Premenstrual Dysphoria: Depression before the days

Premenstrual dysphoria
PMDS – When Depression Comes Every Month

by Julia Ballerstädt

January 29, 2021, 1:14 pm

Regularly once a month is it on the mat: The period. And so that things get really annoying beforehand, she doesn't come alone, but brings her beloved friends headaches, bad mood and tearfulness: Welcome premenstrual syndrome, also known as PMS. The Phase between ovulation and the start of menstruationis a torture for everyone involved – the woman who suffers from it and those around her who have to endure it. For some, however, this phase is almost unbearable: They suffer from an extreme form of premenstrual syndrome, a disorder called premenstrual dysphoria, short PMDS or PMDD.

PMS or Premenstrual Dysphoria: What's the Difference?

Round 80% of women know it: In the time between ovulation and the onset of your period, you are plagued by hormone-related symptoms, also known as PMS.

Typical physical symptoms for this include:

and psychological-emotional symptoms:

Round 8% of all women however, suffer in the second half of the cycle not only from these symptoms, but experience the extreme form of premenstrual disorder: premenstrual dysphoria.

Typical physical symptoms for this are:

and psycho-emotional symptoms of dysphoric disorder:

The women with PMDS experience themselves as completely different people and can no longer pursue their everyday life and work – A total one Loss of controlwhich in the end can even cost partners, friends, even the job. And not just once, but regularly every month.

And then, as if by magic, it stops again: With Onset of the menstrual period and the drop in estrogen levels, the symptoms disappear abruptly.

What happens in the body with PMDS?

How exactly premenstrual disorders arise in all their forms is up to now not yet fully clarified. Obviously, however, they play a major role in the cyclical total failure female sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone. Because women who do not produce these hormones – after menopause, removal of the ovaries, or pregnant women – do not have PMS. Nevertheless, the dysphoric disorder PMDS seems to be the main problem Processes in the brain, more precisely to the interaction between the hormones and the hippocampus.

The Hippocampus in turn is a central part of the limbic system and, among other things, is responsible for:

Before, you didn't know that Hormones communicate with our brain. It is now clear that especially in women who suffer from premenstrual dysphoria, Changes in the brain expire.

Scientific studies indicate that estrogen and progesterone have an influence on the Serotonin levels to have. This in turn has a direct effect on the mood. Depression and aggression can therefore be a sequence of Serotonin deficiency his. The hippocampus is also the brain region in which there are particularly many Receptors for the sex hormones can be found. This is why this part of our brain is so sensitive to the effects of sex hormones.

What can you do about PMDS?

The possibilities of diagnosis are few, because in most cases they deliver blood values including hormone levels no indication to a dysphoric disorder. Often both general practitioners and gynecologists cannot do anything with the clinical picture and refer to you psychiatrist. But above all, experts in this field are gynecological endocrinologist. Affected women are recommended to have at least three cycles Mood diary and bring it with you when you visit a doctor. Unfortunately, the specialists can often only be found in larger cities; it can be difficult away from metropolitan areas.

This helps affected women with PMDS:

A major step forward for affected women was the inclusion of the premenstrual dysphoric disorder PMDS around 4 years ago DMS-5, the diagnostic and statistical guide to mental disorders. The PMDS is thus medically recognized as an independent, mental disorderwhich makes diagnosis a lot easier and at the same time differentiates it from other forms of PMS.