One moment she's very nice and sweet, next moment she's shouting and sounds like she wants to get into an argument. Everything's good with her, but she keeps saying words that sounds like she's too hopeless.
You comfort her and tell her encouraging words to comfort her but instead of appreciating it, she overreacts. She reacts on a small issue, and then it becomes like a raging fire on a dry grassland. It's just too hard to deal with her, she herself don't understand what's going on with her. But after several days, this 'woman' disappears, and she's back to her normal self again which will last for three to four weeks until the 'other woman' with an unpredictable and erratic behavior takes over her again.
If you are a woman, and you experience this, you probably know what I was referring to. These dramatic mood changes happens to women prior to their menstruation. However, not all women undergo such mood swings. So what is the cause of those mood swings? Is it really affected by menstrual cycle?
Women experience PMS or premenstrual syndrome before their menstruation. There is a “cyclic occurrence of symptoms that are of sufficient severity to interfere with some aspects of life” - The American Journal of Psychiatry
Although there are no laboratory tests that can diagnose PMS, women with PMS must experience a symptom-free phase of one or two weeks during each cycle.
Based on this definition, there are only an estimation of ten percent of women who suffers from post menstrual syndrome according to doctors.
There are other clinicians who have a different opinion of premenstrual syndrome. According to them, it is estimated that forty to ninety percent of women actually suffers from PMS and the symptoms is not only limited to unpredictable mood swings and erratic behavior, there are also complaints about abdominal cramps, fatigue, migraine, breast tenderness, irritability, weight gain, craving for foods and crying spells. There are actually more than 150 symptoms that are associated with premenstrual syndrome. PMS is distressing for a lot of women, but it is mostly manageable.
According to Nancy Reame, a researcher at the University of Michigan, PMS is considered as “a generic health problem” in the United States, however, there is a difference in the severity and the type of symptoms in other countries. In other countries and culture, more emotional symptoms are actually reported. For example, in other cultures, they focus more on abdominal cramps, migraine and fatigue when asked about the menstrual problems they encounter.
How It Started
A doctor from New York, Dr. Robert T. Frank is the first Doctor who discussed premenstrual syndrome in his paper “The Hormonal Causes of Premenstrual Tension" written in 1931. There he wrote about his observation that women lacks concentration and suffers from fatigue and nervous tension prior to their menstruation.
Twenty-two years later, two English physicians, Raymond Greene and Katharina Dalton published a paper where they use the term "premenstrual syndrome". Premenstrual syndrome was referred to as the "world's most common and probably the oldest disease."
Menstrual Cycle
Once every month, women's body experiences a very complex hormonal fluctuations cycle. This has been referred by a lot of people as the "curse", the "red tide" or "monthly period". The term "menstruation" was derived from the Latin word 'mensis' which means "month".
The cycle starts when the pituitary glands receive a message from the hypothalamus (a part of the human brain). After receiving the message, it then secretes a follicle stimulating hormone which then travels into the ovaries through the blood, then it triggers the production of a hormone called estrogen. When the estrogen increase, the pituitary glands sends out luteinizing hormones which lows down the secretion of the follicle-stimulating hormone. After this process, an egg cell then becomes mature and goes to the womb. A hormone called progesterone is then secreted after an egg cell was released. The estrogen and progesterone level rapidly drops when the cell is not fertilized.
Tissues, fluid and blood are discharged through the vagina when there is no estrogen and progesterone hormones to support the lining of the uterus. Usually, it takes 3-7 days for this cycle to complete. Once a cycle ends, the brain will start to release hormones again which is a sign of a new cycle.
Theories
There are arguments that says imbalance of the progesterone and estrogen hormones is the cause of premenstrual symptoms in women. They confidently believe that in order to achieve a perfect balance, the hormones should work together but when one of the two is produced more than the other a conflict in the woman's body occurs. High estrogen count results to some women being irritable. And according to others, when there is more progesterone, it causes a woman to suffer from fatigue and depression.
But there are also researchers who disagree with that theory. According to them, social factors and psychological factors are the factors that plays a big role in the occurrence of premenstrual syndrome in women.
For example, stress can intensify, delay or speed up the symptoms of PMS. Other factors such as financial and family problems as well as medical conditions can also make the symptoms either manageable or intense.
Until now, there are still various theories that emerge with regard to the issue of premenstrual syndrome, the researchers in the medical field are still trying to find out what exactly is the cause of PMS and how to treat it.
Some doctors say that there are eighteen varieties of premenstrual syndrome and each variety has its own symptoms. There are also studies that says zinc also plays a role in triggering the symptoms. While another study shows that the deficiency in vitamin B6 is the root which causes mild depression in some women.
Sleep manipulation, light therapy, taking antidepressant drugs and deep relaxation are tried by a lot of women to feel relieved from PMS, however, there is still no exact or specific treatment found for PMS. Those who have unmanageable symptoms should ask for professional advice from a doctor.
According to some people, it is not right to label the changes in a woman's emotional and physical changes as a "syndrome". But for some women, premenstrual syndrome is real. Personally, I can it's indeed real. Prior to my menstruation, I experience emotional changes that is uncontrollable which makes it hard for me to deal with some people. It is even harder when no one tries to understand. So it's really important to try to understand and be patient with a woman close to you when she's undergoing premenstrual syndrome.
-@thepandagirl🐼
