The following project aims to discuss the debilitating illness Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), whilst comparing and contrasting the symptoms and severity of PMDD to Premenstrual tension (PMT). The last fifty years has finally shown recognition to the fact women suffer recurring symptoms surrounding their menstrual cycle. Women prior to this time had to endure these problems in silence and put up with them as part of their life.
Due to the change in society newly emancipated women given the freedom of speech spoke out and made an issue of these problems, with he topic made public many women finally realised it was normal to have such problems and began to seek medical assistance. With the increasing demand of treatment required further research was carried out which led doctors to establish women could indeed suffer from two forms of premenstrual disorder, these disorders were finally given titles Premenstrual Tension and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.
Intensive research uncovered women could suffer extreme bouts of depression and abnormal behaviour which could lead to self-harming (see appendix 1) or iolence against others. With this knowledge PMT and PMDD were added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). There has been much debate surrounding these illnesses, many critics have stated women exaggerate their problems for attention or for avoidance of arguments.
It is obvious from the ignorance of these individuals they haven’t had the misfortune of ever having to live with such a debilitating disease. The following hypothesis aims to prove men and the older generation have imited information surrounding both PMT and PMDD, or the results concluded may be due to chance alone Method of Research The method of research used within this psychological study was a questionnaire which consisted of ten closed questions.
The ten participants who performed the questionnaire were chosen using the matched participant design, five men and five women each of approximately equal age were used to create an equal and more precise questionnaire. The participants chosen were asked to complete the questionnaire in a eutral environment with minimum distractions, for this purpose the subjects attended the local library all at the same time and were seated so they had to answer independently. Once the questionnaire was complete the participants waited quietly for the others to finish.
I chose to study the topic PMDD as I have witnessed first hand the devastating repercussions that can occur through avoidance of treatment and unsupporting spouses. My mother has suffered from PMT related illnesses since she was twenty, during this time my sister and me were born, the elationship we had with our mother was extremely difficult, one day she was the best mum in the world who loved to plait our hair and take us to the park the next day she was a seething monster, I never knew from day to day which persona my mum would take.
As the years went by and I got older I began to notice the friction between my mum and dad which my monster mum caused, my dad would disappear for days or huge arguments would occur with a lot of shouting and pot throwing, the inevitable happened and finally they told me they didn’t love each other anymore. My mum moved out which led to seeing her only on a weekend, my sister and I were devastated I was nine years old.
Our family life became more sedate and quiet, and when I saw my mum she was mostly the happy mum again. As the years went by I started to notice a sequence in my mums behaviour, she would be the monster mum about a week before her period and the lovely mum the week during her period, during my first year at senior school the girls of my class were given a talk on periods and symptoms which were classed as PMT, all the ymptoms given were identical to my monster mums.
One weekend she was extremely upset and I knew she was suffering I suggested she see the doctor, she laughed at me and told me there was nothing he could do for her, I showed her a leaflet the school nurse had given me on PMT which explained possible treatments, she seemed interested and I left it with her to read, over the next few months the monster mum seemed to be lessening.
My mum had finally being diagnosed with PMDD, she now takes an ntidepressant which aids her symptoms, sometimes the monster mum does reappear but that’s usually when my step dad has annoyed her which is part an parcel of having a spouse any way. If I was to repeat my questionnaire again I would increase the amount of people used and add some further questions, and interview would probably back up any fresh findings and add fresh light on to how the severity of such a debilitating disease can affect an individual.
What is Premenstrual Dsyphoric Disorder? Millions of women around the world dread the inevitable recurrent symptoms f menses, experiencing breast tenderness, menstrual cramps, bloating and mild mood changes; these symptoms are activated by changes in a woman’s gonadotrophins due to the initiation of the menstrual cycle (see appendix 2), these symptoms alone are categorically referred to as Premenstrual Tension (PMT) the condition PMT is thought to affect at least 75% of menstruating women.
Net doctor 23/03/04) The condition Premenstrual Dsyphoric Disorder (PMDD) is sometimes confused with PMT, although many of the symptoms are similar the severity of PMDD an be debilitating, affecting 5% of menstruating women, (Net doctor 23/04/04) PMDD is known to be a disruptive illness, which can lead to women unable to carry out their usual day to day lives.
For many years it was believed PMDD was caused by the rise of hormone levels prior to menses, this statement has since been refuted. Obviously the onset of menses plays a significant part but it is actually changes in serotonin levels (see appendix 3) within the brain which cause many of the severe symptoms ontributing to PMDD.
PMDD and PMS are recognised medical condition’s which appear on the DSM-IV register, certain criteria needs to be established to differentiate between PMDD and PMS, in order for the correct treatment to be administered. The Symptoms of PMDD The symptoms of PMDD should surface after ovulation, progressively worsening the week before menses, the onset of menses alleviates the symptoms which become absent on approximately day two of menses; the PMDD sufferer should notice this pattern every month.
