Intro:
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (also known as PMDD) is a more severe form of premenstrual syndrome.
It typically affects women of childbearing age, and it can lead to a number of severe and chronic symptoms.
It’s a condition that needs medical treatment, though some lifestyle changes can also help to manage symptoms.
The exact cause of premenstrual dysphoric disorder isn’t known.
It’s possible that it’s caused by an abnormal reaction to hormonal changes that happen alongside a woman’s menstrual cycle.
But while researchers aren’t completely sure what causes it, there are some risk factors to be aware of.
Risk Factors For PMDD
Any woman can develop premenstrual dysphoric disorder—but women with a family history of either PMS or PMDD, and/or women with a personal or family history of either depression, postpartum depression, or other mood disorders tend to be at greater risk for it than women who don’t fall into these groups.
The disorder comes with a pretty huge range of different symptoms.
There are psychological symptoms, symptoms associated with fluid retention, skin problems, respiratory problems, eye problems, and even gastrointestinal symptoms.
Of course, the disorder will tend to manifest itself differently for different women.
But as a general rule, if you’ve spoken to your doctor and you know that PMDD is indeed what you’re suffering from, then the good news is that there are some things that you can do to help alleviate the symptoms.
Let’s talk about 5 of the best techniques that you can use to get the symptoms of PMDD under control.
1. Diet Changes
As a general rule, you can sometimes help to alleviate PMDD symptoms by changing your diet to increase protein and carbohydrates, and to decrease your intake of sugar, salt, caffeine, and alcohol.
In other words, just try to eat a healthier diet.
This can help with quite a few of the different symptoms, especially those that are gastrointestinal in nature.
2. Regular Exercise
While you may not necessarily feel like exercising when you’re in pain and feeling crappy, it’s also true that getting up, getting moving, and just getting your body in motion can actually help you to feel a lot better.
So when those PMDD symptoms start to show up, make sure that you don’t neglect your exercise routine.
3. Stress Management
Stress tends to make these types of things a lot worse in every way.
So you can help to minimize the negative symptoms of the disorder by managing your stress and trying to keep it below a debilitating threshold.
You could accomplish this by relaxing a little bit more, making sure that you’re getting enough sleep, talking to friends, meditating, and otherwise just finding things to do that you enjoy—that help you to reduce overall life stress.
Staying away from negative people, and taking a ‘break’ from high-stress environments can also be good.
4. Vitamin Supplements
Sometimes, supplementing with the right types of vitamins can help to reduce PMDD symptoms.
The prime options for vitamin supplementation with this disorder tend to be vitamin B6, calcium, and magnesium.
5. Cannabis
Researchers have discovered that cannabis can serve as a possible therapeutic treatment option for PMDD.
Cannabinoids such as THC or CBD can ameliorate symptoms of PMDD and may actually work really well as alternative non-hormonal treatment options that also put you at risk for fewer negative side effects than some of the pharmaceutical medications that are currently prescribed to help manage symptoms.
Cannabis can help with pain-related symptoms, but it can also help with some of these psychological symptoms as well.
To find out which states have legalized medicinal cannabis for mental health conditions, check out Veriheal’s list. In any of these states, you should consult with your doctor to see if medicinal cannabis may be the best way to treat PMDD.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this post has helped you to understand some of the natural home-based treatment options that can help to manage the symptoms of PMDD.
This is a pretty debilitating disorder for any woman to experience.
But with a little bit of research and some trial and error, you may be able to find a regimen that actually helps to minimize your symptoms and help you to feel better.
