Mood: PreMenstrual Syndrome (PMS)

Some women are asking themselves why does it seem that I am like Jekyll and Hyde around a certain time of the month. Some of us even feel this alter ego approaching and gladly say goodbye in a hurry. Why am I a beast and how can I rid myself of this issue?

Many factors play a role in why a woman’s mood changes during their menstrual cycle and signs to look for that you too may be dealing with PMS and there is improvement for these mood altering feelings. Many questions that are asked associated with depression, anxiety, food craving, moodiness, anger which link those feelings back to PMS and it’s affects.

The physical factor that plays into the feeling of PMS is releasing of two hormones found in the woman’s body; progesterone and estrogen. Two have different purposes in the body and produce different results and when unbalanced can cause adverse behaviors and feelings. The two hormones take their turns at being the dominant in production in order to complete their intended purpose but some of the times this level increases or drops suddenly before menstruation therefore resulting in PMS.

If you are not aware of PMS symptoms or are interested if this is what you are experiencing some of the symptoms are:

• Mood swings
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Irritability
• Fatigue
• Outbursts
• Crying
• Insomnia
• Overeating
• Craving sweet or salty foods
• Acne
• Cramps
• Bloating
• Weight gain
• Headaches
• Breast swelling or pain
• Nausea
• Fainting

I don’t know who ever thought being a woman was easy but after reading all those symptoms they were clearly wrong. Although these symptoms may be from mild to very painful and not all present at the same time there is a possibility that with your physician's advice you can improve the suffering.

If you are not at the point to want to see your physician then the knowledge of why and how these symptoms occur would be helpful. Well all feelings and emotions are controlled through a person’s brain as with all function within the body. With the fluctuation of the hormones in a woman’s body mixed with the many neurotransmitters of the brain creates all of our feelings. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that flow through a system in the body, which I will not go into now; they create moods, feelings, hunger, pleasure, etc. Serotonin is the pleasure neurotransmitter that produces such a feeling of being fulfilled after eating or sex therefore the brain desires to repeat that activity.

When the roller coaster of hormones flow through the body the estrogen level drops before menstruation to allow the progesterone to do its job in bringing your period resulting in the serotonin level dropping as well. With the drop of serotonin it is possible that the symptoms mentioned above can be the result.

Some things other than medical intervention can be things such as controlling your diet and exercise. Speaking from personal experience when I ate whole foods (not processed) and exercised 4 days a week for 1 hour I did not experience these adverse conditions. Now that I have not been exercising Mrs. Hyde has returned. I just recently saw it on the Doctor’s show that exercising 4 days a week for at least 30 minutes will reduce the symptoms due to the exercise activity releasing serotonin therefore replacing what is missed during menstruation.

Again the reason for the yo-yo feeling is due to the irregularity in serotonin production which can be naturally and healthily changed if no other serotonin issue is present and the symptoms truly are related to PMS. For that complete diagnosis it would be a good idea to seek medical attention for at least an exam and to talk about other options such as birth control which has been known as well to treat PMS.

I have found what is best for me to do is to tell my family, even the kids, that I am not myself and forgive me in advance because I can feel that I am not myself. Dealing with your own feelings may prove to be the hardest but in the end recognizing the signs and symptoms will help you to control the feelings. Awareness is key because at least you can try to control your actions and not contribute to harming those you love.

PMS is suffered by millions of women around the world but you do not have to continue to suffer there is help for the physical and emotional feelings you are experiencing.