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Speaker 1: Hello everybody, Welcome back to the show. Welcome back to

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Speaker 1: the podcast, new listeners, old listeners. Wherever you are in

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Speaker 1: the world, it is so great to have you here

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Speaker 1: back for another episode as we, of course break down

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Speaker 1: the psychology of your twenties. Before we get into this

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Speaker 1: endlessly fascinating episode, I wanted to briefly talk about something exciting,

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Speaker 1: and that is that my book is coming out on

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Speaker 1: the twenty ninth of April. As I am recording this,

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Speaker 1: that is twenty one days away, which is insane to

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Speaker 1: say out loud. Three weeks. That's just amazing to me

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Speaker 1: that in three weeks I will be a published author.

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Speaker 1: But if you didn't already know, I have written a

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Speaker 1: book called Person in Progress, A Roadmap to the Psychology

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Speaker 1: of your twenties, and it is exactly what the title says.

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Speaker 1: It is an intricate, psychological deep dive into everything that

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Speaker 1: you would ever want to know about this decade. How

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Speaker 1: to find your calling, how to find love, why it's

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Speaker 1: so hard to find love, friendship, breakups, taking risks, healing

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Speaker 1: you in a child, authenticity like I could go on

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Speaker 1: and on and on, but one day, hopefully, very soon,

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Speaker 1: you'll have the opportunity to read it yourself. And it

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Speaker 1: is my humble request today that if you enjoy this podcast,

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Speaker 1: if you have gotten something out of it, that you

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Speaker 1: preorder my book. Not only will you be getting more

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Speaker 1: of the content that you hopefully love, but it really

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Speaker 1: does support me. And you know, book writing is not

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Speaker 1: a money making game, Like you don't really expect to

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Speaker 1: make anything from writing a book. It's all just a bonus,

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Speaker 1: so it's not about the money. I would just be

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Speaker 1: so very grateful if you could support my work, share

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Speaker 1: it with a friend, hopefully pre order, but even just

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Speaker 1: read the blurb online, like any small act, any small

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Speaker 1: support of this insane endeavor would be incredible. And I

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Speaker 1: want to thank you in advance for showing up for

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Speaker 1: the book, for hopefully reading it, hopefully gifting it. And

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Speaker 1: I also want to express, like some desperate, extreme gratitude

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Speaker 1: for giving me this opportunity. There is no ifs orbuts

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Speaker 1: about it. I would not have written a book if

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Speaker 1: it was not for the psychology of your twenties listeners,

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Speaker 1: and that is so apparent to me every single day.

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Speaker 1: So I just want to say I'm so grateful and

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Speaker 1: I'm so excited to hear your thoughts about it, to

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Speaker 1: see what you think, and to hopefully be able to

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Speaker 1: provide you with even more of a roadmap to this

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Speaker 1: confusing time. Okay, with all that in mind, without further ado,

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Speaker 1: what are we talking about today? Because we're not talking

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Speaker 1: about my book. We are talking about something very, very different.

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Speaker 1: We're talking about the psychology of pre menstrual syndrome PMS.

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Speaker 1: We are talking about this black box of hormones and

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Speaker 1: mood swings and rage and acne and so many other

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Speaker 1: things that impact a whole lot of people, but which

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Speaker 1: I don't think I even really understood until a year ago.

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Speaker 1: You know, I've had my period since I was thirteen.

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Speaker 1: But something that I've noticed is that we actually know

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Speaker 1: very little about our bodies on an individual scale. There

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Speaker 1: are very few guides or times when somebody is going

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Speaker 1: to sit down with you and just say, this is

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Speaker 1: what's happening at your body at certain times of the month.

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Speaker 1: This is why you feel this way, This is what

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Speaker 1: your hormones do, this is how they influence mood, This

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Speaker 1: is what is actually happening in this vessel that you have.

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Speaker 1: You know, we're just expected to deal with it, even

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Speaker 1: when it impacts our well being without ever actually having

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Speaker 1: the information that could actually make it better. But today

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Speaker 1: I want to hopefully provide that guide to you around

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Speaker 1: PMS and PMDD so that you can know yourself and

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Speaker 1: know your body better and know how it interacts with

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Speaker 1: your psychology. Because learning this in your twenties, you know,

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Speaker 1: it's such an important time for you to start taking

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Speaker 1: these kinds of things seriously and to start really feeling

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Speaker 1: in touch with your body. And it's a great time

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Speaker 1: to be reintroduced to so many ideas and concepts that

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Speaker 1: we haven't even really spoken about since puberty better a

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Speaker 1: constant reality for us. So, yes, we're talking PMS, we're

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Speaker 1: talking PMDD, and we're talking periods specifically the psychology behind

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Speaker 1: why that period of time before our period takes such

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Speaker 1: a toll and what's creating that, But also how to

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Speaker 1: manage those fluctuations, the frustration, maybe even the shame we feel,

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Speaker 1: the mental impact, the stigma, and also some more niche

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Speaker 1: questions like should you break up with your partner during

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Speaker 1: your or lu to your phase? Probably not? Is PMS

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Speaker 1: a good defense for murder? Also? No, we've got like

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Speaker 1: so many niche things to talk about hopefully I have

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Speaker 1: you hooked. But I am going to stop rambling now

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Speaker 1: and just get into the science and the psychology of PMS.

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Speaker 1: Stay with us, okay, So, our bodies and hormones and

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Speaker 1: periods are so complex and seriously different for everyone. You know,

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Speaker 1: I have never met two individuals who have the same

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Speaker 1: experiences with their uteruses, so if you experience PMS, it's

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Speaker 1: going to be different as well. But with that in mind,

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Speaker 1: with that caveat being said, let's just start with some

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Speaker 1: really basic factual information about PMS. Now, we're not going

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Speaker 1: to go too much into the medical side of things,

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Speaker 1: because that's not my area of expertise. But the basic

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Speaker 1: explanation of PMS is this. PMS basically describes a set

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Speaker 1: of symptoms or changes that occur before your period. And

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Speaker 1: it's estimated that about three quarters of people who get

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Speaker 1: their period experience at least one change that would fall

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Speaker 1: under the umbrella of PMS, even if it's not noticeable

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Speaker 1: to us. So let's go through some of these changes,

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Speaker 1: because they are both emotional and physical and psychological. I'm

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Speaker 1: going to start with the ones that I would say

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Speaker 1: are seemingly most common. The most common ones are tension

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Speaker 1: and anxiety, are depressed mood, crying spells, bloating, acne, but

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Speaker 1: then also mood swings, irritability, appetite and craving changes, insomnia, fatigue, headaches,

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Speaker 1: poor concentration, change in libido, social withdrawal, just to name

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Speaker 1: a few. You know, some people even describe wanting to

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Speaker 1: break up with their partner during their luteal phase right

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Speaker 1: before their period, and they kind of attribute it to

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Speaker 1: their PMS. In fact, it's actually common for people who

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Speaker 1: get their periods to have more concerns about their relationship

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Speaker 1: right before they menstruate because they can be a lot

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Speaker 1: more sensitive or aware of interpersonal problems, I think, more

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Speaker 1: irritable in general, and will explain why that is, because

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Speaker 1: it's certainly not just because women are too emotional. It's

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Speaker 1: a real hormonal thing. But a recent study conducted at

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Speaker 1: UCLA did find that women evaluate their relationships differently at

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Speaker 1: different times in their cycle, sometimes even finding their partners

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Speaker 1: less attractive right before their period. But that doesn't necessarily

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Speaker 1: mean they want to break up with them or less committed.

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Speaker 1: It's just a lot more complicated than that, and it

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Speaker 1: can just create a lot of nuanced feelings and if

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Speaker 1: you're someone who has a lot of relationship anxiety, sometimes

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Speaker 1: that time right before your period, it's really important to

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Speaker 1: be aware of the fact that you are going to

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Speaker 1: experience heightened sensitivity and doubts, and how can you stay

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Speaker 1: neutral in the face of that, knowing that there's another

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Speaker 1: factor contributing. We're going to talk about that in a second,

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Speaker 1: But another interesting symptom that I'm sure a lot of

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Speaker 1: us are familiar with is changes in body image. Our

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Speaker 1: views towards our bodies change significantly for many women before

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Speaker 1: the period. In fact, this probably won't come as a surprise.

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Speaker 1: Our body image and our appraisal of our body typically

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Speaker 1: gets worse now. Studies have shown this as early as

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Speaker 1: the eighties and nineties. And it's not just because we're bloated,

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Speaker 1: obviously that's a factor. It's because body image is a

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Speaker 1: part of our self concept, and our self concept is

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Speaker 1: regulated by our brain and to an extent, our nervous

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Speaker 1: is and how I'm feeling. So when our nervous system

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Speaker 1: is dysregulated because of hormonal changes, our opinion of ourself

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Speaker 1: will also change. For me, I always experience this, I

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Speaker 1: always feel, you know, there's really no better word than

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Speaker 1: like disgusting, Like I feel disgusting and ugly and like

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Speaker 1: a monster right before my period, and every single time,

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Speaker 1: like on the dot three days before, I'll be like, wow,

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Speaker 1: I have never felt more swollen, and I've never felt uglier,

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Speaker 1: and i just feel disgusting and like I'm gonna feel

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Speaker 1: like this way forever. And then it's like, oh bam,

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Speaker 1: I get my period and it explains it all. And

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Speaker 1: I still I still have this issue of not being

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Speaker 1: able to put two and two together, like, really, my body,

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Speaker 1: my lack of body confidence only really comes around the

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Speaker 1: time I get my period, and it comes almost every

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Speaker 1: single month, and yet I'm still surprised when suddenly I

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Speaker 1: feel awful. I don't know if you can relate, but

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Speaker 1: I do feel like for many of us, we are

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Speaker 1: still shocked by the fact that our bodies and our

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Speaker 1: minds are going to react to the fact that we

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Speaker 1: go through an entire life cycle every month. And seriously,

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Speaker 1: that is what it is. When you get your period,

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Speaker 1: you are at the end of that life cycle. That's

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Speaker 1: how your entire reproductive system is operating. That is why

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Speaker 1: when you are about to get your period, it does

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Speaker 1: feel like a kind of death. Like it feels like

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Speaker 1: you're dying, do you know what I mean? And then

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Speaker 1: once ovulation comes back around, you know, you're practically buzzing

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Speaker 1: because that's like the prime days of your egg's life,

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Speaker 1: you know. And it's all a cycle of rebirth and

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Speaker 1: renewal and death and life. And hopefully this explanation makes

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Speaker 1: sense to you, but it does just show why PMS

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Speaker 1: can be so debilitating but also frustrating. It feels like

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Speaker 1: your body is almost punishing you in a real way, like, okay,

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Speaker 1: well you didn't get pregnant here, this can be your

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Speaker 1: punishment for not doing what we think you should be doing.

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Speaker 1: But again, it's all part of that very important cycle

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Speaker 1: of birth and death that are occurring in our bodies,

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Speaker 1: which I think is quite spectacular when you think about it.

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Speaker 1: I think that's just incredible that that is something that occurs.

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Speaker 1: So something else to knowe fun fact maybe not so fun,

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Speaker 1: but PMS symptoms will actually get worse the older we

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Speaker 1: get and the closer we get to menopause and perimenopause.

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Speaker 1: But once we pass over into menopause it will stop.

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Speaker 1: That approach, though, is when it's going to be and

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Speaker 1: its most intense and that makes sense because our hormones

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Speaker 1: they change the older we get, and they fluctuate more

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Speaker 1: rapidly the closer we get to menopause due to this

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Speaker 1: decline in ovarian function. But a lot of individuals have

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Speaker 1: spoken about this, have spoken about how the older they got,

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Speaker 1: the more they felt that there was sensitive to these

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Speaker 1: hormonal changes. Maybe that's something you can relate to. You know,

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Speaker 1: the first ten years of your getting your period, you

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Speaker 1: never noticed it, and now suddenly there are these emotional

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Speaker 1: parts of this process that you never had to deal

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Speaker 1: with before. Okay, so there's just some basic information about PMS.

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Speaker 1: Let's talk about something else. Let's talk about PMS's I

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Speaker 1: don't know angrier sister, pre menstrual dysphoric disorder pm DD.

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Speaker 1: So PMDD is basically a severe form of PMS. It

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Speaker 1: shows up a lot less in the population around you know,

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Speaker 1: estimates are two to five percent, but it is extremely debilitating.

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Speaker 1: A lot of people who have PMDD describe it as

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Speaker 1: being like a switch that gets flicked in their brain

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Speaker 1: and suddenly in the week or you know, two weeks

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Speaker 1: before their period, instantly, it's like their whole body has

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Speaker 1: been switched with someone else's in a second. You know,

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Speaker 1: they will go from sitting at the dinner table being

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Speaker 1: completely content and peaceful and happy one second, and then

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Speaker 1: in a click of their fingers, they feel overwhelming rage,

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Speaker 1: they feel paranoia, frustration, deep sadness, like anxiety that won't

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Speaker 1: go away and can't be improved, and it feels awful

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Speaker 1: and terrible, and then just as quickly as it started,

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Speaker 1: it's over. You know. I actually saw someone describe PMDD

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Speaker 1: in their case as like a temporary psychosis each month.

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Speaker 1: You know, it's this scary and terrifying thing for them

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Speaker 1: and for many many people, And because of that, sometimes

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Speaker 1: it can lead to a misdiagnosis, where there are cases

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Speaker 1: of people being diagnosed with very extreme mental health conditions

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Speaker 1: that they don't actually have, but the intensity of their

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Speaker 1: PMDD symptoms are such that doctors feel like there are

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Speaker 1: no other explanations. Nowadays, PMD is actually classified as a

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Speaker 1: psychiatric disorder in the DSM five. It's under the umbrella

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Speaker 1: of depressive disorders, so you can get a formal diagnosis

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Speaker 1: if you wish, but it is definitely a struggle identifying

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Speaker 1: whether it's PMDD or some other form of condition, and

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Speaker 1: a lot of individuals have explained to me that actually,

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Speaker 1: before they were diagnosed with PMDD, they were diagnosed with anxiety,

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Speaker 1: with schizophrenia, with depression, and then finally someone said do

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Speaker 1: you think it's this? And they had their answer. So

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Speaker 1: you might be thinking at this stage, well, is it

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Speaker 1: really all that different from depression or bipolar How can

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Speaker 1: we tell them? Do they really need a different diagnosis?

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Speaker 1: And yes, they are very very different because with PMDD

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Speaker 1: symptoms of depression, of anxiety, of BPD, of whatever other

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Speaker 1: condition of which there is a similarity, they are only

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Speaker 1: present when you are at a specific stage of your cycle,

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Speaker 1: but they will almost completely disappear afterwards. Yes, sometimes an

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Speaker 1: individual may be struggling with the aftermath of what occurred

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Speaker 1: during that week, and they may feel like they have

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Speaker 1: to repair some damages or they're just so tired from

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Speaker 1: how intense everything was. But that doesn't mean that their

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Speaker 1: symptoms are lasting for the entire four weeks, which means

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Speaker 1: that they are never really in a period of depression

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Speaker 1: or anxiety long enough if it's coming from PMDD, for

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Speaker 1: them to be classified with anything but PMDD. Now, I

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Speaker 1: want to talk about this because I think it's important

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Speaker 1: to note some people have suggested that pre menstrual dysphoric

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Speaker 1: disorder shouldn't be classified as a psychiatric justsay order, because

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Speaker 1: it's just pathologizing normal, normal hormonal fluctuations and it makes

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Speaker 1: women seem crazy. And when that debate was around and

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Speaker 1: coming up, there were hundreds and hundreds of letters written

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Speaker 1: by doctors, obgyns, psychiatrists, psychologists behind whether or not it

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Speaker 1: should or shouldn't have been included. Some of the arguments

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Speaker 1: are very valid, Like you know, some feminist scholars, they

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Speaker 1: did say it could be used to silence women, it

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Speaker 1: could feed into like a high hysteria, a traditional hysteria mindset.

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Speaker 1: Some people didn't say there wasn't enough differentiation, but you

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Speaker 1: know what, the level of hormonal fluctuations needed to occur

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Speaker 1: to make someone suicidal or unable to leave bed or

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Speaker 1: to keep a job is not normal. That's not pathologizing

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Speaker 1: something normal. And a diagnosis is not only validating, but

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Speaker 1: it is a way to get the help you need.

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Speaker 1: It helps people also feel seen and acknowledged by the

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Speaker 1: medical community because they have some kind of label that

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Speaker 1: feels respected. And if we can have a formal diagnosis,

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Speaker 1: we can actually start seeing the true prevalence of PMDD,

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Speaker 1: which also assists in increased research funding, increased awareness, which

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Speaker 1: is really really essential and given how little attention female

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Speaker 1: health gets in general, Like there are more studies done

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Speaker 1: on male baldness than PCOS and entremetriosis combined. Like, I

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Speaker 1: think we could do with a little bit more visibility

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Speaker 1: heat for female health concerns. PMDD and PMS, just to

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Speaker 1: say this one last time, though they are different, they

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Speaker 1: are very different, and PMDD is a lot more extreme.

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Speaker 1: So if PMS was in the DSM, I would understand

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Speaker 1: why people have issues, but PMDD is a serious condition.

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Speaker 1: PMS is as well, but PMDDS in particular does require

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Speaker 1: a lot of additional assistance. So I think having a

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Speaker 1: proper diagnosis means that a lot of women will no

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Speaker 1: longer have to have the experience of going to the

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Speaker 1: doctor saying this is how my life feels. It feels

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Speaker 1: like everything is falling apart in this cyclical way, and

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Speaker 1: people just assuming, oh, you're just pmsing, like, just push

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Speaker 1: through it, take a bath, as if PMS in itself

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Speaker 1: is something that's always going to be easily manageable. So

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Speaker 1: there's one more term I need to introduce, here that's

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Speaker 1: separate from PMS and PMDD, and it's called pre menstrual exacerbation. So,

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Speaker 1: if you have an existing mental health condition like depression, anxiety,

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Speaker 1: bipolar disorder, even something like ADHD, you may notice that

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Speaker 1: your symptoms or conditions get worse in the lead up

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Speaker 1: to your period compared to what you're accustomed to. Suddenly

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Speaker 1: you know your anxiety level is at a ten, You

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Speaker 1: feel empty, psychotic symptoms even worsen as well. It's not

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Speaker 1: that your symptoms are only occurring during that week. They're

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Speaker 1: always present, unlike PMDD. It's just that just before your

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Speaker 1: period they get so much worse and it becomes so

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Speaker 1: much harder to deal with. So now that we're across

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Speaker 1: these three distinct terms and conditions, let's go right back

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Speaker 1: to PMS and talk about the why. What is responsible

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Speaker 1: for the psychological changes like sudden irritation, like trouble concentrating

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Speaker 1: like anxiety, brain fog, and then the secondary impact of

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Speaker 1: shame and feeling like any kind of visible emotion will

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Speaker 1: have you taken less seriously or respected less. Where does

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Speaker 1: this come from? So there's two hormones we need to

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Speaker 1: be really familiar with here, and you've probably already heard

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Speaker 1: of them. Of course, estrogen and progresterone very very common.

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Speaker 1: You've probably heard of them when it comes to your

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Speaker 1: birth control. Actually, because estrogen and progresterone, well, essentially they're

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Speaker 1: primarily responsible for reproduction for you, puberty, for pregnancy, if

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Speaker 1: you do get pregnant, for menopause, for your period, for

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Speaker 1: your cycle, and wherever you are in your period will

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Speaker 1: determine the level of either of these hormones. So during ovulation,

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Speaker 1: estrogen is typically very high, which contributes to why your

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Speaker 1: skin is glowing, while your hair is radiant, why you

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Speaker 1: feel incredible, because more estrogen means greater chances of getting pregnant.

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Speaker 1: So biologically you want to attract a mate. After ovulation,

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Speaker 1: though progress strone levels rise sharply while estrogen dips, leading

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Speaker 1: to a lot of physiological neurobiological changes. So researchers have

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Speaker 1: shown that particularly less progressterone in particular, does change how

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Speaker 1: our brain operates and feels. Particularly, it changes how we

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Speaker 1: process and regulate levels of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin

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Speaker 1: is the happy hormone, the happy chemical, and in order

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Speaker 1: for it to be released at a proper rate and

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Speaker 1: to be received at a proper rate inside the brain,

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Speaker 1: a certain level of progresterone needs to be available now.

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Speaker 1: Of course, when that dips before our period, suddenly the

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Speaker 1: systems in place that are releasing serotonin, which are used

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Speaker 1: to a certain level of progresterone no longer have that level,

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Speaker 1: and so it feels like it's squeezing juice out of

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Speaker 1: an already juiced orange. Some further information and studies that

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Speaker 1: we need to be aware of also indicate that progresterone

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Speaker 1: influences the GABBA receptors in the brain, which are involved

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Speaker 1: in regulating anxiety and mood. So if you listen to

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Speaker 1: our anxiety episode, you'll understand what gabba is. Gabba is

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Speaker 1: an inhibitor in our brain, so it provides a calming effect.

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Speaker 1: But if progress desterone rises after ovulation and then steadily

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Speaker 1: drops off right before our period and naturally drops, that

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Speaker 1: means that GABBA receptors, much like serotonin receptors, aren't being

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Speaker 1: coaxed as much or activated as much, so our reception

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Speaker 1: of gabba declines, meaning that we are more anxious as

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Speaker 1: a result. Because glutamate, which has an exidinary effect, doesn't

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Speaker 1: have its counterbalance. Basically, we need gabba to stay calm.

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Speaker 1: But GABBA can only be read by the brain with

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Speaker 1: the help of progressterone. So when there's less, the neuro

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Speaker 1: chemicals that make us feel naturally anxious aren't being regulated

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Speaker 1: or met with as much resistance. Now, this is what

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Speaker 1: creates a lot of the emotional and psychological symptoms of PMS.

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Speaker 1: Something to note these hormonal changes, they're totally normal. In fact,

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Speaker 1: it's an important part of that life and death cycle

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Speaker 1: we talked about before. So why is it you might

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Speaker 1: be asking, if this is normal, why do I feel

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Speaker 1: so terrible? And why is it that some of us

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Speaker 1: you know, never experience PMS, but others of us have

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Speaker 1: debilidating PMDD symptoms, Like where does this variation come from? Well,

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Speaker 1: according to a study published in The Lancet back in

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Speaker 1: I think two thousand and nine, actually, women with PMS,

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Speaker 1: it's not that their hormones are changing more rapidly. It's

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Speaker 1: that they have an increased sensitivity to even minute hormone changes.

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Speaker 1: And because of this, what for some people would be

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Speaker 1: easily dismissed by our brain feels like an entire psychological, emotional,

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Speaker 1: neurochemical earthquake. The shift from having certain leve levels of

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Speaker 1: chemicals available to having just even slightly less hormones or

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Speaker 1: chemicals available. Yours a lot more magnified than certain people,

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Speaker 1: and those certain people are more likely to develop PMS

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Speaker 1: and PMDD. This was backed by another review in psycho

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Speaker 1: Neeurodoctrinology and in this journal. This paper suggested that again,

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Speaker 1: it's not hormonal fluctuations that cause PMS. They are just

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Speaker 1: the catalyst. It's how they're processed and how our Neuer

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Speaker 1: endocrine system reads those messages. The messages are the same,

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Speaker 1: but sometimes the part of us that is meant to

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Speaker 1: read these messages doesn't read them very well, causing those

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Speaker 1: emotional and physical shifts. Sometimes you know, it's just because

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Speaker 1: that's how you were born. It's the part of your

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Speaker 1: genetic blueprint that's difficult to explain. The same way that

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Speaker 1: some people need glasses, some people's new endocrine system probably

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Speaker 1: also needs glasses so that it can properly read, interpret, understand,

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Speaker 1: regulate the hormonal changes that come with you know, being

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Speaker 1: on your period, that come with your mental cycle. So

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Speaker 1: the biggest theory is that a large contributor to having

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Speaker 1: severe PMS symptoms or PMDD does come down to genetics,

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Speaker 1: but there's also something else involved. Circumstances like trauma can

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Speaker 1: actually trigger the emergence of PMS, both in early life

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Speaker 1: and later in life. So the study I'm about to

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Speaker 1: talk about blew my mind when I first read it,

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Speaker 1: and I don't think we can say that often happens

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Speaker 1: for studies about genetic irregularities and mutations, like it's pretty

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Speaker 1: much pretty boring. I don't know. Maybe you're a geneticist

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Speaker 1: and you're like, no, it's so fascinating, But in general

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Speaker 1: reading about genetic codes, it's not like going to an

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Speaker 1: amusement park. But this one article about PMDD, I really think,

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Speaker 1: like the explanation given in it could change lives. And

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Speaker 1: it was published in twenty twenty two, and it found

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Speaker 1: that many of us actually contain a certain genetic code

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Speaker 1: that would predispose us to PMDD, but it never gets

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Speaker 1: switched on in most of us. Most of us it

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Speaker 1: lays dormant, so we don't go on to develop PMDD.

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Speaker 1: But some of us are not so lucky. And what

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Speaker 1: switches on this genetic code is, well, it's trauma. The

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Speaker 1: stress and change of trauma for some reason, has this

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Speaker 1: impact of activating this mutation, and it's a mutation that

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Speaker 1: a lot of us have, but like I said, only

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Speaker 1: you know, I think it's less than five percent of

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Speaker 1: us in and us like it will ever be activated

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Speaker 1: five percent. And in this study they identified this gene

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Speaker 1: and they found that eighty three percent of the women

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Speaker 1: in their sample of randomly selected PMDD patients they had

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Speaker 1: experienced some kind of trauma, the most common being early

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Speaker 1: life trauma and emotional abuse. Now, those rates in this

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Speaker 1: circle of women with PMDD is so much higher than

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Speaker 1: the rate of trauma in the general population. You know,

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Speaker 1: they say the body keeps the score, and in this case,

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Speaker 1: oh my gosh, is it true. And I've seen so

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Speaker 1: many people reacting to this study who have said, I

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Speaker 1: knew it. I knew something was different about me in

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Speaker 1: the way my body worked. One individual I read an

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Speaker 1: account from she even talked about how her PMDD only

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00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:34,680
Speaker 1: began after a particularly traumatic relationship in a car accident,

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Speaker 1: and suddenly it seemed the gene was activated. She was,

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Speaker 1: like she said in this recount, like I can see

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Speaker 1: a distinct before and after. And researchers are still trying

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Speaker 1: to get to the why of this all and understand

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Speaker 1: this further. But I think for a lot of people

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Speaker 1: who have experienced PMDD or extreme PMS for a long time,

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Speaker 1: sometimes this explanation is validating enough. Sometimes you can really

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Speaker 1: find some solace in the fact that you know it

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Speaker 1: wasn't you, that your body is behaving differently beyond your

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00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:17,240
Speaker 1: control and from the past from something that occurred to you.

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Speaker 1: So yes, it's a combination of predisposition but also environment

427
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:27,240
Speaker 1: that it makes PMS and PMDD specifically more likely to emerge.

428
00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:29,840
Speaker 1: There are some other risk factors that we should mention,

429
00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:35,040
Speaker 1: including smoking, poor physical health, but also thyroid problems because

430
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:39,920
Speaker 1: our thyroid is responsible for the release of progressterone, and

431
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:43,720
Speaker 1: so if it's not functioning, we may encounter problems. A

432
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:47,280
Speaker 1: lot of this is coming back to our neuroendocrine system,

433
00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:50,480
Speaker 1: and you know, you do see a lot of stuff

434
00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:53,040
Speaker 1: being like it's because of your diet, and it's because

435
00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:55,640
Speaker 1: of this and that, and you're not taking the right

436
00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,320
Speaker 1: supplements and all these things. I think that actually it's

437
00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:01,960
Speaker 1: a lot more common plex and that, and if that

438
00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:05,520
Speaker 1: previous study had anything to say, like it links back

439
00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,560
Speaker 1: to so many things that happened to us rather than

440
00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:12,360
Speaker 1: things that we are actively doing to ourselves. So I

441
00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:15,120
Speaker 1: really don't like this narrative that blames women who have

442
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:19,920
Speaker 1: PMS or PMDD with poor lifestyle choices and that's why

443
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:22,880
Speaker 1: it's occurring, and you could so easily change your lifestyle

444
00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:26,720
Speaker 1: and it would all fall away for you. That's definitely

445
00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:30,320
Speaker 1: not the case. Maybe only about five ten percent of

446
00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:34,080
Speaker 1: truth in that statement. So hopefully this explanation makes some

447
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:36,360
Speaker 1: kind of sense to you. It's given you more clarity

448
00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:40,400
Speaker 1: over very invisible workings in your body below the surface.

449
00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:43,480
Speaker 1: We are going to take a quick break right now,

450
00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:47,360
Speaker 1: but when we return, we are going to talk science backtips.

451
00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:49,880
Speaker 1: When in your cycle is the best time to make

452
00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:54,760
Speaker 1: decisions how to manage unhelpful feelings and thoughts associated with

453
00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:58,520
Speaker 1: PMS or PMDD, and so so so much more so

454
00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:09,480
Speaker 1: please stay with us. Dealing with PMS and PMDD was

455
00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:14,800
Speaker 1: described to me by a listener as Sisyphus pushing his

456
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:17,920
Speaker 1: rock up the hill every month. You have to deal

457
00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:21,080
Speaker 1: with the same roller coaster every month. It feels like

458
00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,880
Speaker 1: you are at the behest of some hidden emotional forces,

459
00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:28,320
Speaker 1: and it's frustrating and it's exhausting, and it feels like

460
00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:32,960
Speaker 1: it will never be over and never be Okay. Sometimes

461
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:36,480
Speaker 1: there's even an anger there, anger at your body for

462
00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:38,520
Speaker 1: you know, doing what it's meant to do, but being

463
00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:41,440
Speaker 1: so inconvenient about it. You know, it doesn't seem to

464
00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:44,520
Speaker 1: care about your life or your professional engagements, or your plans,

465
00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:47,560
Speaker 1: or your relationship or your mental stability, none of the above.

466
00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:51,240
Speaker 1: That coupled with the fact that you know, well, we've

467
00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:55,320
Speaker 1: spoken about this already, but the medical system in general

468
00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:59,400
Speaker 1: takes health problems typically associated with women and likes to

469
00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:02,080
Speaker 1: ignore them for as long as possible and be dispissive

470
00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:04,560
Speaker 1: and say you're over reacting, or have you tried exercise

471
00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:07,160
Speaker 1: or two parannals should do the trick. You know that

472
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:11,360
Speaker 1: on top of it makes it even more tricky. There's

473
00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:15,800
Speaker 1: also this sense that if you have PMS, if you

474
00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:20,400
Speaker 1: are struggling with an emotional tidal wave, you better can

475
00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:24,480
Speaker 1: see all that. You better keep that way down, especially

476
00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:28,520
Speaker 1: in the workplace, especially around people who won't understand, because

477
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:30,520
Speaker 1: you don't want to be seen as hysterical. You don't

478
00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:34,000
Speaker 1: want to be seen as weak, you don't want to

479
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,760
Speaker 1: be seen as too emotional. Because our society has really

480
00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:43,240
Speaker 1: devalued specific traits that are peer associated or are associated

481
00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:47,760
Speaker 1: with being a woman, So that is definitely the cherry

482
00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:50,959
Speaker 1: on top that none of us asked for. With all

483
00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:53,120
Speaker 1: that in mind, though, I wanted to bring together, yes,

484
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,800
Speaker 1: some of the best advice I could find for how

485
00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:00,520
Speaker 1: to help yourself psychologically and mentally for that period where

486
00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:03,440
Speaker 1: your brain feels like it has been switched with someone

487
00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:06,720
Speaker 1: else's and some wires across without you knowing, how can

488
00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:11,600
Speaker 1: you do more than just wait it out. A philosophy

489
00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:14,040
Speaker 1: I have in my life is that the more you know,

490
00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:17,240
Speaker 1: the less you can be misled when it comes to

491
00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:21,200
Speaker 1: our bodies. That has never been more true. Now, I

492
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,760
Speaker 1: don't want you to misconstrue my words and say, like, oh,

493
00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:26,240
Speaker 1: you shouldn't get advice from a doctor like you. If

494
00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:28,840
Speaker 1: you've read twenty books about PMS, you know more than

495
00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:33,360
Speaker 1: a specialist like not the case. It's obviously great to

496
00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:37,360
Speaker 1: educate yourself and to know more, but we're specifically talking

497
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:41,520
Speaker 1: about knowing your own body better. So if you have

498
00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:44,280
Speaker 1: been struggling with PMS, the best thing you can do

499
00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:50,680
Speaker 1: is start keeping a Feelings in Emotions journal or app tracker,

500
00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:55,440
Speaker 1: any form of I don't know, information gathering. When it

501
00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:58,440
Speaker 1: comes to your symptoms, you know that can be synced

502
00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:01,880
Speaker 1: up to your period app if you use, but also separately.

503
00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:05,479
Speaker 1: The app that I love is called mind doc, and

504
00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:09,280
Speaker 1: it's incredible. It basically offers you check ins and helps

505
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:14,680
Speaker 1: you to identify emotional patterns in this really cool mathematical,

506
00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:20,400
Speaker 1: graphical visual way. So if you're a visual processor, if

507
00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:23,680
Speaker 1: having a visual map of how you're feeling on certain

508
00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:26,600
Speaker 1: days over a period of time would be helpful, that

509
00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:30,480
Speaker 1: is definitely a good option for you. But I also

510
00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:33,600
Speaker 1: find it really really validating, even just a journal about it.

511
00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:37,360
Speaker 1: And I find it validating because I'm able to say,

512
00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:43,280
Speaker 1: through noticing these patterns, oh okay, this is linked to

513
00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:46,560
Speaker 1: a known part of my cycle where I feel terrible.

514
00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:50,320
Speaker 1: I don't need to beat myself up over this the

515
00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:53,720
Speaker 1: way that I have been doing. I know it will pass.

516
00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:56,360
Speaker 1: I don't need to think that it's gonna last forever.

517
00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,160
Speaker 1: This happens every month, and I know it because here

518
00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:03,040
Speaker 1: is my information. You know, sometimes our lives are so

519
00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:06,800
Speaker 1: busy and hectic and over stimulating that we fall out

520
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:11,879
Speaker 1: of sync with how our body feels. And so when

521
00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:16,200
Speaker 1: things do come up headaches, mood swings, hormonal changes, anchor,

522
00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:19,880
Speaker 1: we feel shocked and stressed by it because we haven't

523
00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:23,120
Speaker 1: been expecting it, because we haven't been paying attention to

524
00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:27,279
Speaker 1: where we are in the cycle of our periods, where

525
00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:30,759
Speaker 1: we are in our bodies at any given moment. So

526
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,680
Speaker 1: it's really really important that if you're struggling to get

527
00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:37,160
Speaker 1: more information about the cycles presenting in your body than

528
00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:41,319
Speaker 1: you already have, my next tip is to focus on

529
00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:45,920
Speaker 1: sleep hygiene. So I interviewed a doctor recently for the

530
00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:49,040
Speaker 1: show Doctor Mark Hymen, and his episode is coming out

531
00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:51,600
Speaker 1: very very soon. But something he said to me that

532
00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:54,360
Speaker 1: has become a fixation point of mind in the last

533
00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:57,600
Speaker 1: however many days, is that if he have to go

534
00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:00,160
Speaker 1: back to twenty and tell himself one piece of advice, yes,

535
00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:04,560
Speaker 1: it would be to sleep more. And if you have

536
00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:08,719
Speaker 1: PMS or PMDD in particular, the studies have shown time

537
00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:13,160
Speaker 1: and time again, seven to nine hours every night is

538
00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:15,160
Speaker 1: not an option, it's an essential, and it's what your

539
00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:18,200
Speaker 1: body needs to be able to restore itself, and it

540
00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:21,560
Speaker 1: definitely needs that. During your lude, your phase, when your

541
00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:23,640
Speaker 1: cells and your mind and your uterus and your whole

542
00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:29,640
Speaker 1: body is under even more stress, You're probably thinking, yeah, okay, whatever,

543
00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:32,000
Speaker 1: great advice, I'm busy I've heard it before. I've tried that,

544
00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:38,080
Speaker 1: to which I say, please try again, because which discomfort

545
00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:42,000
Speaker 1: is worse to you, the discomfort of not having you know,

546
00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:44,600
Speaker 1: a few extra thirty minutes of screen time before bed,

547
00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:49,480
Speaker 1: or finding it harder to regulate your emotions. Sleep hygiene

548
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:54,360
Speaker 1: is so important. Here are like three really simple ways

549
00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:56,960
Speaker 1: you can do that really low effort that I just

550
00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:59,560
Speaker 1: need you to try. I've tried. They work like a charm.

551
00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:01,920
Speaker 1: Number one, I need you to get an old fashioned

552
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:04,799
Speaker 1: alarm clock. Number two, I need you to keep your

553
00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:09,400
Speaker 1: phone out of your room. Number three, don't watch TV

554
00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:13,120
Speaker 1: or movies or whatever else on your laptop, iPad phone

555
00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:18,120
Speaker 1: in your bed. All of these help create a distinction

556
00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:21,440
Speaker 1: between the spaces and the times when you are meant

557
00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:23,960
Speaker 1: to be awake and alert and the times when you

558
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:28,040
Speaker 1: are meant to be RESTful and sleeping. And this change

559
00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:30,719
Speaker 1: costs you the price of an alarm clock from a

560
00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:33,720
Speaker 1: two dollars store, and it could even help you live longer,

561
00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:38,000
Speaker 1: if not make your PMS feel more manageable. I would

562
00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:42,600
Speaker 1: also say, try and create a soft, gentle routine for

563
00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:47,719
Speaker 1: yourself during that week or that period for you of

564
00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:52,480
Speaker 1: intense symptoms. Now what does that look like. That needs

565
00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:59,160
Speaker 1: to look like, less intense socializing, less drinking, hopefully zero drinking,

566
00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:04,320
Speaker 1: more working from home if you can, less genes, more leggings,

567
00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:07,160
Speaker 1: give yourself the gift of ten more minutes to get

568
00:37:07,239 --> 00:37:09,879
Speaker 1: ready in the morning, ten more minutes to slow down

569
00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:14,880
Speaker 1: at night to get places on time. Prioritize less activities

570
00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:19,440
Speaker 1: during your day. Now, this last one is huge for

571
00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:22,719
Speaker 1: me because I don't know if you can relate to this,

572
00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:25,480
Speaker 1: but as someone who is you know, I would say

573
00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:31,600
Speaker 1: has some high achiever perfectionist tendencies. Giving myself just a

574
00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:36,480
Speaker 1: break from a big schedule, a high load schedule is very,

575
00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:39,880
Speaker 1: very difficult. But you know, literally the other day, I

576
00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:42,520
Speaker 1: went to a pilates class and I was in such

577
00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:45,359
Speaker 1: a bad mood. I was just you know, I had

578
00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:48,440
Speaker 1: all these PMS symptoms and halfway through, I was just

579
00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:50,960
Speaker 1: feeling so irritated, and I left. I got up, I

580
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:53,399
Speaker 1: said thank you to the teacher. I was like, it's

581
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:57,240
Speaker 1: not you, it's me, and I went away. I went away,

582
00:37:57,280 --> 00:37:59,680
Speaker 1: and I went home and I just got into bed

583
00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:02,160
Speaker 1: because that's what my body was calling for me to do,

584
00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:05,040
Speaker 1: even if my mind wanted me to be more efficient

585
00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:09,319
Speaker 1: or productive. I find really that my capacity to do

586
00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:13,319
Speaker 1: more and even my capacity to be around others declines

587
00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:16,160
Speaker 1: right before my period. I find that I don't have

588
00:38:16,239 --> 00:38:20,080
Speaker 1: the same bandwidth to be present, to reciprocate energy wise,

589
00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:24,960
Speaker 1: to monitor others' emotions, to deal with my own frustrations.

590
00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:28,880
Speaker 1: I have less space for empathy because I'm so irritated

591
00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:31,640
Speaker 1: and there's normally a lot on my mind. Now, this

592
00:38:31,719 --> 00:38:34,440
Speaker 1: has nothing to do with the other person, They're just existing.

593
00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:38,160
Speaker 1: It has everything to do with me and how wired

594
00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:42,040
Speaker 1: and raw my nerves feel, which can just make me,

595
00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:44,480
Speaker 1: I'm sure, unpleasant to be around, and it makes me

596
00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:51,640
Speaker 1: feel more drained. So going slowly means subtracting rather than

597
00:38:51,719 --> 00:38:55,160
Speaker 1: adding things onto my plate during a time when I

598
00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:57,719
Speaker 1: know stress is going to be heightened for me, and

599
00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:00,960
Speaker 1: even sometimes avoiding things that I would typically find enjoyable

600
00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:05,120
Speaker 1: just for a few days, for some solo time. Also,

601
00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:08,600
Speaker 1: you need to be dilly dialing more. You need to

602
00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:13,600
Speaker 1: be less rushed towards certain goals or certain chores of

603
00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:16,880
Speaker 1: getting things done, especially during this period. I need you

604
00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:21,080
Speaker 1: to just relish the act of slowing down, of being

605
00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:24,680
Speaker 1: more present, of walking around without music in your ears,

606
00:39:24,719 --> 00:39:28,760
Speaker 1: without too many freaking what do they called tote bags

607
00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:30,960
Speaker 1: on you trying to get from one place to the other,

608
00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:35,040
Speaker 1: feeling completely overwhelmed. We are about softness, We are about

609
00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:40,160
Speaker 1: slowing down. We are about long term sustainability and self

610
00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:44,920
Speaker 1: sufficiency rather than burning way too bright, way too fast. Also,

611
00:39:45,239 --> 00:39:48,800
Speaker 1: another part of this is just focus on low impact exercises,

612
00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:52,560
Speaker 1: because there have been studies, including one from twenty twenty four,

613
00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:57,120
Speaker 1: that have suggested that things like kit workouts actually spike

614
00:39:57,200 --> 00:40:01,240
Speaker 1: progresstant and then cause it to, as a counterbalance, rapidly

615
00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:04,640
Speaker 1: decline later on, which we know will end up impacting

616
00:40:05,200 --> 00:40:08,240
Speaker 1: GABA levels and lead to more anxiety, which is already

617
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:11,080
Speaker 1: at a low during this stage of the cycle. So

618
00:40:11,239 --> 00:40:13,800
Speaker 1: take your rest days, go for a long walk instead.

619
00:40:14,239 --> 00:40:16,600
Speaker 1: You don't need to push yourself on. Your body is

620
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:20,080
Speaker 1: asking for rest, In fact, it's demanding rest. You've got

621
00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:24,160
Speaker 1: to lean into what each period of your cycle actually

622
00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:27,640
Speaker 1: calls for you to do, based on the instincts of

623
00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:32,279
Speaker 1: your body and where you're going to seek comfort. This

624
00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:36,319
Speaker 1: is also more of a behavioral tip. But don't make

625
00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:42,680
Speaker 1: any big decisions during this time. Consider them, make a

626
00:40:42,719 --> 00:40:47,960
Speaker 1: plan for them, don't act until you feel clear headed. Now,

627
00:40:48,239 --> 00:40:51,040
Speaker 1: this isn't to say that women are hysterical and not

628
00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:54,200
Speaker 1: to be trusted because their period makes them do crazy

629
00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:58,520
Speaker 1: hysterical things like No, that's quite a harmful narrative. I

630
00:40:58,600 --> 00:41:01,319
Speaker 1: just think on a personal level, you want to know

631
00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:05,520
Speaker 1: when your brain, specifically your emotional brain is going to

632
00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:08,680
Speaker 1: be at its best. You want to know when your

633
00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:12,319
Speaker 1: brain is going to be most capable and smart, and

634
00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:17,440
Speaker 1: really hone in on those times to make big decisions,

635
00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:20,640
Speaker 1: to question big things. When you're on your period or

636
00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:23,279
Speaker 1: right before, it's just going to be all wrapped up

637
00:41:23,320 --> 00:41:27,000
Speaker 1: in additional anxiety and stress and tension, and I think

638
00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:30,520
Speaker 1: it's not going to help you feel confident in the decision,

639
00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:35,240
Speaker 1: even if it's the right one. So know when to

640
00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:38,520
Speaker 1: trust your instincts versus understand that something is an impulse

641
00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:43,120
Speaker 1: and structure decision making and planning around those peaks and

642
00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:45,759
Speaker 1: troughs of your cycle and of your mental state. I

643
00:41:45,800 --> 00:41:49,800
Speaker 1: think handling PMS or PMDD is all about just ease

644
00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:52,080
Speaker 1: and the path of least resistance and what's going to

645
00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:55,680
Speaker 1: make things simpler for you when your mind and your

646
00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:59,879
Speaker 1: body is feeling chaotic. I also would suggest you think

647
00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:04,000
Speaker 1: about getting professional help and not just from your family doctor,

648
00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:06,799
Speaker 1: but someone who really knows what they're talking about. There

649
00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:09,000
Speaker 1: are so many more treatments now, you don't need to

650
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:12,760
Speaker 1: despair over your PMS, your PMDD taking over your life.

651
00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:17,560
Speaker 1: There are so many more options. And just organizing a

652
00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:20,280
Speaker 1: time where you can go and learn about some of those,

653
00:42:20,719 --> 00:42:22,800
Speaker 1: hear what someone else has to say about your condition,

654
00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:27,120
Speaker 1: maybe even be validated in what you've been experiencing, is

655
00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:31,560
Speaker 1: so so important. Some final two tips. If you have

656
00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:36,920
Speaker 1: a partner, invite them to share your period app details

657
00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:40,040
Speaker 1: or like invite them to follow along for you. I

658
00:42:40,080 --> 00:42:43,080
Speaker 1: don't know what is it like. Join your cycle app,

659
00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:45,880
Speaker 1: join your cycle aps so they can see peaks and troughs,

660
00:42:45,960 --> 00:42:48,920
Speaker 1: understand when to bring up arguments, when to bring up

661
00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:51,919
Speaker 1: small things better for both of you, so that you're

662
00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:55,920
Speaker 1: not constantly in a state of conflict. I also sometimes

663
00:42:55,960 --> 00:42:59,520
Speaker 1: do this with my friends. You just understand each other better.

664
00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:02,960
Speaker 1: You know what the other person needs. You can mediate

665
00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:08,000
Speaker 1: and moderate conversation and expectations and communication and plans so

666
00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:11,840
Speaker 1: much better when you do. Just have a more in

667
00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:17,160
Speaker 1: depth understanding of what everyone's current emotional capacity and emotional

668
00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:21,040
Speaker 1: state is like, and have empathy for yourself. You know,

669
00:43:21,160 --> 00:43:24,120
Speaker 1: your body is so complex, Like it's one of the

670
00:43:24,120 --> 00:43:28,120
Speaker 1: most complex things to exist, and there is nobody in

671
00:43:28,160 --> 00:43:32,560
Speaker 1: the world who can possibly understand every single reaction and

672
00:43:32,719 --> 00:43:35,759
Speaker 1: thing that goes on below the surface that you are

673
00:43:35,800 --> 00:43:41,200
Speaker 1: forced to feel Like PMS dials every single tiny reaction

674
00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:44,040
Speaker 1: up to one hundred and has you feel them all

675
00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:47,360
Speaker 1: at once. And it's tricky and it's hard. It's also

676
00:43:47,440 --> 00:43:50,879
Speaker 1: something that others are going through and you can find

677
00:43:50,880 --> 00:43:54,080
Speaker 1: the light in it. There are so many more resources,

678
00:43:54,160 --> 00:43:57,799
Speaker 1: so many more ways and opportunities to be open in

679
00:43:57,800 --> 00:44:01,000
Speaker 1: our communication to talk about it and to make this

680
00:44:01,200 --> 00:44:07,239
Speaker 1: condition both PMS and PMDD more visible and not a weakness,

681
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:09,960
Speaker 1: just an addition to our lives that we have to

682
00:44:10,040 --> 00:44:14,040
Speaker 1: navigate as expertly as possible. Okay, we're going to take

683
00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:16,799
Speaker 1: one more quick break, and then when we return, we

684
00:44:16,920 --> 00:44:21,080
Speaker 1: are going to move on to our listener questions. If

685
00:44:21,120 --> 00:44:23,279
Speaker 1: you aren't familiar with this segment of the show because

686
00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:26,160
Speaker 1: it is relatively new. A couple months ago, I started

687
00:44:26,239 --> 00:44:30,759
Speaker 1: inviting listeners to ask our own personal questions when it

688
00:44:30,760 --> 00:44:32,520
Speaker 1: comes to our topics, just to make sure that we

689
00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:36,160
Speaker 1: cover what people are actually interested in and some of

690
00:44:36,160 --> 00:44:38,799
Speaker 1: the more niche questions that you may have for us.

691
00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:41,680
Speaker 1: So we are going to take a quick little pause,

692
00:44:41,719 --> 00:44:44,759
Speaker 1: and when we return, we have some juicy questions, some

693
00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:54,760
Speaker 1: great questions from my lovely, lovely listeners. The listener questions

694
00:44:54,880 --> 00:44:58,720
Speaker 1: this week were so good, they were so amazing. I

695
00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:03,200
Speaker 1: was very intrigued to dig a little bit deeper into

696
00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:05,879
Speaker 1: what you guys want to know. We're going to start

697
00:45:05,880 --> 00:45:10,000
Speaker 1: with this question, which I found so fascinating. How would

698
00:45:10,080 --> 00:45:16,280
Speaker 1: PMS interact with ADHD? So I consulted some really interesting

699
00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:21,200
Speaker 1: articles about this, specifically a paper from twenty twenty three,

700
00:45:21,719 --> 00:45:26,560
Speaker 1: and what it suggested is that having ADHD and PMS

701
00:45:27,239 --> 00:45:29,799
Speaker 1: is and this is literally their words, this is a

702
00:45:29,880 --> 00:45:35,920
Speaker 1: direct quote from this article, a double whammy, whereby symptoms

703
00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:40,040
Speaker 1: of ADHD are more likely to increase when estrogen levels drop,

704
00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:44,680
Speaker 1: so right as your period starts in just before. In particular,

705
00:45:44,760 --> 00:45:48,120
Speaker 1: they found two things happen. There is an increase in

706
00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:52,960
Speaker 1: approach that's risk taking behaviors, but more so an increase

707
00:45:53,120 --> 00:45:57,880
Speaker 1: in avoidance and negative effect so negative mood, but also

708
00:45:57,960 --> 00:46:02,319
Speaker 1: in attention symptoms. If you're finding that your ADHD is

709
00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:06,120
Speaker 1: getting worse before your period, you are not mistaken it's

710
00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:08,720
Speaker 1: a real thing. And they also noted, and I'm glad

711
00:46:08,719 --> 00:46:12,200
Speaker 1: they did that. The pressure to mask your ADHD or

712
00:46:12,200 --> 00:46:16,320
Speaker 1: appear functional is also a lot more prominent and stronger

713
00:46:16,360 --> 00:46:19,040
Speaker 1: in women, and so sometimes feels that you have to

714
00:46:19,080 --> 00:46:23,759
Speaker 1: suppress or conceal two things at once. You know, you

715
00:46:23,800 --> 00:46:27,560
Speaker 1: have to suppress your ADHD symptoms even though you feel

716
00:46:28,040 --> 00:46:31,600
Speaker 1: more agitated and you feel like they are stronger, but

717
00:46:31,640 --> 00:46:33,920
Speaker 1: you also don't want to be seen as overly emotional,

718
00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:37,919
Speaker 1: so you have to either consciously or unconsciously ignore your

719
00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:41,920
Speaker 1: PMS symptoms as well. I know that probably paints a

720
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:44,520
Speaker 1: very bleak picture, but I think that information is so

721
00:46:44,640 --> 00:46:47,000
Speaker 1: valuable to know it because you can just say to yourself,

722
00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:51,359
Speaker 1: this is not me, Like, it's not just me. It's

723
00:46:51,400 --> 00:46:53,560
Speaker 1: not because I'm too sensitive or weak or because they

724
00:46:53,719 --> 00:46:57,520
Speaker 1: lack of discipline. It's because of this so called double whammy,

725
00:46:57,560 --> 00:47:02,359
Speaker 1: this hormonal influence on my mental state and my capacity

726
00:47:02,640 --> 00:47:06,080
Speaker 1: to pay attention, to focus, to control my impulses. So

727
00:47:06,120 --> 00:47:10,320
Speaker 1: I would really recommend reading this article. It's called Attention

728
00:47:10,440 --> 00:47:14,480
Speaker 1: deficit slash hyperactivity disorder and the menstrual cycle Theory and

729
00:47:14,560 --> 00:47:18,920
Speaker 1: Evidence from the Journal of Hormones and Behavior it's actually

730
00:47:19,000 --> 00:47:21,400
Speaker 1: also free access as well. And if you're a psychology

731
00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:24,440
Speaker 1: student or someone who accesses a lot of academic papers,

732
00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:27,919
Speaker 1: you'll know that when something's free, when you haven't an

733
00:47:28,200 --> 00:47:31,279
Speaker 1: open access paper, it's like a dream come true. So

734
00:47:31,719 --> 00:47:33,600
Speaker 1: there's no excuses. Go give it a read. I think

735
00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:38,560
Speaker 1: it will be quite validating, quite eliminating as well. Okay,

736
00:47:38,800 --> 00:47:41,800
Speaker 1: the second question we got was how do I navigate

737
00:47:41,880 --> 00:47:46,040
Speaker 1: early dating during PMS. Now this is tough because we

738
00:47:46,080 --> 00:47:54,600
Speaker 1: talked about how PMS sometimes promotes, encourages, creates a lot

739
00:47:54,640 --> 00:47:58,719
Speaker 1: of interpersonal tension just because we are coming to the

740
00:47:58,760 --> 00:48:03,320
Speaker 1: table feeling a little bit different in ourselves, perhaps less patient,

741
00:48:03,360 --> 00:48:07,160
Speaker 1: perhaps more sensitive. And so when you first started dating someone,

742
00:48:07,440 --> 00:48:10,640
Speaker 1: sometimes you don't always want to present that version of

743
00:48:10,719 --> 00:48:13,080
Speaker 1: yourself that maybe you feel a little bit ashamed of.

744
00:48:13,160 --> 00:48:15,800
Speaker 1: You have no reason to, but maybe you're like, oh,

745
00:48:16,640 --> 00:48:20,200
Speaker 1: you know dating is anxiety inducing enough, then put in

746
00:48:20,400 --> 00:48:22,840
Speaker 1: my PMS or my PMDD symptoms and like it's just

747
00:48:23,320 --> 00:48:28,120
Speaker 1: a freaking hurricane of a reactivity and not knowing what's

748
00:48:28,120 --> 00:48:31,440
Speaker 1: going to happen. So I think you have two options

749
00:48:31,440 --> 00:48:32,880
Speaker 1: based on how you want to go about it. The

750
00:48:32,920 --> 00:48:37,040
Speaker 1: first path is slow and cautious. The second is all in.

751
00:48:37,320 --> 00:48:40,400
Speaker 1: So with the first path, we are going to consciously

752
00:48:40,880 --> 00:48:43,279
Speaker 1: take back time for ourselves during our period and not

753
00:48:43,719 --> 00:48:48,359
Speaker 1: communicate why that is with someone else. So if they're

754
00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:51,279
Speaker 1: not your partner, if it's early dating, you might not

755
00:48:51,440 --> 00:48:54,200
Speaker 1: want to let them in. You might not want them

756
00:48:54,280 --> 00:48:58,279
Speaker 1: to know what is going on because dating can be stressful.

757
00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:01,280
Speaker 1: PMS can be stressful, actually if you are worried about

758
00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:05,600
Speaker 1: someone's approval or judgment of it. So only engage with

759
00:49:05,680 --> 00:49:09,719
Speaker 1: this person when you feel like it. Try and pull

760
00:49:09,800 --> 00:49:12,400
Speaker 1: back a little bit for that period, just for your

761
00:49:12,440 --> 00:49:16,080
Speaker 1: own self care. But also remember that you can't say

762
00:49:16,239 --> 00:49:19,200
Speaker 1: the wrong thing to the right person. They will understand.

763
00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:24,560
Speaker 1: They will reciprocate or give you know, give you grace

764
00:49:24,600 --> 00:49:27,160
Speaker 1: and be generous and kind if you do tell them,

765
00:49:27,200 --> 00:49:30,120
Speaker 1: And that is option two. Option one you tell them

766
00:49:30,200 --> 00:49:32,400
Speaker 1: later down the line. You spend those first three months,

767
00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:36,799
Speaker 1: you know, managing your PMS on your own as you

768
00:49:36,840 --> 00:49:39,800
Speaker 1: have been accustomed to. Or you can just be upfront.

769
00:49:39,800 --> 00:49:42,160
Speaker 1: You can be straight up and just say, hey, I'm

770
00:49:42,239 --> 00:49:43,719
Speaker 1: gonna be kind of out for the count this week.

771
00:49:43,719 --> 00:49:46,879
Speaker 1: I've got really bad PMS and I don't really want

772
00:49:46,880 --> 00:49:50,279
Speaker 1: to be around people. Is that? Okay? Do you understand

773
00:49:50,719 --> 00:49:53,520
Speaker 1: it's probably a very good litmus test as well as

774
00:49:53,560 --> 00:49:56,440
Speaker 1: to whether someone will make a good partner if they

775
00:49:56,480 --> 00:50:00,600
Speaker 1: can respond positively or appropriately to you telling the about

776
00:50:00,760 --> 00:50:03,480
Speaker 1: this medical condition you have and how it makes your

777
00:50:03,520 --> 00:50:09,440
Speaker 1: life more difficult. Okay? Question number three, why do I

778
00:50:09,520 --> 00:50:13,759
Speaker 1: want to rage at everyone? I mentioned this a couple times,

779
00:50:13,760 --> 00:50:15,920
Speaker 1: but we didn't speak about it in depth, which is

780
00:50:16,480 --> 00:50:21,240
Speaker 1: totally an oversight for me. Because rage, anger, frustration, fury

781
00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:26,759
Speaker 1: is a huge component of PMS. Why is it this case? Well,

782
00:50:26,880 --> 00:50:29,560
Speaker 1: estrogen in particular plays obviously, as we know, a key

783
00:50:29,640 --> 00:50:33,080
Speaker 1: role in supporting serotonin, which is the happy hormone, also

784
00:50:33,120 --> 00:50:38,399
Speaker 1: helps stabilize our mood. So estrogen drops, serotonin drops mood, swing,

785
00:50:38,440 --> 00:50:42,520
Speaker 1: slow patient's irritability all in sew at times as well,

786
00:50:42,680 --> 00:50:46,480
Speaker 1: because progressterone induces a calming effect. When that is lower,

787
00:50:47,440 --> 00:50:51,160
Speaker 1: you know there is less of that anti anxiety counterbalance,

788
00:50:51,520 --> 00:50:54,560
Speaker 1: so it throws your nervous system off balance and increases

789
00:50:54,600 --> 00:50:59,960
Speaker 1: your sensitivity to stress and to frustration into small mistakes.

790
00:51:00,080 --> 00:51:02,399
Speaker 1: It to you blow up in your mind because your

791
00:51:02,400 --> 00:51:05,640
Speaker 1: brain is just dealing with a lot right now. You

792
00:51:05,680 --> 00:51:08,759
Speaker 1: may also find that your window for tolerance is a

793
00:51:08,760 --> 00:51:11,600
Speaker 1: lot smaller, like the little things that you would normally

794
00:51:12,520 --> 00:51:19,080
Speaker 1: look past are so frustrating and so irritating. There is

795
00:51:19,120 --> 00:51:21,719
Speaker 1: some evidences to actually suggest that the amig deala, which

796
00:51:21,760 --> 00:51:25,120
Speaker 1: is the brain's emotional alarm system, is a lot more

797
00:51:25,120 --> 00:51:28,440
Speaker 1: reactive during this time before and just as your beriod

798
00:51:28,480 --> 00:51:32,920
Speaker 1: begins as well. So it's also about interpretation. The same

799
00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:35,600
Speaker 1: things might be happening in your life. People may be

800
00:51:35,640 --> 00:51:40,759
Speaker 1: acting exactly the same, but everything like your interpretation of

801
00:51:40,800 --> 00:51:44,360
Speaker 1: these events and these stimulus and these situations might feel

802
00:51:44,480 --> 00:51:48,200
Speaker 1: increasingly threatening or upsetting. I do think the same tips

803
00:51:48,280 --> 00:51:52,040
Speaker 1: from before apply. Just take care of yourself, take step

804
00:51:52,080 --> 00:51:56,320
Speaker 1: step backs when you need to communicate openly with whoever

805
00:51:56,320 --> 00:51:59,200
Speaker 1: you feel comfortable with that this is what's going on.

806
00:51:59,760 --> 00:52:03,480
Speaker 1: Just give yourself space and time to feel agitated, but

807
00:52:03,520 --> 00:52:07,839
Speaker 1: then soothe or find a way through it through exercise,

808
00:52:07,960 --> 00:52:12,080
Speaker 1: through boxing, through creating art, through talking about it, through

809
00:52:12,080 --> 00:52:18,680
Speaker 1: some kind of movement or processing mode. Final question, does

810
00:52:18,800 --> 00:52:23,399
Speaker 1: PMS get better with hormonal birth control? So? Hormonal birth

811
00:52:23,400 --> 00:52:27,040
Speaker 1: control is actually one of the frontline treatment options for

812
00:52:27,760 --> 00:52:32,560
Speaker 1: PMS because most birth control contains either synthetic estrogen or

813
00:52:32,640 --> 00:52:38,239
Speaker 1: synthetic progress terrone. So when you add in more of

814
00:52:38,280 --> 00:52:41,920
Speaker 1: these hormones than what your body suddenly, suddenly or currently

815
00:52:41,960 --> 00:52:46,040
Speaker 1: has available, it will assist with soothing some of those

816
00:52:46,040 --> 00:52:50,719
Speaker 1: symptoms that have become uncomfortable. It does still have its

817
00:52:50,760 --> 00:52:55,279
Speaker 1: downsides and it does still have issues, as any medication does.

818
00:52:55,320 --> 00:52:59,560
Speaker 1: No medication is perfect. Definitely consult your doctor. My experience,

819
00:52:59,600 --> 00:53:02,040
Speaker 1: I found that it helped a little bit, but everything

820
00:53:02,080 --> 00:53:03,839
Speaker 1: that I was feeling was still there. It just felt

821
00:53:03,840 --> 00:53:05,719
Speaker 1: a little bit muffled, like it felt like I was,

822
00:53:06,719 --> 00:53:08,840
Speaker 1: you know, under the water in a pool and was

823
00:53:08,880 --> 00:53:11,360
Speaker 1: like looking up and there were all the things that

824
00:53:11,400 --> 00:53:14,400
Speaker 1: I wanted to feel, and I wasn't really able to

825
00:53:14,520 --> 00:53:17,640
Speaker 1: because for me, birth control also had some you know,

826
00:53:18,600 --> 00:53:23,000
Speaker 1: emotional blunting effects. But all in all, if that's what

827
00:53:23,040 --> 00:53:24,960
Speaker 1: you're after, it could be very very useful. Just talk

828
00:53:24,960 --> 00:53:28,200
Speaker 1: to your doctor see what they have to say. Okay

829
00:53:28,600 --> 00:53:31,520
Speaker 1: for rapid fire questions, we got them all done. I

830
00:53:31,560 --> 00:53:34,480
Speaker 1: hope you learned something from those. Thank you to the

831
00:53:34,520 --> 00:53:39,600
Speaker 1: brilliant listeners who contributed. I really appreciate getting to know

832
00:53:39,680 --> 00:53:42,200
Speaker 1: and understand what you guys want to hear. What is

833
00:53:42,320 --> 00:53:45,040
Speaker 1: pertinent to your life right now, So keep them coming.

834
00:53:45,080 --> 00:53:48,120
Speaker 1: Make sure you're following me over there at that Psychology podcast.

835
00:53:48,400 --> 00:53:50,240
Speaker 1: There's going to be so much on the new book,

836
00:53:50,360 --> 00:53:53,720
Speaker 1: so much on new episodes, asking you to vote, asking

837
00:53:53,719 --> 00:53:57,160
Speaker 1: you to contribute, so please don't miss it. I would

838
00:53:57,160 --> 00:53:59,480
Speaker 1: love to see you over there, and until next time,

839
00:53:59,560 --> 00:54:02,759
Speaker 1: stay safe, be kind, be gentle with yourself, especially if

840
00:54:02,800 --> 00:54:06,680
Speaker 1: you're having a rough time with some pmspmd D symptoms.

841
00:54:07,280 --> 00:54:09,239
Speaker 1: We will talk very very soon there