Hey everyone, just wanted to share a new video from Elizabeth focusing on some of the practices she uses to manage her PMDD: ruclips.net/video/aftcVjmGvSU/видео.html
listening to this in the middle of my PMDD and feeling só heard, supported and understood. you’re a goddess for sharing this, and your relationship is so sweet and a model for healthy support!
sending you lots of love sisters, I know it's hard. 💕 there's Alissa Viti that has great clues on food and hormonal balance and it has helped me if you feel like checking it out! I've been doing it seriously just the past 2 days and it's night and day.
Does anyone else with PMDD get a day or two each month before your period where it feels like someone slipped you a bunch of sleeping pills? Like, you are almost incapable of getting off the couch all day?
Yes!! I have really bad insomnia but there are always these days - 1 or 2 before period that I am just incapable of being up in vertical position - so so SO sleepy and exhausted..although I have other health conditions causing fatigue, I've noticed that these days are just it - knocked out.
this is me right now. I studied for my chemistry midterm for like a month and did so well in the class so far. but miss pmdd hit on my test day and i had so much brain fog… i just felt so off. i didn’t do as well and now i have my period and crying about it //: never knew i had pmdd till now
@monalabrim5242 I'm just now finding out just yesterday I have pmdd. I'm just overwhelmed. All of what pmdd has described me to a T. It truly is sad what we all go through 😢
So once the period starts the symptoms stop? I'm watching this as I'm trying to understand what goes on with my girlfriend during her period. Its during her period that she is extremely short tempered, wants to sleep huge amounts, gets angry at over nothing, she will snap over nothing at all.
Ivan, I'm the same. I don't think it's related to bleeding specifically like, it's about hormones, so if her periods are out of whack she might get angry during the ovulation or during period itself, not necessarily just before bleeding. I think it follows the hormonal peaks and for me it used to be during ovulation, later it was before period so classical pmdd, and right now it's before and during bleeding. And yes, my periods are rather irregular. They can follow a pattern for couple of months and then completely shift or maybe I'd even skip a month.
the body dysmorphia and "vibrating" feeling OMG. the vibrating feeling specifically is so spot on and I feel like no doctors acknowledge it in this context. everything women feel is always just "anxiety" in their eyes
When she said buzzing and vibrating I couldn't believe it... I keep trying to describe this feeling to my boyfriend as electricity going through my body... so weird
I struggle with PMDD too. It IS incapacitating. It feels terrifying and overwhelming, and the worst part is feeling like it will never end. What has helped me the most is consistently tracking my symptoms so I can keep realizing and reassuring myself that like “oh ok it does have an end; I can see it on paper.” Sending extra love and compassion to everyone that is going through this as well. We are STRONG, RESILIENT, AND I AM SO PROUD OF US!!
Glad you are finding ways to cope… I’m new to this whole situation, no official diagnosis yet but I’m pretty confident I have it. Do you have any specific tactics you’ve used to track? I’m overwhelmed trying to find a journal/process for this because I don’t want to half 🍑 it 😂
I don’t think I have ever cried during a RUclips video before but she nailed it. It’s sad to know anyone else has to feel like this cause I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. The shock of hearing someone else explain my life like this may never wear off after this. Life changing for me. Thank you.
It does feel incredibly ignored. It tends to be held as if the woman going through it is responsible for her struggles, but we now know it’s the hormonal fluctuations not a matter of personal strength. (By the way, there are equivalent make hormonal issues that also need to be studied and addressed!) We don’t have explanations for why this is happening to women other than it’s thrown under the blanket statement , ‘oh, it’s just hormones’. It’s like there is ZERO acknowledgment that this is a serious issue that needs extensive study and understanding of why women suffer, and that we need medical intervention to avoid this suffering. Even pre-menopause symptoms aren’t discussed or understood. We know so much about other medical issues! Why do we still not have clarity on how to fix pmdd?!
I am going through it right now, the week leading up to moon time. Angry mood swings, feeling confused, feeling floaty, overwhelmed and just wanting to retreat from the world. Last month I felt doom and gloom, I hope I don't this month again!
I feel like I turn into a sick, physically sick, sore child. An actual child. Its the best way to explain it... I feel so vulnerable, I struggle to speak clearly, I struggle total care of myself, to work, to do all the things I normally do and on top of that there is SOOO much stigma. It's so incredibly difficult to maintain functional work and social relationships because we are taught from such a young age not to talk about our periods and it is absolutely down played. I can't do hormonal birth control - it makes it worse. Can't have sex as I feel like it makes it worse. Haven't tried ssris but was put on bipolar medication (misdiagnosis) as a result of seeking mental health help for it so I am super super anxious about going through that ordeal again... I honestly feel like I just need to start a bloody hippy commune and howl at the moon for a week out of the month or something at this point... there is no place in "normal" society that seems to accommodate those 2 or 3 days out of the month where I literally feel like I can't even string a sentence together or get out of bed due to hormones/sensitivity. It is debilitating. I would take my bloody ovaries out at this point if it helped. I feel like I spend the good weeks in damage control fixing all the mess I make during that part of my cycle. Literally, jobs, keys, phones (I drop and lose everything), budgets, cars (I smashed one of those)... It is a nightmare. Oh... and im serious about the hippy commune thing but again... need to maintain all the things it takes away in order to actually be able to set up a lifestyle that accommodates it.
I love how vulnerable Elizabeth is in talking about this- you can just see on her face & hear in her voice how much she suffers, how badly she feels about herself for unleashing on ppl in her life ,just how all consuming the self flagellation & self doubt episodes are, of the intension of her shame that always follow the inevitable blow up/ venting/ release of rage, negativity, & stress.
Not knowing PMDD was a thing made me think I was so awful weak and terrible that I couldn't deal with PMS like other could. It's just shocking to see someone who is literally talking about my experience but it's her own. It make me so emotional.
Oh my goodness my jaw gets super tight, joint pain, mood swings, irritability, impatience, can sleep at all, can rest, intrusive thoughts, sweaty hands , hot flashes, shivers, depression, feeling like i rather die i get really mean to people and myself, weakness, muscle pain, terrible memory and focus, oh gosh I could make a list
After watching and listening to a lot of podcasts and RUclips videos about mental health I've come to the realization that people with childhood trauma tend to have a lot of mental break break down and problems, CPTSD , beinh highly sensitive , ADHD, anxiety, depression, dissociation, isolation brain fog , memory issues...for woman even worse with the PMDD and to be honest it is so overwhelming cuz on the top I still have to function like a normal human being and study, go to work, socialize because we are human being even if I can't connect with others or form a normal relationship cuz I've never experienced one... so sad and energy consuming I don't get to live all I do is trying to heal from all this 😪 😞.
I showed this to my boyfriend today, I cried when you explained it as you explained every detail of how I feel and it made me feel like I’m not alone as when people don’t understand it makes you feel so isolated. Thank you so much 🙏🙏🙏 You are an Amazing couple with a beautiful bond ❤
I was just diagnosed with autism and PMDD, apparently it is VERY common with neurodivergent women... I was misdiagnosed as bipolar when I was younger. I am so happy that more awareness is out there, it's so important
this makes so much sense to me now LMAOO my first concern was going through a neurodivergent diagnosis (still not working out) then i also realised my pms was getting so much worse and now its hit rock bottom and i relate too much to pmdd. currently going through it right now
Wow this helped me understand a lot! My girlfriend has PMDD and this podcast video really put everything into perspective for me to be able to help and understand everything she has to go through and what I can do to help with when it's happening! Thanks guys!
God bless you! You don't even know how much it helps being understood and validated by your partner when you have it. Simply understanding it makes a huuuuge difference. It suddenly is easier to go through it.
Thank You for giving women a platform to discuss these things. Pmdd is a hidden diagnosis that isn’t talked about enough. Women get so much shit for PMS, and when you tell people your PMS is on steroids basically, they tend to not care or have no compassion thinking you’re making excuses. Opening up about my PMDD to my friends and family has been super challenging.
Thank you for taking the time to do this podcast interview about pmdd. It’s a difficult condition to live with, and as you said not viewed or taken as serious as it should by the medical community. Everything you said was spot on. Working with a naturopathic doctor for the last couple years two things I have found very helpful is 1) oral progesterone starting day 14 of my cycle and taking it nightly until I start my period. Sublingual liquid drops has been the best for me. Some take it every night daily. This helps with the suicidal ideation, and insomnia. And just over all keeping you more in balance. It does not cure the condition for me, but way more manageable. But it may cure for some. 2) maca root. Brand I use is femenessence. I hope this helps someone else suffering. When I start my period I’m grateful for every good day I have. And live life to the fullest. And I do feel this condition gives you so much compassion and understanding for those suffering with depression and other mental health troubles. I wish you all the best.
For years I thought I might either be bipolar or simply just crazy, because around ten days before my period these symptoms would start creeping in and get increasingly worse - when otherwise I am a very positive, energetic and driven person - and then have everything go back to normal a few days into my period. Having a diagnosis really helps with separating your identity from this state and finding ways to cope with it, instead of letting it engulf you. I love that in this video we also get a valuable perspective from the partner of someone with PMDD. Thank you so much for this video! xx
I am going through an episode of PMDD as I am writing this,,, it is absolutely terrifying to think about the relationships we have to ruin, chaotic situation we put ourselves into, not to mention in my case I suffer from this monster for 10 days every month, 10 days where my entire life is put on hold, and having to deal with post damaging control issues the rest of the days. It gets way worst after pregnancy, or if you go through a traumatic loss, Don’t overlook it please I can’t stress this enough, I’ve managed to turn a blind eye to my condition for more than a decade and now the number of the PMDD days is on a raise..
This is the most concise, yet all encompassing, depiction of pmdd on RUclips. Thank you for putting this together, from the bottom of my heart. Elizabeth, you are so on point, you created a template for anyone looking to rebuild their routine to combat our period monster. Best of luck to you and I hope you are considering making more videos about pmdd!
Crying good tears because I feel so seen and understood listening to this. I have had PMDD for so many years. I have too many things in common with you to list. Your therapists advice gave me goosebumps. I learned so many great tips that I plan to start implementing and I am feeling hopeful which is such a gift. And I also practice magic and can honestly say it works💛💛💛 So happy you shared this.
so so so grateful to have found this! i’ve been trying to cope with PMDD and my spiritual practice around the moon cycles has been a huge part of it and I’ve never heard anyone else speak to that. your description of how it feels like you become another person or a monster comes to visit really resonated with me. Another piece that helps me cope is the knowledge that the dark times that come to me act in contrast to the light and in some ways make me more grateful for joyful moments.
My cycle has lasted three months and I've been hit hard by PMDD for just over a month. My irregular cycle has made PMDD even more challenging. But it's great to know people can understand what PMDD is. I tried to have a mental health day from work after dealing with my PMDD for three weeks, but I wasn't approved because PMDD or PMS isn't a " real mental health condition." The lack of awareness is concerning, so videos like this give hope. Xx
I believe I'm in the midst of my first and this is absolutely awful. Can't deal with this on a monthly basis so I'm going to be looking into starting some supplements.
This is making me cry and just feel so seen and understood. I can’t thank you enough. Seriously please tell her how life changing she is for the rest of us who suffer. I’m 35 and just realized I have this. I’ve been so misunderstood all my life even by me. My heart is breaking as I realize I have this.
Love these conversations between Elizabeth and Forrest - major corrective experience vibes seeing how beautifully they attune to one another with such curiosity and care. Thank you for sharing with us!
I suffer from PMDD and apart from building a routine my Christian lifestyle makes so much difference. Praying has been helping me a lot and relying on God’s love and promises by reading the Bible and or listen to sermons on RUclips. Wishing well to all women who are in the same situation as me. We are strong and we will always get through this and always coming back stronger . 🤍 My God bless you all.
Thank you so much for this. Been crying and fed up 3 days and feels like everything is wrong and scary and awful. Overeat crap, can't sleep. Nausea. Then the first day of my period, every time, I am the happiest ever. I apologise for all the fights I've had, I can see the light. It's like you've been in an awful evil fog you cannot see over the top of. And then it lifts. And you know it's coming every month and no matter how much I track it and write things in calendar, it still takes me over! I wreck my life up. I smoke and that makes it worse I think. Trying to stop. Avoid drinking. Did yoga this morning cried all the way through it. Exercise definitely best thing you can do. And try not to communicate with people as it always ends up being oversensitive. You see only the negative in everything. It's like a week of negative bias.
this has really made me feel so seen. I've felt crazy and psychotic for how I've felt. I've thought that I had bipolar disorder, but I knew that my non depressive episodes were really just me feeling normal and not "manic." Right now I'm struggling with general depression outside of my PMDD episodes and it's been confusing and daunting. Thanks for making this episode.
My PMDD got worse over time, but I never knew what it was. It took me about 30 years to finally self-diagnose and find a doctor to listen. By that time I was peri-menopausal. At least I’ve had a few years on an SSRI that has helped tremendously! I’m happy that it is becoming better known for the poor young women who suffer with it. I often wish I could go back in time and explain to my ex-boyfriends that all the confusion they dealt with has a name! Haha. Thanks for being so open so other women can figure it out.
This is beautiful, thank you so much for sharing what works for you. I didn’t know I have PMDD and it’s been affecting my relationships each month and It’s such a relief to hear I’m not alone and to learn about ways to cope with pmdd spiritually and physically without going on meds. Thank you guys for being so open.
This was SO helpful! Definitely needs to have more views! I'm dealing with this and it is hard, especially with relationships with loved ones. No matter how much family says they understand, they don't. This can be quite an isolating journey, but having someone like this amazing woman talk about it, helps validate this experience and is a great reminder of self-care. Some months I'm good about it, but other months I'm not. I'd like to be more consistent about doing that which honors my journey in a responsible and constructive way. I'm trying. Edit: Thank you for the timestamps btw! This is so helpful. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I can relate so much! It’s like I am listening to myself. I suffer from PMDD. It seems nobody understands it. When she said “PMDD is incapacitating”, it’s exactly right. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you so much for doing this episode!! I'm 37 and have been dealing with PMDD since I started my period around 11 or 12 years old. It took me a very long time to realize that what I was going through had anything to do with my period and even longer to start seeing info out there about a condition called PMDD. No one in my life understood it (not even me at first!) and it definitely hurt or destroyed important relationships in my life. I'm honestly still scared to get into a romantic relationship because of it. It's a very misunderstood and isolating disorder to have so it makes me so happy to find understanding and compassion from this podcast!! I had similar issues with medications. Before fully understanding it, I tried to tell the doctors I only wanted to take the medication part of the time because I was only unwell part of the time. They weren't having this so I ended up just giving up and not going back to doctors for a long time. I tried again more recently, but although it's gotten better, it's still not where it needs to be at least with my local medical community. I have found some great resources online though... In particular, I want to recommend Lara Briden's Period Repair Manual. Also, Forrest, your father's book Buddha's Brain indirectly and unexpectedly helped me years ago with PMDD years ago. Please thank him and thanks again for this podcast!!
This podcast changed my perspective of my pmdd like nothing else has. The fear of rejection , hearing tone, the buzzing, vibrating etc so well articulated! Never heard anyone describe it so well. I’ve been able ti send this to family to help understand my symptoms. Thank you for this! Your amazing!
The buzzing and vibrating, good description, I could not describe how it felt, I would say I start feeling shaky, like my nerves, from the inside, almost like when ur so angry and you feel shaky
Not having control over my emotions, wanting to spare people of my antics during hell weeks, relying on exercise and mindfulness to lessen symptoms, needing space, even your witchy activities. I feel incredibly heard. Incredibly. Like are we the same person. Thank you.
I am so blown away by this because I was very much like, "I'll just suffer. It's only a weekish every month" and I felt like I was able to get through it monthly but once I started to, finally, go out and meet people I noticed I was not near as stable as I thought I was. I am now trying to find natural ways to keep a handle on this. I, also, found myself trying to keep another part of my mind focused on what's going on but sometimes that anger still takes over. To know that someone else does this is very hopeful. Even the spiritual part really resonates with me. Thank you so much. This is incredible.
Came across this video right when I got down with my period cuz I was told I'm crazy and I felt so odd of not being able to cope with my emotions like other normal women and I thought that it's because I'm an empath I feel these overwhelming emotions. I'm a very ambitious woman with dreams bigger than life and believe in spirituality and have been trying to cope with deeper meditation, practising healings and charging myself with serious meditation during moon cycles is what I had recently discovered a couple of months back that such a coincidence in Elizabeth explaining the witchy part being activated to which I relate a 100% but didn't know that PMDD is a thing. I feel much lighter and hopefully motivated to get through this knowing that I'm not alone. Thank you so much for spreading such awareness cuz only people who experience it know the intensity of the situations and how it jeopardizes relationships with your loved ones and more importantly losing the best version of yourself. It's like shaming yourself and being caught up in a guilt cussing myself further, making it even worse. Hitting my rock bottom moments every odd month where I got more and more self aware of my intuition and introspection. So, ended up looking up on the internet that why my PMS gets out of control and since last night letting out the monster in me, literally turning into a raging werewolf. Unaware of this condition my partner triggered me and made the criticisms and fear of rejection in my head even louder to a point of feeling hopeless and told that I'm crazy and tired of this psychic dance. I hope someday when the waters are calmer with my partner I'll be comfortable with sharing this thing for better receptivity from his end and acknowledgement. Hopefully with perseverance and being consistent with my meditation, practising healings, moon cycle charging and manifestations I'll be able to articulate it better to my loved one. Thank you for the support and letting me know that I can find the power of being the high priestess within me.
I hundred percent know that I have PMDD and I learned about this yesterday!!! my boyfriend has been mentioning to me how once a month I just become extremely aggressive. I don’t nowhere towards him and the more that he brings it up the more consciously aware of it. This weekend was my breaking point. I started my period yesterday but the days leading up to my period were like a movie reaching its climax! I do struggle with anger and in the past, I had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, but when I’m not going to start my period I’m actually able to manage my symptoms pretty well and I consistently see a therapist. Yesterday was the first time in a very long time I had suicidal thoughts. I even had suicidal memories come up when I was a child. I tried to hurt myself I Journal I’m terrified to look back at what I wrote just like Elizabeth mentioned. It is a different person that takes over. I get extremely tired on top of working seven days a week, the more that I push myself, when I’m not on my period the more that I feel when I start my period! my boyfriend is a lot older than me. He has a very old generational mindset when it comes to women and our health. But he wants to learn just as much as I do and I think the most scariest part is that none of these doctors OB/GYN, etc., were trained with the knowledge equipped to help again women have to taking their own health in their own hands without any guidance except for RUclips channels and books, it’s exhausting It was interesting because last night my boyfriend came over because I broke up with him during this episode of PMDD ! To talk to me about what is wrong and he asked me if I’ve always experienced this and honestly know when I first got my period in 2010. I was nine years old and I had regular PMS symptoms. The order I became I am now 23 the more severe PMS and now I feel as if it developed into PMDD and I’m going to tell my therapist about this ASAP, but I really don’t wanna be in birth control because that increases my depression and anxiety.
It's so overwhelmingingly refreshing to hear this, I'm listening as I struggle to do housework as I have hit luteal phase but in that manic phase where you cannot stick to one task or one thing. Im sorry to anyone having to go through this , this podcast has helped put into words what this condition is and what it's like to have this condition that is so overlooked by even medical doctors let alone explaining it to friends, your boss, colleagues and family. Keep strong, talk to people you trust and don't feel ashamed, just because you can't see it doesn't mean your not suffering immensely. This is the hardest thing I have been hit with in life but I am going to continue to fight this and try the things that Elizabeth has mentioned. I laughed (not to be insensitive) when you said about when the period comes and you feel amazing and your left there like wtf just happened like I'm back in the room and we are okay !! 🤣🤣 love this and there needs to be so much more awareness. Thankyou for making this podcast!!
So incredibly relatable. Really moved me! My PMDD was triggered by birth control pills (stopped after 3 horrible months). Same with IUDs (3 awful months also) 10 years later, which worsened the PMDD. Even though i quit anything messing with my natural hormones (including chemicals in cosmetics and such), PMDD has been my nightmare for 20 years now. Before taking any birth control, i had absolutely no pms at all. I used to have no pain, nothing! The cause might be different for everyone but my advice : be careful with chemicals and hormones pushed on you by boyfriend or doctors. Your body knows better. Thank you so much for this video 💖. It Gives hope
I relate to this so much. My periods used to be stress free with no mood changes or pms symptoms. After I got an IUD i started experiencing so many new symptoms I had to get it removed. It’s been six months without it and I’m still going through hell every month. I regret the IUD so much. I know that everyone has their own experience, but this was mine.
Many birth control pills contain synthetic progesterone which is proved to be a trigger to PMDD and it also makes episodes worse. So it is very understandable why you experienced something like that
Im not on any birth control but 4 months ago i had to take a plan b pill and i slipped into a deep depression through my cycles. It moved it much earlier than what it was before i took it and my moods have worsened, i realized my depression gets worse after i menstruate which is so bad
This! 🤌 I am SICK to the back teeth of doctors trying to push antidepressants and birth control for PMDD it made me waaaay worse! I've also got fibromyalgia so the pain can get pretty bad sometimes during the PMDD cycle and any time I speak to the doctors about it they just try to push antidepressants and birth control even when I say I don't want anything that fucks with my hormones. So much so I've stopped ringing to discuss this issue I just deal and I shouldn't have to....none of us should deal with this...
It feels like a slow walk through quick sand and there is no common relation to anything externally. It feels like a preparation for death; such as an animal hides away with an intuitive awareness that it is now largely insignificant to the material world.
Its so tough to feel like I am spending all my energy throughout the month rebuilding what I broke down during my pmdd episodes. This was so validating, thank you.
You have provided a lot of knowledge and information surrounding this particular demon. I do have several comorbidities as Major Depression Disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, ADHD and PMDD. But your insight to PMDD coping mechanisms changed my perspective and very helpful because I did not track it. Because I completely gave the control to yaz without putting my own efforts and I didn’t take a break in my medication and hence I was bleeding 30 days a month. In order to flush out my gynecologist suggested to stop until the bleeding clears out which took 5-6 days and o restarted the pill and I felt incredible and indestructible for one day and the next day I crashed so quickly that I blamed my parents for my younger days and I rejected my brother and told him I can’t be in this strained relationship of ours and I would like to break it. Cried whole night and morning I spoke last words to my brother who lives thousands of miles away. For the first time in my life I was so grateful that he made me do exercises along with him by explaining how my skin feel against the floor. He ran through 5 different things I can see and sense around me. 5 different feel that I’m experiencing physically on my skin. He did it along with me, he also asked me to get out of the bed and where he was in his house asked me to stand in that same place in my house and do stretches and mostly inhale and exhale heavily so he can hear in the phone. This entire routine took 1 hour to 1.5 hours while I still sobbed and kept talking about death. At the end of 1.5 hours of following his instruction I was emotionally stable and I was out of suicidal ideation. The enormity of what he did to me came to me with full clarity after 24 hours and I thanked him for saving my life.
When you said "that my body is so wise that I have to look at it" - cried my eyes out. I do love my body for being this annoying. It does mean it's in some way working and teaches me lessons all the time. I have to respect nature. The cycles just like the moon. I'm not in control. I have to face up to things each month and figure it all out. Then start again. And I do believe in God and that it all happens for a reason.
"the time you can not escape all the things you have been suppressing throughout the month" So accurate and once you realise, it really does help shift how you experience it! I wish there was more education and support out there for women's health. Thank you for your contribution🙏 I had a similar realisation a few months ago (better late than never!) after some particularly bad episodes of scary complete emotional breakdown at 'that' time.. I realised that while I needed to get a better control over my emotions while my hormones shift everything out of balance, feeling guilty for not having control was not helpful. Compassion and curiosity are our friends here!! I found the feelings that were now screaming to be heard were not irrational at all. They were ignored feelings that were pushed down throughout the month.. 'Inconvenient' or 'inappropriately timed' feelings hushed down and not explored.. Of course I felt angry, upset, frustrated, unheard, unseen! In fact by not allowing those valid feelings to surface as and when they initially arose, I had greatly magnified their ferocity so that at that time I am less able to rationalise and feel in control, they come out in shocking extreme outbursts and it really does seem like the end of the world. I finally realised how important it was to feel and allow my feelings throughout the month, and how much easier it would be to manage them while they were smaller and more flexible, than leaving them to build up and brew until that time where my emotional regulating goes out the window and I have no rational check and everything blows up out of proportion.. Only to put myself down for being unable to cope with my emotions and repeat the cycle again. Yikes! I'm so glad I am finally learning this stuff, tracking my cycle, being aware and prepared helps so much to defuse and avoid complete breakdown. It is slow and hard work but I finally feel a sense of understanding myself and my cycle. If I journal and talk out my feeling, being self supportive, curious and kind rather than critical. I have a long way to go but starting to feel more in control which is something I often feared wasn't possible. I honestly don't know how I'd cope if it wasn't for the learning I've been able to do on the internet! My main struggle is I am so overstimulated by the presence of others. I feel so needy and weak yet also irritable and firey.. I wish I had a separate space I could retreat to for that week- or even the worst few days! I find it massively impacts my relationship. I feel so misunderstood and unloved, he feels like nothing he does is good enough. This time round was the best its ever been, I barely noticed any mental symptoms other than slight irritability that was caught early, acknowledged and apologised for. I feel self regulated and calm.. It gives me hope if I keep up the journaling and self work it really does get better.
Thank you for this. I found myself so related and reflected in her experiences. Everything resonated. I have PMDD, but I only recently finally had a diagnosis after 15 years of trying to make docs listen. It's so dismissed, misdiagnosed, and brushed off. We as women deserve better.
Thank you for speaking on this. I’ve had really hard time with my PMDD and all the triggers happening in the news and with my job right now. I am crying on an almost daily basis and it’s exhausting. It’s so relieving to relate to someone who understands. PMDD can feel so isolating so to hear someone explain my experience just lifts a giant weight off my shoulders. 💜
I just got diagnosed today with PMDD and trying to find some answers and understanding on RUclips I found this video. I will be forever grateful for this video. Elizabeth’s symptoms and feelings during PMDD are exactly like mine. I don’t feel alone and the fact your partner is so open and empathetic about it gives me hope for my marriage. Thank you so much for showing me a little light inside my darkness. Thank you so much 🫶🏻
Omg this made me cry I couldn’t explain every little thing I was feeling until she explained herself this is exactly what been happening to me and getting worst..
I would be in tears if I hadn't cried them all already today while at church and out to eat with my boyfriend during a bad pmdd day where everything seems to come crashing in. I mean.. I am more grateful than words can express that y'all made this video. I have tried so many times in my life to try to explain to my loved ones how I feel and could never find the words.. but you had them ALL!!❤❤😭 I will literally just reference this video from now on whenever anyone asks me what it's like. And I'm SO appreciative of hearing the partner's role in both being supportive and learning coping skills as well bc I am not unaware of how miserable and mean I can be to be around. And I feel so validated in how many times I've told doctors and friends.. I'm not depressed. I'm not bipolar. This IS my hormones I just know it! And I dont want to take a daily antidepressant for every day of my life when this issue is not present everyday of my life and I very much like who I am when I'm not in a bad state and take an every day pill will change that. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to both of you for this video.
I’m with you! I never taken any type of medication. I want to do this naturally. I just learned about PMDD yesterday because I noticed that my “OCD & anxiety “ gets really bad 7-10 days before my period. Now that I think of it, all this ocd and anxiety was PMDD after all. Oh my god.
It is a chemical imbalance and a genuine medical condition. Would you avoid medication for diabetes or heart disease?...nothing wrong with getting proper treatment for pmdd
This is so accurate, thank you for sharing! It's literally debilitating and not the same as PMS. This is Exactly what I go through every month... it's like a monster has taken over my soul.. an angry, depressed, overwhelmed, irritable monster that I don't recognize.
I just found this video and I am so thankful, I just came out from that 7-10 days awfulness and everything she said is so on point, thats what I am feeling... Thank you...
Thank you for this! I’ve had PMDD and I’ve hit perimenopause and the dragon has gone on steroids bc of the hormonal fluctuations. It helps hearing others talk about this. Just want to give a heads up to the older ladies hitting “the change”.
Omggg!!!! As she's describing this and I'm going it as we speak....this is so trueeeee......smh It is imperative that I continue to track my menstrual...I have nobody in the physical but i do have God in the spiritual and he knows me better than i know myself....and prayer, exercise, and nature are a must even when im feeling compelled not to....I needed this video thx
You open up pmdd in a way I have never heard. Much gratitude for that. One of the consequences I experience is a break down in communication, the isolation. Elizabeth's articulation of her experience brings it back from the taboo doors of hell. Feeling unheard compounds an already super difficult and dangerous situation. You both provided the opposite. Touching on suppression, really hit a nail, an links to early life trauma and how to best support myself and find within the cycle were key strands for myself. Many thanks!
I was recently diagnosed, in my last cycle. It had come up about 2.5 yrs ago but then I was on synthetic hormones after that and came off of them last September. Literally feeling like I am losing my god damn mind here. It was eye opening and very emotional to hear your experience and the exact thing I had experienced come out of your mouth. I have sent it to several of my people in my circle for a better understanding of what I’m going through. Thank you for creating this and sharing with the world.
Wow awesome that you are working through this together. I had a issue that was hard on my ex-husband and he certainly did not make a effort. Bravo courageous people. Your show is incredibly helpful you make it to easy to listen, and to feel cared about.
Only watched the first 15min and can SO MUCH relate AND confirm all the symptoms! I have been experiencing this for over a decade... trying all sorts of approaches, supplements and therapies - even connecting it back to my childhood trauma.. I am more than happy to connect with women experiencing the same 🙌 💗🙏
Thavk you so much for your honesty on this. I’ve lived with PMDD for 20 years -a learning of self-compassion, self-awareness, self-care, radical acceptance that it is a condition that has no one magic pill plus mindful practices seem to make it way more manageable - and the love and patience of our partners. Also my new found healing companion IFS is helping immensely on the darkest days as parts that I have potentially ignored for years are now seeing the light of day. Much love to you both and Forrest I’m in the UK and have only recently found your podcast - honestly, the conversations and people you have on are directly helping me to heal as I do the work on the complex ptsd I have too so thank you from my heart 🙏😊
Didn’t develop pmdd until mid thirties. After having children it’s been difficult because everything is attributed to just being a mother 😒 😢 it’s been getting worse and worse and so frustrating! Thank goodness my husband is supportive! He’s starting to understand more and more as we go through each month.
Just coming out of my own horrible PMDD episode, wondering if it's possible to have relationships and succeed at everything I want for myself. This gave me so much hope. Thank you
Thank you for the subject. I am in the middle of pmdd. I am ex addict (extreme addict,cocain and morphine), I am over 2 years sober and the intensity of pmdd in my case is pure terror. I am having hardest time during pmdd
You've both validated so many things, this is genuinely life changing thank you so much! I'm in the throes of a pmdd episode right now, but hearing someone who has so much experience with it helps so much. I feel heard and seen. I actually feel hope!
I always thought that what I was going through was just a normal PMS situation, especially since the extreme mood swings are always dismissed as “oh she’s just PMS-ing”. But the little seed of doubt in me led me to this video. Thank you for spreading awareness!
Thank you so much for sharing this! Having such a supportive, patient partner while dealing with this is SO important. I was recently diagnosed with PMDD, but unfortunately mine doesn’t just come on abruptly once a month and shut off when my period starts. It comes on slowly a week before my period, lasts through the period, and then takes me a week to get “back to normal”… so I feel like I only have one good week out of a month. I also have depression and anxiety though… I’ve been working with all my doctors, going to therapy, and practicing habits to help get me through but it’s just so discouraging to feel like this all the time… I don’t know what to do:(
Same... with the other conditions on top it seems like I am lucky to get one good day a month sometimes. Sending love. I hope we figure something out ❤
My husband and I both started crying watching this. I just had my hysterectomy (kept the ovaries to avoid early menopause) and I'm finally finding my normal. This helped me so much. Thank you
I never comment on things, but thank you so much for being so vulnerable. Women are experiencing this and have no idea what it is. Thank you for your awareness and commitment to helping other women.
I'm 53 and still slaying that dragon! Really enjoyed you sharing your experience, I love the empowerment you allow yourself to receive from PMDD and your self compassion ❤
First time ever I acknowledge that what I have been suffering from what I have been trying to explain to everyone that was in my life and still in my life !!! It’s hard for them to understand and hard for me to understand today for the first time I see that it exists. This is so amazing to me. I finally know what’s wrong with me. Thank you guys
Going through a bad pmdd month at the moment and seasonal depression is a nightmare! Pmdd makes me really disconnect from my life, children and husband it’s awful! But looking for ways to not go back on antidepressants for it after a huge amount of weight gain on them which actually once off them made my pmdd explode! So refreshing to hear Elizabeth’s take on dealing with it and I’m definitely going to apply some of these tactics to my pmdd episodes and not take on to much in those 10 awful days! You guys are incredible and I definitely need to voice this more with my husband.
I would be thankful to have it for 1 week, I have it for 2 weeks every single month. I am 48 and it ruined my whole life in every single aspect. This lady is happy having such a kind and understanding partner. I am sure his love makes her PMDD symptoms less severe.
Literally saving this link to explain my experience to those closest to me! Thank you. Also, it’s really nice to see you validating and supporting her experience.
I kind of like that not many people know about this and the majority of people watching this video is people who have it, so we all understand each other.
Thank you for bringing this up! I've suffered pmdd for several years, but not knowing what it was and now I'm trying to find a treatment that works for me. It's a illness that definitely needs more attention!
Thank you for putting these emotions and symptoms into words that are easy to fathom. Made me cry knowing I’m not so alone, especially because I’m at the peak of this illness currently.
This is everything i am feeling and going through. I feel like i am not myself and often feel like , everything around me annoys me and im rude and just over doing everything i am not. Thank you for this podcast.
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Hey everyone, just wanted to share a new video from Elizabeth focusing on some of the practices she uses to manage her PMDD: ruclips.net/video/aftcVjmGvSU/видео.html
listening to this in the middle of my PMDD and feeling só heard, supported and understood. you’re a goddess for sharing this, and your relationship is so sweet and a model for healthy support!
I second all of this 🌻
I'm in the middle of mine too! this is helping a lot
me too- funny I am on the verge of it making the appearance ...Im knee deep in PMDD today. Warned everyone I am an a jerk today. :)
I can relate
Me too ❤ sending you love Avery
I am crying listening to this because it is exactly what I got through every month. Word for word.
Same friend.
😔 same
Me too😭
Same boat ⛵💚
sending you lots of love sisters, I know it's hard. 💕
there's Alissa Viti that has great clues on food and hormonal balance and it has helped me if you feel like checking it out! I've been doing it seriously just the past 2 days and it's night and day.
Does anyone else with PMDD get a day or two each month before your period where it feels like someone slipped you a bunch of sleeping pills? Like, you are almost incapable of getting off the couch all day?
Yes!! I have really bad insomnia but there are always these days - 1 or 2 before period that I am just incapable of being up in vertical position - so so SO sleepy and exhausted..although I have other health conditions causing fatigue, I've noticed that these days are just it - knocked out.
yes! its crazy. i have brain fog a lot but on those days its BAD
this is me right now. I studied for my chemistry midterm for like a month and did so well in the class so far. but miss pmdd hit on my test day and i had so much brain fog… i just felt so off. i didn’t do as well and now i have my period and crying about it //: never knew i had pmdd till now
@monalabrim5242 I'm just now finding out just yesterday I have pmdd. I'm just overwhelmed. All of what pmdd has described me to a T. It truly is sad what we all go through 😢
yep
I call when my period finally comes after PMDD week “releasing my demons” because I feel so good. It’s like a release of all of that negativity.
This is spot I’ve also caught myself say that
Yes! That’s exactly what it feels like!
So once the period starts the symptoms stop? I'm watching this as I'm trying to understand what goes on with my girlfriend during her period. Its during her period that she is extremely short tempered, wants to sleep huge amounts, gets angry at over nothing, she will snap over nothing at all.
Ivan, I'm the same. I don't think it's related to bleeding specifically like, it's about hormones, so if her periods are out of whack she might get angry during the ovulation or during period itself, not necessarily just before bleeding. I think it follows the hormonal peaks and for me it used to be during ovulation, later it was before period so classical pmdd, and right now it's before and during bleeding. And yes, my periods are rather irregular. They can follow a pattern for couple of months and then completely shift or maybe I'd even skip a month.
@CarmenElRose Hey thanks for the reply. That's interesting. As a man all this is so very alien to me! But I'm trying to understand it all better
the body dysmorphia and "vibrating" feeling OMG. the vibrating feeling specifically is so spot on and I feel like no doctors acknowledge it in this context. everything women feel is always just "anxiety" in their eyes
Yessss the "vibrating" bit made me feel so seen. I'd never heard it named before but have 100% tracked that sensation in my own body.
Weighted blanket is helpful for me
When she said buzzing and vibrating I couldn't believe it... I keep trying to describe this feeling to my boyfriend as electricity going through my body... so weird
I struggle with PMDD too. It IS incapacitating. It feels terrifying and overwhelming, and the worst part is feeling like it will never end. What has helped me the most is consistently tracking my symptoms so I can keep realizing and reassuring myself that like “oh ok it does have an end; I can see it on paper.” Sending extra love and compassion to everyone that is going through this as well. We are STRONG, RESILIENT, AND I AM SO PROUD OF US!!
Glad you are finding ways to cope… I’m new to this whole situation, no official diagnosis yet but I’m pretty confident I have it. Do you have any specific tactics you’ve used to track? I’m overwhelmed trying to find a journal/process for this because I don’t want to half 🍑 it 😂
I don’t think I have ever cried during a RUclips video before but she nailed it. It’s sad to know anyone else has to feel like this cause I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. The shock of hearing someone else explain my life like this may never wear off after this. Life changing for me. Thank you.
I've been looking for new content on pmdd. Sometimes I feel like we are forgotten. Thank you Elizabeth and Forrest. Peace and Blessings
I feel the same and at times feel I need to create the content that I am looking for.
It does feel incredibly ignored. It tends to be held as if the woman going through it is responsible for her struggles, but we now know it’s the hormonal fluctuations not a matter of personal strength. (By the way, there are equivalent make hormonal issues that also need to be studied and addressed!) We don’t have explanations for why this is happening to women other than it’s thrown under the blanket statement , ‘oh, it’s just hormones’. It’s like there is ZERO acknowledgment that this is a serious issue that needs extensive study and understanding of why women suffer, and that we need medical intervention to avoid this suffering. Even pre-menopause symptoms aren’t discussed or understood. We know so much about other medical issues! Why do we still not have clarity on how to fix pmdd?!
This is everything, I am suffering so bad. I think it is menstural psychosis at times. No one around me understands, NO ONE 😢
I do huni,that’s me in a nutshell
*hug* I understand you.
I am going through it right now, the week leading up to moon time. Angry mood swings, feeling confused, feeling floaty, overwhelmed and just wanting to retreat from the world. Last month I felt doom and gloom, I hope I don't this month again!
@@agape843 💔❤️💔❤️💔
@@taramoos897 💖
I feel like I turn into a sick, physically sick, sore child. An actual child. Its the best way to explain it... I feel so vulnerable, I struggle to speak clearly, I struggle total care of myself, to work, to do all the things I normally do and on top of that there is SOOO much stigma. It's so incredibly difficult to maintain functional work and social relationships because we are taught from such a young age not to talk about our periods and it is absolutely down played. I can't do hormonal birth control - it makes it worse. Can't have sex as I feel like it makes it worse. Haven't tried ssris but was put on bipolar medication (misdiagnosis) as a result of seeking mental health help for it so I am super super anxious about going through that ordeal again... I honestly feel like I just need to start a bloody hippy commune and howl at the moon for a week out of the month or something at this point... there is no place in "normal" society that seems to accommodate those 2 or 3 days out of the month where I literally feel like I can't even string a sentence together or get out of bed due to hormones/sensitivity. It is debilitating. I would take my bloody ovaries out at this point if it helped. I feel like I spend the good weeks in damage control fixing all the mess I make during that part of my cycle. Literally, jobs, keys, phones (I drop and lose everything), budgets, cars (I smashed one of those)... It is a nightmare. Oh... and im serious about the hippy commune thing but again... need to maintain all the things it takes away in order to actually be able to set up a lifestyle that accommodates it.
Oh this is the perfect metaphor!
I love how vulnerable Elizabeth is in talking about this- you can just see on her face & hear in her voice how much she suffers, how badly she feels about herself for unleashing on ppl in her life ,just how all consuming the self flagellation & self doubt episodes are, of the intension of her
shame that always follow the inevitable blow up/ venting/ release of rage, negativity, & stress.
I will join that commune!
Not knowing PMDD was a thing made me think I was so awful weak and terrible that I couldn't deal with PMS like other could. It's just shocking to see someone who is literally talking about my experience but it's her own. It make me so emotional.
Me too
same
Me as well.
Oh my goodness my jaw gets super tight, joint pain, mood swings, irritability, impatience, can sleep at all, can rest, intrusive thoughts, sweaty hands , hot flashes, shivers, depression, feeling like i rather die i get really mean to people and myself, weakness, muscle pain, terrible memory and focus, oh gosh I could make a list
After watching and listening to a lot of podcasts and RUclips videos about mental health I've come to the realization that people with childhood trauma tend to have a lot of mental break break down and problems, CPTSD , beinh highly sensitive , ADHD, anxiety, depression, dissociation, isolation brain fog , memory issues...for woman even worse with the PMDD and to be honest it is so overwhelming cuz on the top I still have to function like a normal human being and study, go to work, socialize because we are human being even if I can't connect with others or form a normal relationship cuz I've never experienced one... so sad and energy consuming I don't get to live all I do is trying to heal from all this 😪 😞.
I hear that. Best to just keep away from people I do. It’s just to much to add.
I showed this to my boyfriend today, I cried when you explained it as you explained every detail of how I feel and it made me feel like I’m not alone as when people don’t understand it makes you feel so isolated.
Thank you so much 🙏🙏🙏
You are an Amazing couple with a beautiful bond ❤
I was just diagnosed with autism and PMDD, apparently it is VERY common with neurodivergent women... I was misdiagnosed as bipolar when I was younger. I am so happy that more awareness is out there, it's so important
what the heck is a neurodivergent woman? I shall google it
oh ok yeah sounds like me.
this makes so much sense to me now LMAOO my first concern was going through a neurodivergent diagnosis (still not working out) then i also realised my pms was getting so much worse and now its hit rock bottom and i relate too much to pmdd. currently going through it right now
Same here. Late in life diagnosed autistic woman now with PMDD
I have adhd, am being screened for autism and have pmdd
Checks out I guess xd
I want to cry because I feel like I've had to normalize these symptoms for 15 years now
Great to see a partner that understands and helps, this will help a lot of relationships out there too ❤
Wow this helped me understand a lot!
My girlfriend has PMDD and this podcast video really put everything into perspective for me to be able to help and understand everything she has to go through and what I can do to help with when it's happening!
Thanks guys!
Beautiful of you to care so much. lucky woman ❤
You dropped your crown King 👑
God bless you! You don't even know how much it helps being understood and validated by your partner when you have it. Simply understanding it makes a huuuuge difference. It suddenly is easier to go through it.
Thank You for giving women a platform to discuss these things.
Pmdd is a hidden diagnosis that isn’t talked about enough.
Women get so much shit for PMS, and when you tell people your PMS is on steroids basically, they tend to not care or have no compassion thinking you’re making excuses.
Opening up about my PMDD to my friends and family has been super challenging.
Thank you for taking the time to do this podcast interview about pmdd. It’s a difficult condition to live with, and as you said not viewed or taken as serious as it should by the medical community. Everything you said was spot on.
Working with a naturopathic doctor for the last couple years two things I have found very helpful is
1) oral progesterone starting day 14 of my cycle and taking it nightly until I start my period. Sublingual liquid drops has been the best for me. Some take it every night daily. This helps with the suicidal ideation, and insomnia. And just over all keeping you more in balance. It does not cure the condition for me, but way more manageable. But it may cure for some.
2) maca root. Brand I use is femenessence.
I hope this helps someone else suffering.
When I start my period I’m grateful for every good day I have. And live life to the fullest. And I do feel this condition gives you so much compassion and understanding for those suffering with depression and other mental health troubles.
I wish you all the best.
For years I thought I might either be bipolar or simply just crazy, because around ten days before my period these symptoms would start creeping in and get increasingly worse - when otherwise I am a very positive, energetic and driven person - and then have everything go back to normal a few days into my period. Having a diagnosis really helps with separating your identity from this state and finding ways to cope with it, instead of letting it engulf you. I love that in this video we also get a valuable perspective from the partner of someone with PMDD. Thank you so much for this video! xx
I am going through an episode of PMDD as I am writing this,,, it is absolutely terrifying to think about the relationships we have to ruin, chaotic situation we put ourselves into, not to mention in my case I suffer from this monster for 10 days every month, 10 days where my entire life is put on hold, and having to deal with post damaging control issues the rest of the days. It gets way worst after pregnancy, or if you go through a traumatic loss,
Don’t overlook it please I can’t stress this enough, I’ve managed to turn a blind eye to my condition for more than a decade and now the number of the PMDD days is on a raise..
I can hear the history and emotions of her experiences with PMDD in her voice.
Amazing! I used to say this to my ex-husband every month. He never believed me, now we're divorced. So good to hear similar views, thank you
Maybe you should apologize to him
@@thruend2496 Apologise for what?
@@thruend2496 huh?
This is like listening to myself talk. I could cry. Thank you so much for keeping this visible.
This is the most concise, yet all encompassing, depiction of pmdd on RUclips. Thank you for putting this together, from the bottom of my heart. Elizabeth, you are so on point, you created a template for anyone looking to rebuild their routine to combat our period monster. Best of luck to you and I hope you are considering making more videos about pmdd!
Crying good tears because I feel so seen and understood listening to this. I have had PMDD for so many years. I have too many things in common with you to list. Your therapists advice gave me goosebumps. I learned so many great tips that I plan to start implementing and I am feeling hopeful which is such a gift. And I also practice magic and can honestly say it works💛💛💛 So happy you shared this.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Tears of both joy and despair, such a relief to know the monster has a name....
I can't believe how accurate this experience is to my own. I wish my partner understood, I feel so alone with it.
Me too
Tell them. Show them this video?
so so so grateful to have found this! i’ve been trying to cope with PMDD and my spiritual practice around the moon cycles has been a huge part of it and I’ve never heard anyone else speak to that. your description of how it feels like you become another person or a monster comes to visit really resonated with me. Another piece that helps me cope is the knowledge that the dark times that come to me act in contrast to the light and in some ways make me more grateful for joyful moments.
My cycle has lasted three months and I've been hit hard by PMDD for just over a month. My irregular cycle has made PMDD even more challenging. But it's great to know people can understand what PMDD is.
I tried to have a mental health day from work after dealing with my PMDD for three weeks, but I wasn't approved because PMDD or PMS isn't a " real mental health condition."
The lack of awareness is concerning, so videos like this give hope. Xx
I believe I'm in the midst of my first and this is absolutely awful. Can't deal with this on a monthly basis so I'm going to be looking into starting some supplements.
This is making me cry and just feel so seen and understood. I can’t thank you enough. Seriously please tell her how life changing she is for the rest of us who suffer. I’m 35 and just realized I have this. I’ve been so misunderstood all my life even by me. My heart is breaking as I realize I have this.
Love these conversations between Elizabeth and Forrest - major corrective experience vibes seeing how beautifully they attune to one another with such curiosity and care. Thank you for sharing with us!
I suffer from PMDD and apart from building a routine my Christian lifestyle makes so much difference. Praying has been helping me a lot and relying on God’s love and promises by reading the Bible and or listen to sermons on RUclips.
Wishing well to all women who are in the same situation as me. We are strong and we will always get through this and always coming back stronger . 🤍 My God bless you all.
Thank you so much for this. Been crying and fed up 3 days and feels like everything is wrong and scary and awful. Overeat crap, can't sleep. Nausea. Then the first day of my period, every time, I am the happiest ever. I apologise for all the fights I've had, I can see the light. It's like you've been in an awful evil fog you cannot see over the top of. And then it lifts. And you know it's coming every month and no matter how much I track it and write things in calendar, it still takes me over! I wreck my life up. I smoke and that makes it worse I think. Trying to stop. Avoid drinking. Did yoga this morning cried all the way through it. Exercise definitely best thing you can do. And try not to communicate with people as it always ends up being oversensitive. You see only the negative in everything. It's like a week of negative bias.
Felt this so much!
this has really made me feel so seen. I've felt crazy and psychotic for how I've felt. I've thought that I had bipolar disorder, but I knew that my non depressive episodes were really just me feeling normal and not "manic." Right now I'm struggling with general depression outside of my PMDD episodes and it's been confusing and daunting. Thanks for making this episode.
My PMDD got worse over time, but I never knew what it was. It took me about 30 years to finally self-diagnose and find a doctor to listen. By that time I was peri-menopausal. At least I’ve had a few years on an SSRI that has helped tremendously! I’m happy that it is becoming better known for the poor young women who suffer with it. I often wish I could go back in time and explain to my ex-boyfriends that all the confusion they dealt with has a name! Haha. Thanks for being so open so other women can figure it out.
This is beautiful, thank you so much for sharing what works for you. I didn’t know I have PMDD and it’s been affecting my relationships each month and It’s such a relief to hear I’m not alone and to learn about ways to cope with pmdd spiritually and physically without going on meds. Thank you guys for being so open.
This was SO helpful! Definitely needs to have more views! I'm dealing with this and it is hard, especially with relationships with loved ones. No matter how much family says they understand, they don't. This can be quite an isolating journey, but having someone like this amazing woman talk about it, helps validate this experience and is a great reminder of self-care. Some months I'm good about it, but other months I'm not. I'd like to be more consistent about doing that which honors my journey in a responsible and constructive way. I'm trying.
Edit: Thank you for the timestamps btw! This is so helpful. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I can relate so much! It’s like I am listening to myself. I suffer from PMDD. It seems nobody understands it. When she said “PMDD is incapacitating”, it’s exactly right. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you so much for doing this episode!! I'm 37 and have been dealing with PMDD since I started my period around 11 or 12 years old. It took me a very long time to realize that what I was going through had anything to do with my period and even longer to start seeing info out there about a condition called PMDD. No one in my life understood it (not even me at first!) and it definitely hurt or destroyed important relationships in my life. I'm honestly still scared to get into a romantic relationship because of it. It's a very misunderstood and isolating disorder to have so it makes me so happy to find understanding and compassion from this podcast!! I had similar issues with medications. Before fully understanding it, I tried to tell the doctors I only wanted to take the medication part of the time because I was only unwell part of the time. They weren't having this so I ended up just giving up and not going back to doctors for a long time. I tried again more recently, but although it's gotten better, it's still not where it needs to be at least with my local medical community. I have found some great resources online though... In particular, I want to recommend Lara Briden's Period Repair Manual. Also, Forrest, your father's book Buddha's Brain indirectly and unexpectedly helped me years ago with PMDD years ago. Please thank him and thanks again for this podcast!!
This podcast changed my perspective of my pmdd like nothing else has. The fear of rejection , hearing tone, the buzzing, vibrating etc so well articulated! Never heard anyone describe it so well. I’ve been able ti send this to family to help understand my symptoms. Thank you for this! Your amazing!
Thank you!
The buzzing and vibrating, good description, I could not describe how it felt, I would say I start feeling shaky, like my nerves, from the inside, almost like when ur so angry and you feel shaky
Not having control over my emotions, wanting to spare people of my antics during hell weeks, relying on exercise and mindfulness to lessen symptoms, needing space, even your witchy activities. I feel incredibly heard. Incredibly. Like are we the same person. Thank you.
I am so blown away by this because I was very much like, "I'll just suffer. It's only a weekish every month" and I felt like I was able to get through it monthly but once I started to, finally, go out and meet people I noticed I was not near as stable as I thought I was.
I am now trying to find natural ways to keep a handle on this. I, also, found myself trying to keep another part of my mind focused on what's going on but sometimes that anger still takes over. To know that someone else does this is very hopeful. Even the spiritual part really resonates with me.
Thank you so much. This is incredible.
Came across this video right when I got down with my period cuz I was told I'm crazy and I felt so odd of not being able to cope with my emotions like other normal women and I thought that it's because I'm an empath I feel these overwhelming emotions.
I'm a very ambitious woman with dreams bigger than life and believe in spirituality and have been trying to cope with deeper meditation, practising healings and charging myself with serious meditation during moon cycles is what I had recently discovered a couple of months back that such a coincidence in Elizabeth explaining the witchy part being activated to which I relate a 100% but didn't know that PMDD is a thing. I feel much lighter and hopefully motivated to get through this knowing that I'm not alone. Thank you so much for spreading such awareness cuz only people who experience it know the intensity of the situations and how it jeopardizes relationships with your loved ones and more importantly losing the best version of yourself. It's like shaming yourself and being caught up in a guilt cussing myself further, making it even worse.
Hitting my rock bottom moments every odd month where I got more and more self aware of my intuition and introspection. So, ended up looking up on the internet that why my PMS gets out of control and since last night letting out the monster in me, literally turning into a raging werewolf.
Unaware of this condition my partner triggered me and made the criticisms and fear of rejection in my head even louder to a point of feeling hopeless and told that I'm crazy and tired of this psychic dance.
I hope someday when the waters are calmer with my partner I'll be comfortable with sharing this thing for better receptivity from his end and acknowledgement.
Hopefully with perseverance and being consistent with my meditation, practising healings, moon cycle charging and manifestations I'll be able to articulate it better to my loved one.
Thank you for the support and letting me know that I can find the power of being the high priestess within me.
I hundred percent know that I have PMDD and I learned about this yesterday!!! my boyfriend has been mentioning to me how once a month I just become extremely aggressive. I don’t nowhere towards him and the more that he brings it up the more consciously aware of it. This weekend was my breaking point. I started my period yesterday but the days leading up to my period were like a movie reaching its climax! I do struggle with anger and in the past, I had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, but when I’m not going to start my period I’m actually able to manage my symptoms pretty well and I consistently see a therapist. Yesterday was the first time in a very long time I had suicidal thoughts. I even had suicidal memories come up when I was a child. I tried to hurt myself I Journal I’m terrified to look back at what I wrote just like Elizabeth mentioned. It is a different person that takes over. I get extremely tired on top of working seven days a week, the more that I push myself, when I’m not on my period the more that I feel when I start my period! my boyfriend is a lot older than me. He has a very old generational mindset when it comes to women and our health. But he wants to learn just as much as I do and I think the most scariest part is that none of these doctors OB/GYN, etc., were trained with the knowledge equipped to help again women have to taking their own health in their own hands without any guidance except for RUclips channels and books, it’s exhausting
It was interesting because last night my boyfriend came over because I broke up with him during this episode of PMDD ! To talk to me about what is wrong and he asked me if I’ve always experienced this and honestly know when I first got my period in 2010. I was nine years old and I had regular PMS symptoms. The order I became I am now 23 the more severe PMS and now I feel as if it developed into PMDD and I’m going to tell my therapist about this ASAP, but I really don’t wanna be in birth control because that increases my depression and anxiety.
Sounds like me! What do you do to stay calm?
It's so overwhelmingingly refreshing to hear this, I'm listening as I struggle to do housework as I have hit luteal phase but in that manic phase where you cannot stick to one task or one thing. Im sorry to anyone having to go through this , this podcast has helped put into words what this condition is and what it's like to have this condition that is so overlooked by even medical doctors let alone explaining it to friends, your boss, colleagues and family. Keep strong, talk to people you trust and don't feel ashamed, just because you can't see it doesn't mean your not suffering immensely. This is the hardest thing I have been hit with in life but I am going to continue to fight this and try the things that Elizabeth has mentioned. I laughed (not to be insensitive) when you said about when the period comes and you feel amazing and your left there like wtf just happened like I'm back in the room and we are okay !! 🤣🤣 love this and there needs to be so much more awareness. Thankyou for making this podcast!!
So incredibly relatable. Really moved me!
My PMDD was triggered by birth control pills (stopped after 3 horrible months). Same with IUDs (3 awful months also) 10 years later, which worsened the PMDD. Even though i quit anything messing with my natural hormones (including chemicals in cosmetics and such), PMDD has been my nightmare for 20 years now. Before taking any birth control, i had absolutely no pms at all. I used to have no pain, nothing! The cause might be different for everyone but my advice : be careful with chemicals and hormones pushed on you by boyfriend or doctors. Your body knows better.
Thank you so much for this video 💖. It Gives hope
I relate to this so much. My periods used to be stress free with no mood changes or pms symptoms. After I got an IUD i started experiencing so many new symptoms I had to get it removed. It’s been six months without it and I’m still going through hell every month. I regret the IUD so much. I know that everyone has their own experience, but this was mine.
Many birth control pills contain synthetic progesterone which is proved to be a trigger to PMDD and it also makes episodes worse. So it is very understandable why you experienced something like that
Im not on any birth control but 4 months ago i had to take a plan b pill and i slipped into a deep depression through my cycles. It moved it much earlier than what it was before i took it and my moods have worsened, i realized my depression gets worse after i menstruate which is so bad
I agree with this, thanks for mentioning.
This! 🤌 I am SICK to the back teeth of doctors trying to push antidepressants and birth control for PMDD it made me waaaay worse! I've also got fibromyalgia so the pain can get pretty bad sometimes during the PMDD cycle and any time I speak to the doctors about it they just try to push antidepressants and birth control even when I say I don't want anything that fucks with my hormones. So much so I've stopped ringing to discuss this issue I just deal and I shouldn't have to....none of us should deal with this...
She is so well spoken and informative. Ive never seen this show but I appreciate it!
It feels like a slow walk through quick sand and there is no common relation to anything externally. It feels like a preparation for death; such as an animal hides away with an intuitive awareness that it is now largely insignificant to the material world.
Well said. That's my experience also. "Preparation for death."
I started crying as soon as you finished the list of symptoms 😭 I have every symptom including nausea the week before, it's horrible
Its so tough to feel like I am spending all my energy throughout the month rebuilding what I broke down during my pmdd episodes. This was so validating, thank you.
You have provided a lot of knowledge and information surrounding this particular demon. I do have several comorbidities as Major Depression Disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, ADHD and PMDD. But your insight to PMDD coping mechanisms changed my perspective and very helpful because I did not track it. Because I completely gave the control to yaz without putting my own efforts and I didn’t take a break in my medication and hence I was bleeding 30 days a month. In order to flush out my gynecologist suggested to stop until the bleeding clears out which took 5-6 days and o restarted the pill and I felt incredible and indestructible for one day and the next day I crashed so quickly that I blamed my parents for my younger days and I rejected my brother and told him I can’t be in this strained relationship of ours and I would like to break it. Cried whole night and morning I spoke last words to my brother who lives thousands of miles away. For the first time in my life I was so grateful that he made me do exercises along with him by explaining how my skin feel against the floor. He ran through 5 different things I can see and sense around me. 5 different feel that I’m experiencing physically on my skin. He did it along with me, he also asked me to get out of the bed and where he was in his house asked me to stand in that same place in my house and do stretches and mostly inhale and exhale heavily so he can hear in the phone. This entire routine took 1 hour to 1.5 hours while I still sobbed and kept talking about death. At the end of 1.5 hours of following his instruction I was emotionally stable and I was out of suicidal ideation. The enormity of what he did to me came to me with full clarity after 24 hours and I thanked him for saving my life.
When you said "that my body is so wise that I have to look at it" - cried my eyes out. I do love my body for being this annoying. It does mean it's in some way working and teaches me lessons all the time. I have to respect nature. The cycles just like the moon. I'm not in control. I have to face up to things each month and figure it all out. Then start again. And I do believe in God and that it all happens for a reason.
Amen!
Amen!
Thanks for talking about it. It is a real struggle and no body understands it! Even some women!
"the time you can not escape all the things you have been suppressing throughout the month"
So accurate and once you realise, it really does help shift how you experience it!
I wish there was more education and support out there for women's health. Thank you for your contribution🙏
I had a similar realisation a few months ago (better late than never!)
after some particularly bad episodes of scary complete emotional breakdown at 'that' time.. I realised that while I needed to get a better control over my emotions while my hormones shift everything out of balance, feeling guilty for not having control was not helpful. Compassion and curiosity are our friends here!!
I found the feelings that were now screaming to be heard were not irrational at all. They were ignored feelings that were pushed down throughout the month.. 'Inconvenient' or 'inappropriately timed' feelings hushed down and not explored.. Of course I felt angry, upset, frustrated, unheard, unseen! In fact by not allowing those valid feelings to surface as and when they initially arose, I had greatly magnified their ferocity so that at that time I am less able to rationalise and feel in control, they come out in shocking extreme outbursts and it really does seem like the end of the world.
I finally realised how important it was to feel and allow my feelings throughout the month, and how much easier it would be to manage them while they were smaller and more flexible, than leaving them to build up and brew until that time where my emotional regulating goes out the window and I have no rational check and everything blows up out of proportion.. Only to put myself down for being unable to cope with my emotions and repeat the cycle again. Yikes! I'm so glad I am finally learning this stuff, tracking my cycle, being aware and prepared helps so much to defuse and avoid complete breakdown.
It is slow and hard work but I finally feel a sense of understanding myself and my cycle. If I journal and talk out my feeling, being self supportive, curious and kind rather than critical.
I have a long way to go but starting to feel more in control which is something I often feared wasn't possible. I honestly don't know how I'd cope if it wasn't for the learning I've been able to do on the internet!
My main struggle is I am so overstimulated by the presence of others. I feel so needy and weak yet also irritable and firey.. I wish I had a separate space I could retreat to for that week- or even the worst few days! I find it massively impacts my relationship. I feel so misunderstood and unloved, he feels like nothing he does is good enough.
This time round was the best its ever been, I barely noticed any mental symptoms other than slight irritability that was caught early, acknowledged and apologised for. I feel self regulated and calm.. It gives me hope if I keep up the journaling and self work it really does get better.
Thank you for this. I found myself so related and reflected in her experiences. Everything resonated. I have PMDD, but I only recently finally had a diagnosis after 15 years of trying to make docs listen. It's so dismissed, misdiagnosed, and brushed off. We as women deserve better.
Thank you for speaking on this. I’ve had really hard time with my PMDD and all the triggers happening in the news and with my job right now. I am crying on an almost daily basis and it’s exhausting. It’s so relieving to relate to someone who understands. PMDD can feel so isolating so to hear someone explain my experience just lifts a giant weight off my shoulders. 💜
I just got diagnosed today with PMDD and trying to find some answers and understanding on RUclips I found this video. I will be forever grateful for this video. Elizabeth’s symptoms and feelings during PMDD are exactly like mine. I don’t feel alone and the fact your partner is so open and empathetic about it gives me hope for my marriage. Thank you so much for showing me a little light inside my darkness. Thank you so much 🫶🏻
I’m going in to see my doctor next week. How long did it take for you to get the diagnosis and what was the process of getting diagnosed like?
When she looked straight at the camera and said her PKDD reframe, ugh, needed that.
The feeling of what’s the point broke me down into tears! Like finally someone who understands 😢❤
Omg this made me cry I couldn’t explain every little thing I was feeling until she explained herself this is exactly what been happening to me and getting worst..
I would be in tears if I hadn't cried them all already today while at church and out to eat with my boyfriend during a bad pmdd day where everything seems to come crashing in. I mean.. I am more grateful than words can express that y'all made this video. I have tried so many times in my life to try to explain to my loved ones how I feel and could never find the words.. but you had them ALL!!❤❤😭
I will literally just reference this video from now on whenever anyone asks me what it's like. And I'm SO appreciative of hearing the partner's role in both being supportive and learning coping skills as well bc I am not unaware of how miserable and mean I can be to be around.
And I feel so validated in how many times I've told doctors and friends.. I'm not depressed. I'm not bipolar. This IS my hormones I just know it! And I dont want to take a daily antidepressant for every day of my life when this issue is not present everyday of my life and I very much like who I am when I'm not in a bad state and take an every day pill will change that.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to both of you for this video.
☝️
I’m with you! I never taken any type of medication. I want to do this naturally.
I just learned about PMDD yesterday because I noticed that my “OCD & anxiety “ gets really bad 7-10 days before my period. Now that I think of it, all this ocd and anxiety was PMDD after all. Oh my god.
It is a chemical imbalance and a genuine medical condition. Would you avoid medication for diabetes or heart disease?...nothing wrong with getting proper treatment for pmdd
You hit the nail on the head describing PMDD so much right down to the T. My symptoms align with yours so much. I've felt bi-polar at times.
This is so accurate, thank you for sharing! It's literally debilitating and not the same as PMS. This is Exactly what I go through every month... it's like a monster has taken over my soul.. an angry, depressed, overwhelmed, irritable monster that I don't recognize.
I have PMDD and today I just got my period, I’m in the garden of Eden 💚
I just found this video and I am so thankful, I just came out from that 7-10 days awfulness and everything she said is so on point, thats what I am feeling... Thank you...
Thank you for this! I’ve had PMDD and I’ve hit perimenopause and the dragon has gone on steroids bc of the hormonal fluctuations. It helps hearing others talk about this. Just want to give a heads up to the older ladies hitting “the change”.
Omggg!!!! As she's describing this and I'm going it as we speak....this is so trueeeee......smh It is imperative that I continue to track my menstrual...I have nobody in the physical but i do have God in the spiritual and he knows me better than i know myself....and prayer, exercise, and nature are a must even when im feeling compelled not to....I needed this video thx
I have all symptoms too. Sometimes last longer then a week. It really affects my life
You open up pmdd in a way I have never heard. Much gratitude for that. One of the consequences I experience is a break down in communication, the isolation. Elizabeth's articulation of her experience brings it back from the taboo doors of hell. Feeling unheard compounds an already super difficult and dangerous situation. You both provided the opposite. Touching on suppression, really hit a nail, an links to early life trauma and how to best support myself and find within the cycle were key strands for myself. Many thanks!
WOW. I have never felt so seen. To hear someone really get into the details and nuances of pmdd is incredible.
I was recently diagnosed, in my last cycle. It had come up about 2.5 yrs ago but then I was on synthetic hormones after that and came off of them last September. Literally feeling like I am losing my god damn mind here. It was eye opening and very emotional to hear your experience and the exact thing I had experienced come out of your mouth. I have sent it to several of my people in my circle for a better understanding of what I’m going through. Thank you for creating this and sharing with the world.
Wow awesome that you are working through this together. I had a issue that was hard on my ex-husband and he certainly did not make a effort. Bravo courageous people. Your show is incredibly helpful you make it to easy to listen, and to feel cared about.
Only watched the first 15min and can SO MUCH relate AND confirm all the symptoms! I have been experiencing this for over a decade... trying all sorts of approaches, supplements and therapies - even connecting it back to my childhood trauma.. I am more than happy to connect with women experiencing the same 🙌 💗🙏
Thavk you so much for your honesty on this. I’ve lived with PMDD for 20 years -a learning of self-compassion, self-awareness, self-care, radical acceptance that it is a condition that has no one magic pill plus mindful practices seem to make it way more manageable - and the love and patience of our partners. Also my new found healing companion IFS is helping immensely on the darkest days as parts that I have potentially ignored for years are now seeing the light of day. Much love to you both and Forrest I’m in the UK and have only recently found your podcast - honestly, the conversations and people you have on are directly helping me to heal as I do the work on the complex ptsd I have too so thank you from my heart 🙏😊
Didn’t develop pmdd until mid thirties. After having children it’s been difficult because everything is attributed to just being a mother 😒 😢 it’s been getting worse and worse and so frustrating! Thank goodness my husband is supportive! He’s starting to understand more and more as we go through each month.
Just coming out of my own horrible PMDD episode, wondering if it's possible to have relationships and succeed at everything I want for myself. This gave me so much hope. Thank you
Thank you both for talking about this and bringing it to the forefront of our awareness and normalizing it.
Thank you for the subject.
I am in the middle of pmdd. I am ex addict (extreme addict,cocain and morphine), I am over 2 years sober and the intensity of pmdd in my case is pure terror. I am having hardest time during pmdd
You've both validated so many things, this is genuinely life changing thank you so much! I'm in the throes of a pmdd episode right now, but hearing someone who has so much experience with it helps so much. I feel heard and seen. I actually feel hope!
I always thought that what I was going through was just a normal PMS situation, especially since the extreme mood swings are always dismissed as “oh she’s just PMS-ing”. But the little seed of doubt in me led me to this video. Thank you for spreading awareness!
Thank you so much for sharing this! Having such a supportive, patient partner while dealing with this is SO important. I was recently diagnosed with PMDD, but unfortunately mine doesn’t just come on abruptly once a month and shut off when my period starts. It comes on slowly a week before my period, lasts through the period, and then takes me a week to get “back to normal”… so I feel like I only have one good week out of a month. I also have depression and anxiety though… I’ve been working with all my doctors, going to therapy, and practicing habits to help get me through but it’s just so discouraging to feel like this all the time… I don’t know what to do:(
Same... with the other conditions on top it seems like I am lucky to get one good day a month sometimes.
Sending love. I hope we figure something out ❤
I'm healed listening to your words
My husband and I both started crying watching this. I just had my hysterectomy (kept the ovaries to avoid early menopause) and I'm finally finding my normal. This helped me so much. Thank you
I don’t think you realize how impactful this video is for so many people. Thank you for speaking up about this!
This is so validating . I dont feel alone anymore. Thank you for this podcast ❤
I never comment on things, but thank you so much for being so vulnerable. Women are experiencing this and have no idea what it is. Thank you for your awareness and commitment to helping other women.
I'm 53 and still slaying that dragon! Really enjoyed you sharing your experience, I love the empowerment you allow yourself to receive from PMDD and your self compassion ❤
I’m sorry if this insensitive, but why haven’t you gotten a hysterectomy?
First time ever I acknowledge that what I have been suffering from what I have been trying to explain to everyone that was in my life and still in my life !!! It’s hard for them to understand and hard for me to understand today for the first time I see that it exists. This is so amazing to me. I finally know what’s wrong with me. Thank you guys
Thank you both for speaking on PMDD and offering ways to manage it.
Going through a bad pmdd month at the moment and seasonal depression is a nightmare! Pmdd makes me really disconnect from my life, children and husband it’s awful! But looking for ways to not go back on antidepressants for it after a huge amount of weight gain on them which actually once off them made my pmdd explode! So refreshing to hear Elizabeth’s take on dealing with it and I’m definitely going to apply some of these tactics to my pmdd episodes and not take on to much in those 10 awful days! You guys are incredible and I definitely need to voice this more with my husband.
Thank you. I’m going through it right now, it’s so deliberating:( with me it’s extreme fatigue and depression (sometimes suicidal thoughts)
I would be thankful to have it for 1 week, I have it for 2 weeks every single month. I am 48 and it ruined my whole life in every single aspect. This lady is happy having such a kind and understanding partner. I am sure his love makes her PMDD symptoms less severe.
Literally saving this link to explain my experience to those closest to me! Thank you. Also, it’s really nice to see you validating and supporting her experience.
I kind of like that not many people know about this and the majority of people watching this video is people who have it, so we all understand each other.
Thank you for bringing this up! I've suffered pmdd for several years, but not knowing what it was and now I'm trying to find a treatment that works for me. It's a illness that definitely needs more attention!
Thank you for putting these emotions and symptoms into words that are easy to fathom. Made me cry knowing I’m not so alone, especially because I’m at the peak of this illness currently.
This is everything i am feeling and going through. I feel like i am not myself and often feel like , everything around me annoys me and im rude and just over doing everything i am not. Thank you for this podcast.