My Experience With PMDD & What Helps Me

good morning guys and welcome back to my channel so today I'm finally doing my video about pmdd specifically what it is how it affects me and what things have helped me to deal with it if you guys are new to my channel no I don't show myself on camera so just sitting in front of the camera and being on film is not my jam I film other things that I like and love like perfumes and things in my house that I really like and other things that I find beautiful and enjoyable and just hobbies that I myself do not sit down in front of the camera so hopefully that is not a deterrent for you to watch or listen to this video if you are new here but I will put some pretty scenes in the background for you and of course you can listen while you go to bed go for a drive clean your house whatever the case is so I have mentioned pmdd in passing and other videos on my channel but I've never actually made the video on it but I've had a lot of interest in a video like this so for some background I am not a expert on pmdd I am a registered nurse by profession but I am definitely not an expert you should definitely see your own healthcare provider if you have any questions about your own physical or mental health this video is just anecdotal it is just for information slash education so first of all what is pmdd so pmdd if you don't know is basically an extension of PMS where some people who have regular PMS have the normal symptoms like bloating headache breast tenderness mood swings a little bit of irritability cramping that kind of thing for pmdd it goes a little bit further so where somebody with PMS might have cramping bloating anxiety sugar Cravings mood swings a little bit of depression some sleep disturbance some irritability things like that that are pretty typical with PMS when you have PMD it can sometimes go even further and you can have extreme fatigue emotional changes such as feelings of hopelessness or even worse you have decreased interest in usual activities and boats of extreme sadness so I have not been formally diagnosed or officially diagnosed but the way that I have kind of figured out that this must be what I have is because I have struggled with anxiety and depression throughout my life for various reasons at various times I did not have the easiest past the way that I figured out that I have pmdd is essentially because all of my issues circle around my hormones and my menstrual cycle so essentially like everybody else I do get PMS but mine sometimes gets so bad that I actually have to stay home from work start and stop important projects that I shouldn't be starting or stopping I become irrational sometimes I make really bad decisions I have arguments that don't need to have that don't need to happen I have gotten to the point that I wasn't able to get off the couch I just laid there and cried for hours and hours on end and felt debilitated and felt like I needed to go to the hospital and admit myself it has gotten very very bad for me I will get to the point where I'm asking myself questions like is this life even worth living things like that so it does get you know quite bad and it always happens centered around my period so these are the types of things that happen a few days before my period starts my worst day is usually one or two days before it actually begins and it's amazing just like clockwork the second I start menstruating like day one actually like hour zero of my period it's almost as if somebody flipped a light switch and all of a sudden somebody drew the blinds drew the curtains it's all of a sudden bright I Can See Clearly yeah it's just it really can be very debilitating it it can make you feel to a point like you're having a major depressive episode that suddenly goes away once your period starts so it's not just typical bitchiness irritability like what most women have it goes even a step further for me sometimes not all the time it definitely has improved and that's why I'm making this video to share some of the things that have helped me so if this sounds familiar to you then hopefully the rest of this video will be helpful for you or at the very least help you to realize that you're not alone if you also struggle with pmdd so one of the most important things for me in helping to cope with my pmdd is sleep obviously you need to get enough sleep if you want to be functioning well emotionally like I said I am a nurse so I do shift work and approximately half of my shifts are night shifts and when I am going to struggle mentally the worst times are definitely if I'm doing night shifts so if I have regular PMS before my period it's already hard like on a good day but if I'm not sleeping it is even worse I just become a complete emotional wreck if I'm not sleeping and trying to sleep around night shifts as most of you guys probably can imagine or many of you probably know is very very difficult I have tried numerous different things to work around my sleep schedule but anyway sleep has been probably one of the most important things I have actually had to go down to working part-time like half time because working full-time shift work is too hard on my body so luckily I'm able financially to do that to go down to working half time instead of full time so that instead of doing like five night shifts a month or six night shifts I'm only doing like three or four a month um but long story short sleep is very very important and I notice that if I get at least seven hours like no less than seven hours I cope okay it's still not great but I have definitely had times where I was only getting like four or five hours of sleep between shifts and that just sent me right over the edge like to the point that I had a complete breakdown so the sleep is super super important if you struggle with pmdd at all I would definitely suggest make sure that you are avoiding caffeine later in the evening make sure that you have your sleep patterns down pat if you have young kids at home that can be difficult but do whatever you can to get sleep because that has been really really helpful for me so the second thing that kind of goes along with sleep is also part of lifestyle and that is exercise slash Fitness slash diet slash avoiding alcohol consumption so I also did take my certified fitness training course almost 10 years ago now and I am huge into fitness I've always been huge into fitness feeling good and feeling like I look good is important to me um it's always been next to my heart near and dear to my heart I just love the gym I love lifting weights I love feeling good about myself so that has been hugely instrumental for me in helping to just be happy in general and I noticed that if I let that slip my PMS or pmdd is worse it's that whole thing where people say you know you don't always feel like going to the gym but after you leave the gym you're so glad you did I still have days like that like a lot of times people ask me how do you stay so motivated to go to the gym honestly you couldn't pay me not to go because that's how good it makes me feel and even if I don't feel like going I always am so happy that I went everything in my life gets better when I feel good about myself and the gym is not just a way to physically look good it is a stress reliever you have natural endorphins it helps build your confidence it gets you out of the house you listen to good music it's just all around really good and really helpful it helps you sleep better at night it's good for your body in so many ways and definitely when I look after myself you know stay fit and put my best foot forward and put effort into my physique and avoid eating crap I just feel better emotionally physically mentally all the way around so it is hugely helpful don't let that week be an excuse not to work out force yourself to do something because you will feel better that you did it versus taking you know five to seven days and not doing anything at all and then having to backtrack you're going to have good and bad days but even myself even if it's like a Bad Day quote unquote bad day I'm not feeling my best I don't feel like I look my best I'm bloated I always still feel better after I've done my workout and go home and it makes me feel like I'm staying on track and it definitely does help with my mood so along with that is your diet obviously when you eat crappy Foods you feel like crap physically and emotionally whether it is guilt because you realize you just ate a whole tub of Ben and Jerry's because you just felt like it or whether it's physically because now you feel bogged down and tired and groggy when you are consuming a lot of refined sugars and a lot of caffeine and refined sugar caffeinated drinks and you hit those walls of highs and lows with your energy that can be really difficult to deal with even on a good day let alone dealing with PMS so it definitely does help a lot to be consuming a cleaner diet I do allow myself to have cheat meals treat meals even like normally just with my exercise and fitness routine just because it actually helps me build muscle and also psychologically it's just good for you to have whatever you like in moderation I never restrict myself fully and especially during that week because I know that during that week I crave more snacky foods and junky foods and ice cream and stuff like that so I don't avoid junk altogether but just overall I don't consume a lot of refined sugars for the most part I don't ever buy like Frappuccinos or caramel macchiatos I don't drink pop I don't drink juice I I consume water coffee and tea those are pretty much the three things that I drink on a daily basis coffee is one thing I should avoid a little bit more because it definitely can contribute to lack of sleep it can contribute to anxiety it can contribute to irritability it can make you feel a little bit more on edge and during that week I usually feel very on edge like I get really anxious and concerned and worried about things that I normally would not worry about during that week so caffeine is something I should be avoiding in general but I love coffee you guys it's my vice I don't drink alcohol I don't smoke cigarettes I don't go out for dinners very often like I don't do things like that so coffee for me is like something I just enjoy so so much and it probably would benefit me to cut back a little bit but so yeah but for me definitely eating a Clean Diet making sure that I'm drinking lots of water and avoiding alcohol is very very helpful when I was younger like quite a lot younger I used to drink a lot especially when I was like in my late teens early 20s like I said I did not have the greatest first half of my life but I definitely was drinking too much on the weekends with my friends and I just yeah can't imagine the impact that alcohol would have on my life these days alcohol for me just has no place in my life it doesn't have a place in the fitness aspect it doesn't help me sleep it makes me feel like garbage it makes me feel dehydrated and gross and groggy I get headaches I just don't handle it very well and I also just think it's really bad for your inhibitions and obviously decision making I think that a little bit of alcohol here and there in moderation socially like for special occasions personally I think that's fine and for me that works okay like I will have two ounces of white wine here and there with a nice steak dinner or something you know every couple of months and that's about it otherwise I don't consume alcohol at all um just in a nutshell it does not make me feel good physically mentally emotionally it just makes me feel like garbage so it's something that I do avoid and I have no doubt that it absolutely helps me deal with my pmdd and helps me avoid some of those depressive symptoms and just feelings of lethargy not wanting to do things yeah so Fitness and eating a clean diet and avoiding alcohol and getting good sleep all of those things totally go hand in hand and even just making small changes in the right direction with those things can help tremendously so the next thing is self-care now this is a lot of stuff this is like an umbrella term that encompasses a ton of different things because obviously self-care for me is also getting sleep going to the gym eating well so there's a lot of things that can go into self-care but also for me self-care is decluttering self-care is keeping my house clean and to Heidi self-care is making sure that I make my bed every morning when I get out of bed because I like the way my bedroom looks when my bed is clean self-care is indulging in hobbies and things that I love one of those things is perfumery I like to keep my house looking nice I love rearranging I love organizing I love just like making myself a cup of coffee and spending a few hours in solitude in my house in my bedroom doing little things here and there and just kind of mucking about like organizing decluttering going through things sniffing my perfumes so that's a little bit of self-care for me keeping a clean house is also really really important to me I know it's easier said than done you guys I do have two children I have had toddlers in the house and I know that that obviously it's easier said than done to keep your place clean but like do the best that you can within your means obviously if you have like three young children running around your house is not going to stay clean and quiet you have to do what you can to find that alone time and to find that peace time for yourself whether it's half an hour at night after they go to bed and you take that half an hour and you clean your house and like do some self-care do a face mask or whatever before you go to sleep you have to find time for that that's very important because you cannot fill somebody else's cup if your cup is empty you cannot give if you do not have so you need to be selfish and you need to look after yourself I have learned this the hard way but I prioritize self-care like I do not feel bad about buying that expensive face cream because it makes me feel like I'm at a spa every day for like two seconds in the morning and it's amazing so looking after myself doing self-care you know putting my best foot forward trying not to let myself quote unquote go like it's very easy to spend your days when you're a parent especially when you're a working parent it's easy to do that I've been there done that but I absolutely you know at this point in my life I've realized how fast time goes by and I refuse to live that kind of life for myself I want to feel great every day to the best of my ability and so that's what I try to do so self-care is huge as well some days you have a bad day and you're not going to feel good about doing self-care you're not going to feel good about doing anything those days are going to come which leads me to my next Point okay so as I just touched on there will be times when you just cannot feel better no matter what you do you cannot feel better anybody who has ever struggled with depression like I have I've struggled with depression by the way aside from pmdd I have had postpartum depression so I know what it's like to go through even harder than pmdd um you know where it's stretched out over a longer period of time I've been there I've been there done that so there are times anybody who's ever struggled with those kind of things or with pmdd knows that sometimes you just can't feel better like there's nothing you can do about it so if you talk to any woman who's gone through PMS or pmdd or deals with mood swings during that time they will tell you that they just can't help it you know um even I know my boyfriend will or in the beginning what parts of our relationship he would say but can't you just like tell yourself that everything's fine like can't you just like don't you know rationally that everything's okay and you're just having a bad day like you're just today you're you're just feeling down for no reason like life is good like can't you just tell yourself that and the truth is no um so number five is self-awareness um when you are in the depths of a depression like I actually get very very depressed sometimes during my pmdd especially the day or two before my period sometimes it gets so bad that like I said I just I feel like life is over like life is ending and I'm significantly sad and depressed and when I am in those moments I can't get out of that like I can't get out of it um and anybody who's struggled with it will tell you rationally they might know that this is just their brains this is just their emotions their hormones their the chemicals in their in their brain and how everything is functioning they might know rationally that this is just them but you still can't get out of it so for me self-awareness has been huge first of all recognizing and learning that these patterns happened around my menstrual cycle so that I knew to expect them and also I knew to plan for them so there's a couple of parts of that the first part is planning around it so obviously don't plan certain things during that week like don't plan important meetings important job interviews conversations that might be difficult if you have a conversation that you have to have with somebody it's probably not the best time to do it during that week see if you can push it ahead to a different time when you're going to be feeling better do not make decision events during that week for the love of God this is something that has been very hard for me to deal with because sometimes you can't help it like you'll make a decision during that week that in that week in that moment you think yes this is a good decision I need to do this and then a few days later after your period comes you look back and you think that was stupid why did I do that only to have to deal with the consequences later or go back and clean up whatever mess I made um you know or conversations arguments um things that didn't need to happen the way that they happened will happen that week so being self-aware and being able to stop yourself before you make a bad decision have a bad experience say something you didn't mean to say quit a job you shouldn't have quit try not to plan occasions during that week so if you can help it try not to schedule you know important family outings or dinner with your in-laws particularly if maybe you already don't maybe get along with your in-laws or something like that you maybe don't want to be having dinner with people that you already struggle to find time to commit to family vacations even vacations with your partner like if you want to get out and do something special and just go away for a few days try to avoid doing it during that time some people may argue and they might say this is the time to go because then you're going to relax and enjoy yourself but for me in my experience it's always made the trip less enjoyable when I would do that because I would find reasons to be upset during the trip it just in my experience is better to save important things for when I'm feeling good during that week of pmdd I don't need anything additional putting more stress on my plate or planes that I have to catch or babysitters I have to arrange or parent-teacher interviews that I have to go and do like pretty much nothing is going to go good that week if I plan it that week so hopefully that makes sense with the planning try to plan around it so that you just give yourself that week additionally if you work night shifts or if you work casually somewhere plan your job around that if you can so for myself I try not to pick up a bunch of night shifts during that week because I know it's already going to be difficult for me to sleep just by virtue of the fact that I'm working night shifts like it's just going to be a disaster so I try not to book myself a whole bunch of shifts in a row I try not to book night shifts I really try to give myself that week to just get through the week and do what makes me happy you know some months are better than other months and I'm sure that there's a lot that has to do with it like the weather and if things were harder that month than other months depending on like what's going on in my personal life we always have things that come up right so sometimes they're better than other times but as a general rule I try not to plan anything that's going to be difficult or complicated or stressful or extra during that week the other part of self-awareness is there's two parts one of them is restraining yourself and this is what's probably the most difficult honestly the most difficult part is dealing with your conversations that you have with yourself during that week and the conversations you have with other people during that week I'm self-aware now so I know that in my head this is just me and I normally would not be feeling this way I'm able to recognize that now where months and years ago I couldn't recognize it it just I would be reactive rather than proactive I would just be in the moment say whatever came to my mind create difficult situations that didn't need to happen these days I'm more self-aware I know that this is just my PMS I know that this is just my hormones and I'm able to stop myself before I get into a spiral of negativity no matter what that is whether it's a conversation with somebody else or whether it's me having a bad day so part of it is that self-awareness and being able to restrain yourself from acting on your emotions at the time because you know that that will pass you know that that is just your hormones now this is honestly the most difficult part because for me when I'm not PMSing I'm in a very clear mind I feel like I'm clear-headed I can see clearly I'm looking at the world through normal glasses everything is fine I can make good decisions I react properly in situations I'm very very courteous and pleasant and bubbly and upbeat and all those kind of things right that's me normally but during that week it's like the opposite happens everything I'm looking at the world through dark dirty glasses everything is bad everyone makes me upset Everything is Everything makes me upset I already feel down in the dumps and depressed and you know things I normally take pleasure in I I want nothing to do with them stuff I normally work on I want to quit like everything goes in the opposite direction for me during that week so it's very very difficult and honestly the most difficult part is getting to a point where you recognize this is just my hormones and then being able to respond and act accordingly so that you don't up your life like that is the biggest thing for me because you can seriously have some pretty bad consequences when you are making decisions out of a bad frame of mind and I think we all know that and if you've been here you understand what I'm saying so part of it is the self-awareness with dealing with life and the other part is just dealing with the fact that you feel like absolute garbage you are depressed you are sad when I come out of it I can't believe that I ever was there but it happens and part of it is being self-aware to be able to tell yourself this is just my hormones this is not reality this is just my ill perception at the moment and it will pass and sometimes when you're having a really really bad day just getting through the next 10 minutes can feel like torture and if you've been there you know so sometimes you just even if you can't feel better even if you don't want to go to the gym you don't want to do a face mask you're not taking pleasure I mean if you're in the depths of depression you are not taking pleasure in any of that stuff nothing is making you happy and you feel like pushing the world away but then when they aren't there you feel sad and miserable and lonely and wish that they were there it's just like it's a horrible horrible feeling to be in that space and I've been there you have to you have to be self-aware enough to be able to tell yourself in this moment I feel like but this will pass this will pass it's important to realize that and to recognize that because otherwise you can have a very Bleak Outlook and I mean sometimes the best that you can do is just get through that moment Sometimes the best thing that you can do is just get through that moment get through that hour get through that night honestly even if you have to cry yourself to sleep and that's the best you can do is lie in bed and cry yourself to sleep if that's the best you can do then do it because it will pass right it will pass I guess that is it in a nutshell so just to recap sleep exercise fitness diet avoid alcohol plan around your emotions self-care and self-awareness those are probably the most important things that have helped me but I do want to end this video by saying that there comes a point when you do need medical help or I have needed medical help and it has happened to me when I was in nursing school actually I was going through such a rough time I had so much on my plate I was working I was a mom single mom going through nursing school full-time so much on my plate so many stressors not getting enough sleep not eating enough lots of things at school going on that were very difficult for me to deal with and I finally one day couldn't get up and go to work I couldn't get off the couch I just cried and cried and cried and I needed help I couldn't keep functioning that way and at that point because there was so much going on in my life that I couldn't control and I couldn't change I mean I needed to finish school I needed to get up and go to work I needed to be a mom I needed to look after the house I needed to do all of these things I mean there was really nothing I could take off my plate I just had such a full plate right and I wasn't coping mentally at all and obviously my PMS made it that much worse so at that point I did go to my doctor and I did start taking an antidepressant and let me tell you at that time that was the best thing I could have done I needed it like I couldn't function anymore without it and if you guys want me to do another video and talk about my experience on that medication what it was how long I was on it how it helped me I can do that um I would not go back on it I'll say that like I'm happy that now at this point I'm not taking anything and I'm managing without it but if you do need something that's not a sign of weakness that's not a sign of you know it doesn't make you a weak person it doesn't mean that you suck in life it just means that you need something else to help you because life is life and sometimes life is really darn hard at the time that was something I really needed it was very helpful it was extremely helpful for me it made it so that I could function and I could do things and I was happy and I had energy um so I do want to end this video by saying that you shouldn't cry yourself to sleep every night constantly all the time continuously I mean if you are feeling like that all the time then maybe it's not just pmdd maybe it's something else maybe you do need more help maybe you need more supports in your life there's lots of different things right everybody's life is so individual so again this is not intended to treat diagnose or give you all of your personal health information and I'm not saying do as I do do everything I do definitely if you are struggling in any way the best thing you can do is see your health care provider and discuss it with them this is again just my anecdotal personal experience with pmdd how it has affected me and the things that I find are very helpful and yeah that is really about it so hopefully this wasn't too painful to sit through because I know I'm not sitting here on camera hopefully this was helpful for somebody I know that you know there's not a lot of information out there from on pmdd because only recently was it ever recognized in the DSM-5 which is the diagnostic and statistical Manual of mental health disorders these are the things that have helped me and I think that they can help whether it is pmdd or PMS or whether it's anything that you're dealing with in life anxiety changes in your life anything that you're going through that presents difficulties for you emotionally hopefully that was either helpful or whoever was listening it helped them to feel like they're not alone and other people are going through it yeah that's really about it so thank you guys for listening and um subscribe if you're interested in other types of videos I do decluttering minimalism perfume videos that's one of my big passions is perfume I do wardrobe declutters and like wardrobe tours bedroom tours just kind of sharing whatever Sparks my joy and makes me happy and yeah I'll see you all next time [Music]

Channel: The Simple Chic Life

Views: 32,176

Keywords: pmdd, pms, how to deal with bad pms, how to deal with pmdd, how to deal with depression, how to live with anxiety, how to live with depression, depression as a parent, depression, anxiety, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, what helps pms, what helps pmdd

Id: YiltcbY5C7Q

Length: 27min 34sec (1654 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 06 2022