Is PMS Real?

Would we use this worn-out phrase as an excuse for being the screaming Banshees from Hell? Would we use it as a ploy for sympathy and attention? Would we use it as a reason not to go with you to Poker Night at your frat house? How could we stoop so low as to use it to pardon ourselves from having dinner with your parents? Okay, now that we've brought it right out in the open that PMS is a great excuse for just plain annoying behavior, let's look at PMS as it really is, not as an excuse to explain or justify Girls Behaving Badly.

PMS is real
For some women, the symptoms are mild, but for others, the symptoms can be physically and emotionally traumatic. PMS is classified both as a medical condition and a mental health condition. PMS has certain medical symptoms such as fluctuating levels of the hormone estrogen, and the imbalance of the brain chemical (called "neurotransmitters") serotonin. This chemical governs our emotions, our appetite and our sleep, among other things. Other physical symptoms may include abdominal pain upon ovulation and intense, incapacitating migraine headaches right before or during our periods, and insomnia. These symptoms can be medically treated safely and effectively, depending upon the frequency and severity.




Body Chemistry
In addition to those pesky physical symptoms, during the week before our menstrual period, many women experience depression; anxiety and mood instability are all components of depression. Again, the culprit is serotonin and estrogen levels. You won't have any problem noticing when we're having PMS depression symptoms; we can be cranky, easily irritated, overly emotional, withdrawn, and apathetic about things we normally like such as exercise, going out on the town, or just spending some "snuggle" time with you. Women who have severe PMS can adore you one minute, and hate your guts the very next! Don't worry, it's not about you. It's about our body chemistry.

Dealing with the Behavior
Once we realize how badly we've acted, we should apologize and explain why we just clawed your eyes out. PMS does not excuse or rationalize annoying, hurtful behavior, but it does explain such behavior. Thus, women who are pre-menstrual must understand their physical and emotional symptoms so we can recognize them when we experience them; we should take extra precautions not to overwhelm our partner with our PMS drama.

Men, on the other hand, also need to recognize their partner's symptoms as being "that time of the month," and try very hard to be patient and to remember that it's just not about you! But even knowing this doesn't keep your feelings from being hurt when she launches into a tirade about every thing you've done wrong from the beginning of the world until that very moment. Hateful things once said, can't be unsaid. It would serve us well, men and women both, to know what you both are dealing with and conduct ourselves with dignity.

How to Treat It
Women who have only mild PMS symptoms such as bloating, feeling tired, and just a bit on the cranky side generally don't need medical and/or mental health assistance. The symptoms last a couple of days until their period begins, and that's it. No big deal. However, very severe symptoms of PMS should be taken quite seriously. If our hormone levels are wildly out of control, gynecologists usually recommend that women with these severe symptoms use birth control pills; the hormones in the pills keep us at "steady state" instead of all over the map. Or all over the ceiling. Or clawing your face off!

Believe it on very rare occasions, women have killed their partners and even their children in the hysteria of PMS rage and been found not guilty due to temporary insanity. While this may be a subject of eternal debate among prosecutors, defense attorneys and juries, there's no denying the fact that severe cases of PMS can have very serious, even deadly, complications. Women may become at serious risk for suicide during the pre-menstrual days. This is nothing to be taken lightly, despite all the jokes about PMS.

When it gets this bad, it's no laughing matter. In addition to birth control pills (whether you need them or not) to keep your hormones at a steady state, a mental health professional will almost always recommend that women with severe symptoms take an anti-depressant medication not only right before their period, but every day. Why? Because the new class of anti-depressants are extremely safe and effective for mood stabilization all day, every day. This type of anti-depressant specifically targets the neurotransmitter, serotonin.

Now you know, gentlemen: PMS is very real. The very best thing you can do for your partner if she has serious physical and mental health symptoms is to insist that she see her doctor right away. Neither of you have to live like this. Besides, if you think PMS is challenging, wait until she hits menopause!


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Most Helpful Guy

  • My ex had PMS. I sorta thought it was a joke, but then she always was so angry and had crazy moodswings and frustrated whenever her period was around that time I think. I had advised her to go see a doctor, but she didn't think it was anything. Now that I think back about it, our relationship was really unstable because of this. She was really immature about it too. Even though I really never want to see or talk to her again, I really would want to advise her to go see a doctor. Too late now...

Most Helpful Girl

  • I went on birth control to help with my insane pms. Three weeks of that crap was exhausting.

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What Girls & Guys Said

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  • Very informative, I will take this into consideration next time i am on the receiving end of PMS. If only all men and women actually tried to understand each other's behavior based on modern research. Well that would change the world wouldn't it? :-). Thanks for sharing!

  • This is very informative and refreshed my memory more about the symptoms.

  • Lol I like this

  • Oh God is it real, and when it's bad, it's brutal.

  • Its true but we do use it as an excuse

  • I read that only 4% of women actually do get PMS