How PMDD influencers are saving lives on social media ...Middle East

Social media helps to create a sense of community and may even “save lives” among women with a little-known chronic condition, content creators who share their experiences online have said.

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) that causes emotional and psychological distress in the two weeks before a period, the luteal phase.

It is thought that PMDD affects 3 per cent to 8 per cent of women, although some estimates put the number at one in 10.

PMDD wasn’t recognised as a mental health disorder until 2013, but awareness of the condition has been building in recent years, with celebrities sharing their experiences and inspiring others to do the same on social media. The term “PMDD” currently has 64,000 related videos on TikTok and 214,000 posts on Instagram.

What are the symptoms of PMDD?

PMDD can also result in physical symptoms:

For more information, visit the NHS or Mind website.

Fran Taylor, 29, an administrator from Leeds, told The i Paper that PMDD “affects every single aspect of my life. It affects my ability to work. It affects my romantic relationships, it affects my friendships.

“I once quit a job because my PMDD told me to, and then I came on my period a few days later and had to shuffle back into the office and beg for my job back. It’s quite destructive.

“Until I got my diagnosis, it was a really confusing place to be. It was really difficult to understand why every two weeks it felt like my entire life was falling apart. There were times when I convinced myself that I had bipolar.

Ms Taylor, who also has endometriosis, said that she has been going to the doctor with symptoms relating to both conditions since the age of 15, but was only diagnosed with PMDD last year.

“I’ve always been told that it’s completely normal, so then you almost gaslight yourself and convince yourself that it’s not as bad as it is.”

Rebecca Eldridge, 31, a menstrual health coach who lives in London, said her PMDD symptoms became really noticeable as she moved through her twenties.

“I’m quite an extrovert and I felt really introverted. I didn’t want to see people. My mood was very low. I wasn’t very nice to myself; my self-esteem dropped. My whole reality was altered for those days, and then I snapped out of it and I was absolutely fine.”

Amy Sergeant, also 31, a PMDD educator who lives in Thailand, was affected by symptoms from her teenage years, and made several suicidal attempts.

She said she would be “frantically OK,” before “crash[ing]” and feeling “fear” and “paranoia” during her luteal phase in a sort of “Jekyll and Hyde effect”.

“It was pretty apparent then that something was wrong, but it wasn’t really something that was discussed. They diagnosed me with borderline personality disorder, which never really felt right,” she said.

It was on reading a magazine article about a woman with PMDD that she realised that it may explain how she was feeling. However, she added that the article “scared the life out of me” because it related how the woman had a hysterectomy, and as a 24-year-old at the time, “I was petrified” that this would be the only option for her.

Ms Eldridge also thought at one time that a hysterectomy may be the only answer, as she began to have conversations with her doctor about such a step around the time she was diagnosed at the age of 28.

“I’ve just had a baby, so thinking about if I’d have gone through with that, and what that might have meant for my plans now that I’ve got my daughter makes it hard to believe it seemed the only option,” she said.

But at the time “I thought that if I felt like that – depressed – every month, maybe I would not be able to be a good mum”.

Holly Duffy, 35, a print production manager for a street art company who lives in London, was diagnosed with PMDD around six years ago.

“Since I was a teenager, every month I would get so depressed,” she said, adding that she knew it was not depression, as the feeling would end after a few days.

“I had to do all my own research to get diagnosed,” she said, adding that she found out about PMDD through a menopause clinic her mum attended.

There is no cure for PMDD, and although women may take antidepressants or hormonal birth control to help alleviate the symptoms, these medications do not suit everyone. Many women therefore try to navigate the condition by making lifestyle changes instead.

Ms Duffy said that since her diagnosis, she has had a “rollercoaster of desperately referring myself to different clinics and trying to find a medication that works, but I haven’t found anything yet. I did antidepressants, but they made me more depressed.

“I felt like I was walking through treacle, just sedated all the time.”

She said she has had several medical professionals tell her “‘you look fine to me’ or ‘you sound fine’, and I think that is really damaging.”

Ms Taylor finds that the best way for her to manage her symptoms is therapy, as “having a space to process my experiences, my emotions, understand how to cope with how I’m feeling, has been a really big thing.”

She also tries to “show myself softness, kindness and compassion. I do a lot of journalling,” as well as taking supplements and practicing the yin yoga, which is “not as strenuous, more stretchy, and more mindfulness-based”.

Ms Sergeant said she has learnt to manage her PMDD by researching “the anatomy of the brain,” as well as practicing yoga and meditation.

“I utilised my cycle each month as a way of making little changes. The first thing I looked at was consistency. I never had any consistency because I was always up and down, so I had to build a sense of self-trust that I could do something every day for a month.

“I started to build myself a morning routine: ‘I’m going to have a cold shower because I know that soothes anxiety. I’m going to do some breath work because I know that that regulates my nervous system. Then I’m going to meditate because I know that that creates a separation between me and my thoughts’.

“It’s taken me years to get to a point of sanity. But what I noticed was the more I was doing things, the more when I was in the pit, when it was bad thought, bad thought, bad thought, one good thought [would pop up], so I would see it was changing.”

Although she is not “healed,” she said her cycle no longer “affects my ability to do things at all,” and she now dedicates her time to helping other women learn to “flow” through their emotions and the physical sensations they bring by offering resources and leading online workshops on areas including acceptance, understanding, self-compassion and regulation.

Ms Eldridge said she initially took selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a form of anti-depressant, for a time, but then completed training in holistic therapies and mindset practices, which are now the main tool she incorporates into her cycle for an easier luteal phase.

square HORMONES

The truth about how hormones affect women's brains

She believes it is important for women to track their cycle and map their symptoms, which will normally fall into the same pattern each time.

“I had to really learn what makes me calm and happy,” on different days of the month, “and that did wonders,” she said, adding that she is lucky to have a “really supportive husband who will help in that time.”

Having a sense of community around the condition is also vital, the women said.

Ms Taylor said she realised she had PMDD when she saw a social media post from television personality Vicky Pattison, who also has the condition.

“I remember reading it and my mind almost exploded. I was like: ‘that is my life in front of me’.”

As she tried to gather information about PMDD, “social media was one of the first places I went to. There weren’t too many people on social media talking about PMDD, but the ones I did find were really helpful. I’d felt really alone with my periods, so being able to read other people’s experiences and realise I’m not the only person that feels like this, it was really validating.

“I’ve helped quite a few people get a diagnosis of PMDD, which is the main reason why I do this. I had such a tough time with getting a diagnosis, so sharing my story is like a form of therapy.

“I think women’s health is one of those things that isn’t really talked about as much, so to find these communities where people openly talk about their symptoms and will offer advice and tips on how to speak to your GP, I think it’s a really special platform.”

Ms Eldridge said: “That sense of community is vital, as you do feel like you’re alone and you’re losing it a bit, especially when it’s very hard for your inner circle to understand.

“The more we shout about it,” the more pressure there will be for research to be carried out and a treatment to be found “that doesn’t take away from the quality of life of people with PMDD, because right now, the medical treatments feel like people have to make a choice between not having their PMDD and having something else,” she said.

In order to increase awareness of the condition, Ms Eldridge now works to create affordable guides and resources for women with PMDD. She said that she hopes this will help give women the education they need to understand their PMDD and reduce symptoms.

Building awareness around PMDD on social media “will save lives,” Ms Duffy said, adding that: “The problem for me for all these years was not knowing. I thought about killing myself all the time. I thought: ‘Why do I feel like this? What’s wrong with me? Why am I different to everyone else?’.

“I still feel depressed but now I know it’s PMDD,” she said, adding: “Just the knowing alone is really beneficial”.

Social media also helps her to signpost her friends and family to posts and videos so they can understand better, which is why she wanted to share her own story online. “I really want to raise awareness, because I think more women have it than we think.”

She said she’s heard from “loads of people” telling her “’I didn’t know about this, I think I’ve got it’, or ‘I think my sister’s got it’.”

Janet Lindsay, the CEO of women’s health charity Wellbeing of Women, said: “PMDD is a very a severe form of premenstrual syndrome that causes symptoms like mood swings, low mood and anxiety and irritability. The impacts can make it difficult to work, socialise and have healthy relationships.

“Like most women’s health conditions, the stigma, shame and silence related to PMDD can make it difficult to seek help and speak to someone that they trust.

“We encourage women to see a healthcare professional so they can get the help they need sooner. Healthcare professionals must also be educated on PMDD to offer effective treatments and diagnosis, which is why we must fund more research into this condition.”

An NHS England spokesperson said: “All too often we’ve heard from women whose health concerns have been dismissed, which is why the NHS in England is taking action to improve services and ensure healthcare professionals take signs and symptoms seriously, including for issues such as PMDD.

“Over nine in 10 local areas now have at least one women’s health hub providing designated care to help improve patient experience and access to specialist care for thousands of women outside of hospitals. Effective treatments exist and we want to ensure women know where they can get help and support they need.”

For practical, confidential suicide prevention help and advice call Papyrus on 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039967 or email: [email protected]

To contact Samaritans, call 116 123 or visit samaritans.org

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( How PMDD influencers are saving lives on social media )

Also on site :

• French leftists cry foul as Israel nixes visit
• Meeting with the Exporters and Investors Club 
• Cardinals announce death of Pope Francis