The premenstrual situation that causes girls to endure extreme anxiousness

Helen Flanagan admitted she used to ‘feel horrendous mentally before her period’ to the point that ‘she couldn’t cope’. 

The Coronation Street star, 33, revealed in an upcoming interview on the Full of Grace Podcast, she pleaded with doctors for medication to ‘level her out’ after mental health struggles left her feeling ‘awful and depressed.’

It comes after the mother-of-three revealed she had suffered a psychotic breakdown earlier this year, which forced her to pull out of her acting comeback as Miss Scarlett in the show Cluedo 2.

Problems like these may be familiar to many of the 824,000 women in the UK and 4.2 million in the US, who suffer with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a severe and debilitating form of premenstrual syndrome.

Rather than feeling the odd cramp and perhaps feeling a little more teary than usual, women with PMDD struggle with the intense mood swings, anxiety and boiling rage every month. 

Helen Flanagan has revealed she ‘used to feel horrendous before her period’ and pleaded with doctors for medication to ‘level her out’ 

Helen previously admitted how scary the breakdown was as she revealed she was seeing things and felt like she was in danger all the time after a reaction to her ADHD medication 

The condition which causes a range of emotional and physical symptoms typically flares up in the fortnight before a period. 

‘PMDD can cause extreme emotional symptoms in female sufferers including anxiety and intense mood swings, cycling between feelings of anger, irritability, sadness, and happiness,’ Nagham Yasser, a Holland & Barrett women’s health coach, told MailOnline. 

Despite PMDD being common, a lack of awareness among healthcare professionals means some women wait a decade or more for a diagnosis, the International Association for Premenstrual Disorders (IAPMD) says. 

Ellisha Blake, 27, who goes by PMDD girly on TikTok, recalls experiencing ‘intense sadness’ before her period and even suffered with ‘intrusive thoughts’.

The content creator and PMDD advocate who has 18.7K followers told MailOnline: ‘I’ve always experienced intense sadness before my period for as long as I can remember.

‘My friends at school used to ask about my well-being the week before my period because I felt so angry, depressed, defensive and upset. 

‘This has persisted for years and has affected every relationship I’ve had, including those with friends and family members.’

Ellisha Blake, 27, who goes by PMDD girly on TikTok, recalls experiencing ‘intense sadness’ before her period and even suffered with ‘intrusive thoughts’

Assuming these intense symptoms were just bad PMS she recalls feeling ‘helpless’ and thought nothing could be done. 

‘Doctors suggested anger management for these feelings around my period, but it didn’t feel right,’ she said. 

But she didn’t get a diagnosis for PMDD until 2023, after she felt suicidal two weeks before her period. 

She said: ‘On one particularly bad month, I had a total meltdown and told my mum that we needed to do something about my intrusive thoughts as I was afraid I might do something I’d regret. 

‘My therapist kept encouraging me to see a doctor for a diagnosis, and in March of 2023, I finally got my PMDD diagnosis, I luckily had a quite supportive GP.’

About 72 per cent of people with a PMDD diagnosis report thoughts of suicide at some point in their lives, according to IAPMD. 

For comparison, in the general population approximately 10 per cent of people report suicidal thoughts in their lifetime.  

However, it’s not just emotional and psychological symptoms many women with the condition also struggle with physical symptoms which can also be debilitating and have a disruptive impact on quality of life. 

Having a lack of energy, breast tenderness or swelling, pain in your muscles or joints, headaches, feeling bloated, changes in appetite such as overeating or having specific food cravings and sleeping irregularly, are all symptoms of PMDD Ms Yasser explains. 

The exact causes of PMDD are not fully understood, but researchers believe it may be caused by being very sensitive to changes in hormone levels. 

Ms Yasser said: ‘Recent research suggests that PMDD is associated with increased sensitivity to the normal hormonal changes that occur during a woman’s monthly menstrual cycle.

‘There are other suggested causes of PMDD including genetics, smoking, and trauma and stress, however further research is still needed to better understand the causes of PMDD.’

Treatment for PMDD varies from taking anti-depressants and the combined contraceptive pill to therapy and painkillers or even surgery to remove the uterus, mental health charity MIND says.

Ms Yasser added: ‘There are several things that PMDD sufferers can do to help alleviate their symptoms, including changing your diet to increase protein and carbohydrates and decrease sugar, caffeine, and alcohol; engage in regular exercise; relaxation. Taking vitamin supplements including Vitamin B-6, calcium and magnesium may help if they are lacking in your diet.’