I started on the pill as a form of contraception when I was 17, and although I experienced an eating disorder, IBS, anxiety and depression, I didn't think to stop taking it until I was 27. Nor did any doctor suggest I do so. Coming off the drug was like waking from a nightmare I didn't know I was having until it ended. During the process of "withdrawal" I was forced to work through a fever, which induced fainting, congested skin, headaches and acute period pain.

Now that I'm pill-free I see that the daily tension, confusion, anxiety and lingering rage that I experienced while taking the drug wasn't mine. When I went to the GP, all pill-related problems led to pill-related solutions and, seemingly, there was no way out.

Meanwhile, others were paving the way to less-invasive alternatives. The Fifth Vital Sign introduced me to the Fertility Awareness Method, which keeps a woman attuned to her body's natural cycles. Using this, I came to understand that I'm fertile for up to five days a month, an egg lives for 24 hours and sperm survive for three to five days. This alerts me to when I can have sex without the possibility of becoming pregnant, and when I can't. A period-tracker app helps me keep tabs on this, as does keeping an eye on my cervical fluid and body temperature.

A book called The Optimised Woman by Miranda Gray elaborates on what to expect physically, mentally and emotionally during each phase of the hormonal cycle and how best to harness the different qualities. I now know the best time for socialising and networking is when I'm ovulating, and the best time for a bath and switching on Swoon is when I'm menstruating. Some may laugh, but it's empowering information to have when the biological reality you've been given is this one.

Perhaps the social and political weight of a woman's body can be turned into something positive. If the choices she's making about what goes inside her have such extensive repercussions, she holds a lot of power. She can not only change how others define her, but how she chooses to define herself.