almost 3,000 girls between the ages of 11 and 21 years old about when they began menstruating and other links to depression and anti-social behaviors. By the time participants were in their late 20s the links between early periods and depression were still clear, and the association just as strong.

Researchers accounted for influences like race and socioeconomic status, but failed to account for some other factors.

We've found a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg argument. Early periods have been linked to other influencers that correlate with mental health issues.

For starters, because obesity increases estrogen in young girls it has been linked to promoting breast development and menstruation. It’s also been linked to childhood depression.

Environmental pressures, such as exposure to air pollution or hormones, have also been linked to both depression in children and irregular menstrual cycles.

And let's not leave out our biological influences. Certain genetic predispositions may bring puberty earlier and, you guessed it, some studies suggest depression may be genetic.

But why do these symptoms last into adulthood? Researchers think it may have to do with a natural tendency to lean toward depressive tendencies having grown up with them, but that’s the subject of the next study, researchers say.