PMDD: What is it and are more women realising they have it?

PMDD is an extreme form of PMS, which puts over 70 percent women who suffer with it at risk of contemplating suicide.

People with PMDD experience intense physical and emotional symptoms in the week or so before their period starts. These symptoms usually ease off once bleeding begins, or within a few days of that.

What does PMDD feel like?

PMDD affects both mood and body. Symptoms can include:

• Extreme mood swings – feeling fine one moment, then suddenly very low or angry the next

• Intense anger or irritability – often out of character and hard to control

• Depression and hopelessness – feeling very low, empty, or tearful

• Suicidal thoughts or self harm urges – this is one of the most serious aspects and a big reason PMDD must be taken seriously

• Severe anxiety – feeling on edge, panicky or overwhelmed

• Physical symptoms – such as bloating, breast tenderness, headaches, fatigue and changes in sleep or appetite

Toni Cardiss is a makeup artist in Leeds. She said: “The only way I can explain it, you wouldn't understand it until it's happening to you. However, I feel like it's an out-of-body experience and you can't control it, but you can at the same time. It's like you're inside of your body, but you're not.

We asked people on the streets of Leeds if they had heard of the condition and majority of them said no.

Toni explained how she dreads the period leading up to her menstrual cycle. “Two weeks before is when you start to feel it, then you actually come onto your period and you start to feel "normal again" I say in quotation marks.”

She also said how she plans holidays and events around it, "if that's happening and I'm going to feel that way, it's going to ruin the experience"

How is PMDD different from PMS?

Many people get some premenstrual symptoms (PMS) – like mild mood changes, cramps or feeling bloated.

PMDD is different because:

• Symptoms are much more severe

• They interfere with daily life – work, relationships, and normal activities

• Mental health symptoms, including suicidal thoughts, are much more common and more intense

The exact cause isn’t fully understood and according to the mental health charity Mind some people can be wrongly diagnosed with other health problems. On their website it states: ‘Sometimes people with PMDD can be wrongly diagnosed with other mental health problems, such as depression or bipolar disorder. This is because they share some of the same symptoms.’

Getting support and treatment

If someone thinks they might have PMDD, it can help to:

• Track symptoms over a few months (mood, physical symptoms, and where they are in their cycle)

• Talk to a GP or healthcare professional, taking that symptom diary along.

If there are suicidal thoughts or feelings of being unsafe, urgent help from a GP, crisis line, or emergency services is really important.

Meanwhile, for more support and information on PMDD you can read more on Mind’s website.

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