TW: Mention of suicide.
Premenstrual Syndrome, or commonly known as PMS, is defined as a group of physical and emotional symptoms that occur in women, typically between ovulation and a period, that is, 1-2 weeks before the period commences. There are known to be around 150 symptoms of PMS, at least one symptom affecting almost 90% of the women around the world, which totals over 3.1 billion people worldwide.
The most common symptoms seen during PMS range among mood swings, joint and muscle pain, breast soreness, irritability, depression, anxiety, abdominal pain, bloating, acne, cravings for certain foods, constipation, diarrhoea, increase/decrease in libido, to name a few.
PMS’s deadlier version, PMDD or Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, shares the same symptoms as PMS but is more severe to the extent of causing serious mental health issues and extreme pain. In fact, it’s so severe that 15% of sufferers attempt to die by suicide at some point in their lives, according to research.
Despite women suffering for so many years, and still having to live with it, the disbelief around the existence of PMS persists heavily.
One major reason is our ignorance of women’s health issues. People tend to undermine pain related to women by terming it as ‘culturally’ or ‘socially’ constructed, rather than biological, that it ends up not getting the much-needed attention. In fact, there’s a huge dearth of research surrounding PMS, both in terms of lack of, or rather unwillingness to provide funds and opportunity.
According to ResearchGate, there are five times as many studies on erectile dysfunction as there are about PMS. Moreover, a considerable gap between the number of women and men in the medical and research fields adds to the problem.
As a result of all the shortcomings combined, the concept of PMS either gets ignored or ‘mansplained’ by the many male researchers and doctors who tend to take even a slight interest in women’s bodies medically. Till date, there’s no sure-shot cure or help for PMS and PMDD. In fact, why it happens to billions of women, the reason is still unknown.
To overcome the disbelief around PMS, healthcare practitioners need to urgently address it with utmost seriousness towards women’s health issues. More and more research has to be initiated with adequate funds allocated to it. Women researchers and practitioners should be on the frontline of such research so as to make it more realistic than hypothetical. There should be the inclusion of more women in clinical trials as well.
Over the counter medicines like Meftal Spas and pills meant for birth control and trial and error methods like sleeping, taking a certain kind of diet, exercising, maintaining a better lifestyle, therapy, might give a relaxing break from all the mental and physical pain women go through during PMS. Yet, attention and efforts over finding a proper cure and reason for it should be prioritized over anything else.
An open dialogue around women, periods and PMS could certainly help. Plus, giving adequate medical attention to one’s mental health, for starters, could make women feel better about themselves during such times. Lastly, start listening to women and believe them, rather than dismissing their problems as something only ‘in their heads’.