"It might not be your personality, it might be hormones": A talk about PMS and PMDD

When it gets close to your period,

Why am I so irritable?
Why do I feel so down?

Getting hurt by a comment you would normally brush off,
or snapping at your children.

And then, self-loathing afterward.

"I did it again."
"Maybe I'm a bad mother."

Are you blaming yourself like that?

But you know, that's not your personality.

It might be PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) or PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder).

It is said that 70-80% of women feel some kind of discomfort before their period.

In other words, you are not alone.

Are you just accepting it as "something that can't be helped"?

But you don't have to endure it.

By consulting a gynecologist, symptoms can be controlled.

There are several treatment options.

・Kampo (herbal medicine) to improve your constitution
・Low-dose birth control pills to stabilize hormonal fluctuations
・If pills cannot be used, there is also a method called progestin therapyFirst, even just reviewing your lifestyle habits a little can make a difference.

And above all, what I want to convey is

"It's not your fault."

I also have PMS symptoms myself.

Especially feeling down and irritable.

When raising children, I sometimes feel it even more strongly.

"Why do I get so angry?"

"Self-loathing again."
I used to think like that, but

this is not my personality, it's the influence of hormones.

Just being able to understand that made me feel a little better.

What's important is

to know your own state during that time.

Not to push yourself too hard.

And to ask for help if you need it.

That discomfort that comes every month,

you don't have to give up on it.