Every woman has a unique and different body resistance when going through menstruation, the natural process of women in this productive age often has to go through with excruciating pain or emotional changes that become more angry and irritable which are usually called PMS and PMDD.
According to DokterSehat.Com, the cause of a woman’s unstable mood before menstruation is not due to hormones, but because of the response of brain cells called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors.
It is known from the results of a study conducted by scanning the brains of women suffering from Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) or a type of premenstrual dysphoric disorder, PMDD symptoms can be more severe than those experienced by women with Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS).
The results of scans on the brains of several women with PMDD showed an increase in activity in the cerebellum in the form of a high spike indicating a worsening emotional state.
The function of GABA cells in the brain is to limit activities associated with stress and anxiety. In women who suffer from PMDD, the hormone progesterone will change the shape of the GABA receptors in the cerebellum, which can cause cells to have difficulty controlling feelings of anxiety and stress.
Between 3 and 8 percent of women with PMDD experience major depression a week or two before their period arrives, and extreme irritation is usually the predominant symptom. While PMS has milder symptoms that usually involve changes in shape and pain in several points of the body.
Women with a family history of depression or who previously had postpartum depression have an increased risk of PMDD, which is included in the American Psychiatric Association’s list of mental illnesses (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).
A woman can be diagnosed with PMDD if she has at least five of the following symptoms during menstruation:
- Deep sadness or despair, with possible suicidal thoughts.
- Persistent confusion and anger, which may include frequent outbursts at loved ones.
- Feeling tense or anxious, panic attacks, mood swings, excessive crying.
- Disinterest in daily activities and relationships.
- Difficulty thinking or focusing, feeling out of control or overwhelmed, fatigue, lack of energy, food cravings or overeating.
These symptoms usually go away as soon as menstruation begins. If it turns out that the symptoms persist throughout the month, it means it is not PMDD anymore because it could be a symptom of another mental or physical illness.
To reduce pain during PMDD and PMS, experts advise women to change their lifestyle to be healthier, by exercising because physical activity can improve mood and depression. Because it is believed that endorphins, brain chemicals released during exercise, can help overcome some of the hormonal changes that trigger PMS. However, for women with severe PMDD and PMS, medication is needed to relieve it.
Here are some useful treatment options to help stabilize mood swings and improve a woman’s emotional health during her period in the weeks before her period:
- Avoiding coffee, alcohol and sweets for two weeks before your period can make a difference in mood because caffeine can increase anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia. While reducing alcohol can also help because alcohol acts as a depressant. Skipping candy, soda, and other sugary foods, especially in the week before your period, can help relieve severe PMS symptoms by preventing the mood swings associated with low blood sugar fluctuations that can cause sadness and irritability.
- Practice relaxation techniques such as meditation, deep breathing, and yoga to reduce excessive stress, if necessary go to individual or group therapy which can be useful as an effective PMS treatment, especially for women with mood swings and severe emotional changes.
- Taking antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that can change serotonin levels in the brain has been shown to be beneficial for women with severe PMS and PMDD. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved three of these medications — Zoloft (sertraline), Prozac or Sarafem (fluoxetine), and Paxil CR (paroxetine) — for the treatment of PMDD.
