PMDD

PMDD is a severe negative reaction to the normal fluctuation of hormones throughout the menstrual cycle. Often, people with PMDD experience a heightened level of reactivity, low energy, or an increased difficulty focusing. Because PMDD is directly tied to the menstrual cycle, elevated symptoms can occur during the week leading up to and the week following menstruation.

Sometimes, underlying psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder become worse after ovulation and before bleeding. For example, a person with major depressive disorder may experience increased symptoms around the time of menstruation. This is called Premenstrual Exacerbation, or PME. A psychotherapist can support clients in discerning the impact of the menstrual cycle on mental health.

Most people seeking counseling for PMDD are well acquainted with their menstrual cycle and the relationship between their body and their moods. Additionally, they may tend toward a patterned stress response when their nervous system gets activated. Those familiar with the PMDD experience may feel like they’re on a rollercoaster of survival states. When this happens over and over, people with PMDD chronically experience dysphoria, fatigue, tearfulness, rejection sensitivity, shame, and depletion. These symptoms can make people with PMDD feel unwelcome or burdensome in their relationships with others. They may report feeling unsafe, wanting to “end it all” or make major, irreversible life changes, and thoughts of self-harm.

Even with PMDD, nervous system dysregulation doesn’t happen overnight. Though PMDD is a physiological response to the normal fluctuations throughout the menstrual cycle, it interacts with life traumas and other patterns of stress. A lifetime of experiences, especially early ones, informs how well we cope with the challenge of PMDD. Psychotherapy works with the different parts of the self that become inflamed throughout the menstrual cycle. Practitioners can help clients look at the various parts of themselves that can be jealous, insecure, or rejection sensitive with a strong consideration for their interaction with developmental or other personal traumas and histories.

If you’re seeking support for PMDD, Self and Other is a safe space to share the intense thoughts and feelings that accompany your experience. We know that healing can be found through holistically strengthening responses to stress and will work alongside you to develop strategies well suited to your life. This includes building skills to effectively navigate the vulnerability, emotionality, and reactivity that often accompany experiences of PMDD.

This process can increase your distress tolerance, help you develop a lifestyle that best supports your needs, and reduce your window of PMDD symptoms.

“Radical acceptance rests on letting go of the illusion of control and a willingness to notice and accept things as they are right now, without judging” - Marsha Linehan