Understanding PMS and PMDD: Shedding Light on Hidden Hormonal Struggles

The Invisible Struggles: PMS and PMDD Diagnosis

Getting a diagnosis of PMS (premenstrual syndrome) or PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) can make everything suddenly make sense.

So often, women (and their doctors) have missed these diagnoses and have not been able to join the dots.

Unmasking the Common Symptoms

Women who react negatively to normal hormone changes:

• often struggle with mood change with hormonal contraceptives

• may experience mood changes after pregnancy (such as post-natal depression)

• may have days/over a week each month where they experience negative moods and uncomfortable physical changes, that rapidly disappear with the onset of their period

• often experience less good days per month, and more severe and intense symptoms as they get older and approach perimenopause

• often have mothers, grandmothers, aunts or daughters who also have similar mood fluctuations (hormone sensitivity can be hereditary)

• if neurodiverse, are more likely to struggle to mask or manage hormone sensitivity, and are also more likely to suffer with it

• have often been diagnosed incorrectly with conditions like anxiety, OCD, bipolar and depression, without anyone making the link to the cyclical nature of their symptoms

• can also have premenstrual exacerbations of other conditions, such as eating disorders, anxiety, and OCD

Empowering Change: Expert Guidance and Self-Discovery

If this sounds like you, then it is really important to speak to an expert about the ways you can start to take control of these symptoms. The problem is a biological one – to do with how the breakdown products of our hormones trigger negative moods by interacting paradoxically with our nervous system.

For most women, understanding all this can make a huge difference to self-confidence – many of them have spent a lifetime blaming themselves.

For other women, it is life-saving: around 30% of women with PMDD will attempt suicide at some point.

We think it is incredibly important that women of all ages are told about these conditions, and where to get help. If you would like to know more, whatever your age, get in touch with us.