Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (or PMDD) is a severe extension of Premenstrual Syndrome (or PMS). Similar to PMS, PMDD can cause severe mood shifts and usually begins 7-10 days before the start of your Winter Season (which begins on the day you begin your bleed).
Sadness or helplessness, anxiety or tension, extreme moodiness, and marked irritability or anger are the behavioural and emotional symptoms that stand out in women who suffer from PMDD. Women who suffer from PMDD will likely have at least one of these signs/ symptoms that stand out the most.
When it comes to Western Medicine, often PMDD is treated with anti-depressants or birth control pills, however if you are looking for ways to treat your PMDD naturally, nutritional supplements, herbal remedies or a simple diet and lifestyle change can drastically alter the signs and symptoms of PMDD and even help reduce them all together.
The pros of taking AntiDepressants to treat PMDD are as follows:
- antidepressants can help slow the reuptake of serotonin to provide an effective treatment,
- They can help alleviate symptoms more quickly than those who take antidepressants for major depression, which means that you may not have to take it on a consistent basis, but only when necessary.
- They can also help the brain regulate emotion and behaviour, which takes away the potential for severe symptoms of PMDD.
The cons of taking antidepressants to treat PMDD are as follows:
- Their ability to help the reuptake of serotonin can also disrupt the body’s natural ability to produce progesterone. This is because in order for the body to produce progesterone, it needs to produce serotonin first.
- Taking antidepressants, even intermittently, can cause nausea that often lasts several days.
- It also reduces our libido, often causing an inability to reach orgasms or remove the desire for sex all together. This is not ideal because the feminine body relies on its ability to orgasm in order to remain in balance or even help heal the body naturally.
Birth Control should never be the answer to treat any ailment, disorder or discomfort because it completely replaces our natural cycle with a synthetic cycle and therefore disconnects us from our body’s natural rhythm completely. This causes more harm than good in any situation.
Understanding what our body needs to be fully supported and produce our hormones properly is extremely necessary when it comes to keeping our feminine body healthy. Taking a supplement or certain vitamins to help support the natural flow of your cycle and the natural production of hormones is an extremely effective way to heal your body of PMDD symptoms permanently. Begin taking supplements such as b-complex vitamins, calcium, magnesium and fiber to help support natural progesterone production. Progesterone is what prevents estrogen from producing in excessive amounts which keeps the body in balance. If the body is not producing enough progesterone, it will continue to produce excessive amounts of estrogen which causes the hormonal cycle to be disrupted.
Herbal Remedies such as teas and tinctures can also help provide your body with the natural support it needs. Herbal Remedies can help provide the necessary vitamins and minerals the body needs to remain in a hormonal balance. Some examples of herbs to incorporate into your diet during this time are dandelion root, as a diuretic, or ginger, turmeric, and garlic as anti-inflammatories. You can also find herbal remedies that will help support the healthy function of the brain, which can prevent intense emotions and depressive episodes.
Incorporating spiritual practices such as meditation, yoga, energy healing, breathwork and womb healing can help settle the nervous system so that the body does not get stuck in the Sympathetic Nervous System, which is what keeps us in fight or flight mode and prevents the organs from functioning effectively. These spiritual practices can help reduce anxiety and depression and help rebalance the body’s energetic fields, which also allows the body’s nervous system to slow down and remain in the Parasympathetic Nervous System. The Parasympathetic Nervous System is what allows the body to remain in a zen space so that everything can function properly.
Womb healing is a spiritual practice that helps women release the trauma and stagnant energy that is stored in the womb from this lifetime, generational curses, past lifetimes and even relationships. It is a beautiful practice that not only heals your body but also heals your relationship with yourself and r-eestablishes your connection to your feminine.
A change in diet and lifestyle can also drastically change and alter PMDD symptoms. Learning how to live a lifestyle that is in support of your natural cycle can help provide your body with what it needs in order to maintain a hormonal balance. Learning how and what to eat and what movement techniques you can do that helps support every stage of your cycle is honestly the best way to heal your body of ailments, disorders and discomforts or any kind.
If you are unsure what your vitamin levels are at or whether you struggle with PMDD, there are tests you can take that will help give you a clear understanding of where your body is at and how you can give it what it needs to help support it on your journey of rebalance and healing.