“My life is a waste. I’m an utter failure. I must get rid of this life.”- Every month she felt a kind of suicidal tendency. She started crying for no reason. Her days were gloomy. But once her periods started, she felt so relieved. Life became bright again with so much of hopes. Then only she happened to read about pre-menstrual depression. Now she is happy even in those days and knows how to get rid of that state. It is not the case of a single lady, but about 70-90% women has this kind of depression. Medical world has termed it as Premenstrual Syndrome. PMS depression is the most terrible case of premenstrual syndrome which includes both physical and emotional pain. This occurs usually two weeks before a woman menstruates. Initially PMS depression was neglected with a conclusion that it was caused simply out of a female’s pressure in life. Only from 1980s, it was accepted as an illness by the society. PMS depression symptoms have a key role in a woman’s social, occupational and sexual activities. There are more than 200 symptoms associated with PMS. Feeling of sadness or hopelessness, tensed or anxious, feels like crying always, irritable, difficulty in concentrating, lacks energy, oversleeping or insomnia and change in appetite are the main signs and symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome. Also, there might be a few physical symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle such as bloating, abdominal cramps, constipation, swelling or tenderness in the breasts, cyclic acne and joint or muscle pain.
Actually PMS depression is caused by imbalance of a few hormones including aldosterone, cortisol, serotonin, androgen and glucocorticoids. It can also be caused by nutritional factors, high caffeine intake, family history, increasing age and stress. Informative counseling is an important remedy to face those days with confidence. In addition to that reduction of sodium intake, decreasing drinking caffeine and doing aerobic exercises can help to reduce the symptoms. Finally, the best solution is to seek an advice of a physician. The symptoms can be effectively controlled by treatment for specific symptoms. Without treatment too, symptoms will decrease gradually and disappear at menopause.
PMS depression is not a life threatening disease. Any female can surmount it by knowing how to overcome it. Always remember that, it is not a special disease. Majority of ladies around the world suffer this emotional problem before their menstruation. Be confident; hang out with your friends! Enjoy every day and have fun…. After all, the world is yours dear female.
