#pmddawarenesschallenge

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 13: Education. Public school "family life class" was what I later discovered was "abstinence+ sex education." My mom similarly gave me "the talk" and provided reference books, and made sure I attended to my gynecological health. In college, I took multiple human sexuality classes. At no point during any of this formal and informal education did premenstrual dysphoric disorder come up. Granted, PMDD wasn't officially in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders until 2013, long after I had completed my graduate degree and entered the work force, but it was a known ailment. Still, premenstrual disturbances received only minor comment in texts. I genuinely question if when I hit my breaking point in 2016, which led to my diagnosis, if I would have been misdiagnosed had I not had access to Stanford Hospital & Clinic resources. Would I have been misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder, like many PMDD sufferers are? My gynecologist's office didn't take the emotional PMS symptoms changing, when I was forcibly switched from combination hormone oral contraceptives to progesterone only ones, seriously until I demanded more help, beyond telling me I was physiologically normal and that "every woman's body is different." I had the privilege of education and resources, but not everyone is so lucky. For PMDD in particular, International Association for Premenstrual Disorders is a great resource of information: https://iapmd.org/about-pmdd However, for general gynecological wellness and knowledge betterment I recommend doing the following: 1. Promote sexual health education. If you don't know the basics of how human sexual biology works educate yourself. 2. If a menstruating person in your life is having debilitating symptoms, if they aren't already, make sure they receive medical aid for determining what's amiss. (See #1, so you have a baseline.) 3. Donate to organizations that provide education and resources to underprivileged menstruating folks. PMDD is a problem 1 in 20 women have, but lack of understanding of female biological health effects all of society. (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNoYlU3BEL5/?igshid=epuh99ltawqm

[malibewddha]

#Repost @smithcapades ・・・ Check out my fb note. Link down below: I have been keeping a secret from my loved ones, but I wanted to share it today to kick off the start of the PMDD awareness month. I was diagnosed with PMDD in November 2017 and for me to publicly share that with you is scary, and it makes me feel very vulnerable. I wanted to share my story because PMDD doesn't have that much exposure and I wanted the women who related to my experience to go to their doctor with some knowledge and be able to advocate for themselves. I wanted them to know that this is a real condition. #1in20PMDD #PMDDAwarenessChallenge #PMDD #PMDDBrave #MevPMDD #PMDDPeeps #PMDDShareGetCare #PMDDAwareness #PCOS #bipolar #bipolardisorder #endometriosis #womenshealth #mentalhealth To read more of my story: https://ift.tt/2pX5VsJ https://ift.tt/2J6ihYl

[sarahgraham7]

New on #HystericalWomen: Elaina Moscato writes about the total exhaustion that comes with her #PMDD - a severe form of #PMS - and being dismissed as a hypochondriac by doctors and even members of her own family. Read it at hystericalwomen.co.uk / link on my profile. . #pmddawareness #pmddsupport #pmddawarenesschallenge #pmddpeeps #pmddwarrior #shinealightonpmdd http://bit.ly/2UMNicp

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 30: Reflection. 30 days, a post a day, and me blasting out to the public my PMDD battles. I'm glad that I did it, in so much as I did it my way, and appreciate all the conversations and positive feedback these posts received. The posts ranged from therapeutic, to incredibly hard to write, to fun artistic exercises. It's been a journey, but the road goes ever on. (at War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA) https://www.instagram.com/p/COT0iE8BHg7/?igshid=uwtfzs2zxkg1

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 18: Advice to Your Younger Self. What would I tell my younger self? You need to insist that It's not just you being a moody teenager: your menstrual periods are psychologically and physically worse than the average person's. When investigations into why your periods are gnarly only yield that you have normal, healthy anatomy and hormone levels, demand recommendations for combating the symptoms. In retrospect, I didn't ask enough questions. I just accepted the narrative that periods suck for all afflicted with them, and nothing can be done to make them less bad. Don't believe nothing can improve your situation until you've tried. (at Palmdale, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CN1KbzeBKwV/?igshid=1laxpud0y2mf5

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 17: Hands at Work. I started crocheting because one of my best friends wanted to teach me. I continued to crochet because I wanted to master it. I became obsessed when it became an outlet for creating, keeping my hands busy, and exercising focus. Even when my PMDD symptoms are bad, I can still crochet. It gives me something to do other than just lie around, and gives me a place to focus. It's become therapeutic, as well as a creative exercise and past time. I want to take this into a more artful metaphor about dealing with PMDD, the importance of incremental progress, practice and how sometimes things go really well, and sometimes they don't, which in turn becomes a teachable moment, but I just hit the first part of my cycle that makes everything a chore. So, just take my word for it. (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNycLPpBIZG/?igshid=1ltqnhwpuxo5h

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 5: "Who holds your hand?" I am blessed to have a strong support system of friends, family and colleagues, but more than anyone else my fiance Cristian is the person there for me as I navigate all the uncertainty that PMDD brings. He encourages and supports my efforts to combat my symptoms, and does whatever he can to help. Sometimes it's running out to pick up ice cream and red wine. Sometimes it's reminding me to go outside and take a walk. Sometimes it's giving me space and quiet. He's versatile, and doesn't scare easily, and is my favorite for a reason. [The photo, incidentally, is us at the Warhol From A to Z exhibit at @sfmoma back in 2019.] (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNT0ARlBIrd/?igshid=122ajece15vz6

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 16: Happy Place. A screenshot from Dorothy (Judy Garland) singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in "The Wizard of Oz" (Dir. Victor Fleming, 1939, USA). This image symbolizes many of my favorite happy places... Within the world of a beloved book, Absorbed in a favorite film, In cinefilia and film studies, Images rendered in Technicolor, The George Eastman Museum, The Castro Theatre, Single screen and neighbor cinemas that continue to exhibit revival cinema, Comradery and connections with family, friends, colleagues, and members of the LGBTQ+ community, In irreverent jokes, In treasured memories, In connection. #pmdawarenessmonth2022 https://www.instagram.com/p/CcbQ10evMkk/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 29: Looking Forward. It is heartening to know that more and more people are learning the difference between PMS and PMDD, and the impact of the latter on the lives of anatomically female individuals. Personaly, with a post-pandemic future closer than ever, I am looking forward to routines that allow me to be more active, out and about, and doing things that will lessen my symptoms. All the same, I know I live a privileged existence. I have insurance, a white collar job, and access to experts. Not all women do. Some don't even have guaranteed access to sanitary products. We need to do better by people who aren't white cisgenderer men in terms of health care access and treatment. We need to tear down taboos around mental health care too. I think enough other people need and want these things too that we'll get there. (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CORuac4h7Dw/?igshid=1wb1z8md8fwyf

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 28: PMDD Won't Take Away... ...my will to get back up. I hate losing time and feeling guilty that I need to step back from my usual activities due to PMDD showing up, but that doesn't mean after a much needed rest I won't pick myself up and resume my regularly scheduled program. I am writing this post on a day where I needed to take a sick day, and rest and crochet and watch a period piece procedural, with my phone muted. It took me awhile to think of how to answer today's prompt, because for all my espousing the power of boundaries and rest, I hate admitting that I need the rest. I hate admitting that my symptoms have gotten the better of me. The fact that depression, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, come along as part of PMDD symptoms doesn't help. I am stubborn as hell though, and that means I will recover from what's ailing me, even if it means forcing myself to relax. https://www.instagram.com/p/COO-2j4h0m5/?igshid=up59avi4wodg

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 27: PMDD Remembrance Day. April 27th is a day of remembering folks who PMDD led to their premature death. I do not have names or stories directly related to share. So instead, I will give remembrance to Anarcha, Betsey, Lucy, and the unnamed 9 other enslaved African women that were experimented on, without anastasia, by Dr. J. Marion Sims to unlock the secrets of female anatomy. Sims became "the Father of Gynecology" for exploiting the bodies and lack of rights of these women. Yes, his findings have gone on to save countless women, but the medical rape and misogynoir perpetrated here is part of the story of those advancements, and needs to receive wider awareness. For more information and context: Remembering Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey: The Mothers of Modern Gynecology https://www.npr.org/2017/02/07/513764158/remembering-anarcha-lucy-and-betsey-the-mothers-of-modern-gynecology Remembering Anarcha, Betsey and Lucy: February 28 to March 1 https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/remembering-anarcha-betsey-and-lucy-february-28-to-march-1 Black Subjectivity and the Origins of American Gynecology https://www.aaihs.org/black-subjectivity-and-the-origins-of-american-gynecology/ The More Up Campus https://www.anarchalucybetsey.org/ Image credit: Robert Thom, “Illustration of Dr. J. Marion Sims with Anarcha ,” Young American Republic, accessed April 27, 2021, http://projects.leadr.msu.edu/youngamerica/items/show/123. https://www.instagram.com/p/COL1d-Ehb7_/?igshid=s6jkwbecl72k

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 26: Strong. Last night, when I was getting ready for bed, my PMDD symptoms showed up like a drunken roommate. My nervous tension and physical symptoms calmed down enough so that I finally could get some sleep, and then one of my neighbors decided that 3am was the ideal time to set off fireworks. After a disruptive night's sleep, whilst willing myself to get up, because my share of a time sensitive project was due at work, so taking extra time off to sleep was not an option, I saw today's #pmddawarenessmonth prompt and thought, "Are you kidding me?" I then proceeded to rally through my day, raw irritability needing to be constantly tempered, and got the time sensitive work requests done. Does rallying through my symptoms, and keeping them from damaging relationships, make me strong? Survival and preventing negative consequences is an act of practicality, not strength, to me. Does it take strength to do that? I guess so. Frankly, I rather not have to be strong; I rather just be. (at San Francisco, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/COJvjhhBEe9/?igshid=1gwaii69i7i3b

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 25: Advocacy. Engaging with #pmddawarenessmonth is advocacy. In each post I have talked about how I actively advocate for my well being, and increase knowledge of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Open conversations, and directly stating your needs and expectations to those for whom your care is dependent is essential. If openly advocating for yourself is something you're inexperienced with, or if your healthcare providers haven't taken your complaints seriously, don't just explain your documented symptoms, explain their impact. How often has your period necessitated you take a sick day, or time off work? Caused rifts with family, friends or coworkers? Or otherwise derailed you functioning normally? Making it clear to my doctors that a chronic condition was interfering with my life and livelihood is how I finally started getting the help that I needed. https://www.instagram.com/p/COGg_wQhWFY/?igshid=1n1zjoc7cmg9t

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 24: #pmddpeeps Quoting Jane Lane here may be hyperbolic, but as far as I knew before #pmddawarenessmonth started, no one else I knew had premenstrual dysphoric disorder. I knew women with gnarly periods, yes, but the causes differed. By taking part in PMDD Awareness Month, I discovered one of my role model cousins, a close friend from high school, and a former co-worker also had it. Discovering 3 other badass, cool women had it too was surprising and heartening. I never had been interested in finding a support group for PMDD, but I am glad to know that I have people to discuss struggles with who have firsthand experience. https://www.instagram.com/p/COEPCB_BDAW/?igshid=1cu04i21o8m3z

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 23: PMDD Has Taught Me. Having premenstrual dysphoric disorder has taught me to be unapologetic about self preservation. A coworker recently told me that she was inspired by the boundaries I have regarding work/life and my overall health. I told her that they came, in part, from having been to a dark, out of control place, and not wanting to return there. This self preservation comes tempered with compassion. I have a chronic condition and often need space to deal with it; I want to enable similarly affected folks around me to feel free to do so. Similarly, I feel a kinship to anyone who has had to fight ignorance and bias within the medical profession to have their healthcare and needs taken seriously. Being diagnosed with PMDD made me more of an advocate for sexual health education and open discussion around menstruation. I cannot say that I am about "period positivity" because I have never found anything positive about menstruating personally, but it shouldn't be a taboo topic or something weaponized against women and AFAB folks. And just as I refuse to let men shame or attempt to diminish me because I menstruate, I refuse to let women who aren't afflicted by menstruation problems attempt to silence discourse around problematic periods because it reinforces negative stereotypes. Well, PMDD makes me the legendary "monstrous feminine", to borrow from Barbara Creed. I will gladly be monstrous. Those rendered so defy the status quo, force people to confront fears, and become a target for outing people who are the real enemies to society. Sounds like a teachable moment, or a Guillermo del Toro flick. (at Stanford, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/COB3FqOhKv0/?igshid=op8f35kkxpuu

[pandoramsbox]

#pmddawarenesschallenge Day 22: Treatment. Beyond the usual recommendations for less uncomfortable menstrual periods--exercise regularly, take calcium supplements--the primary recommended treatment for premenstrual dysphoric disorder is the combination estrogen-progesterone birth control pill. I can attest to The Pill's effectiveness, as going on it at 18 is part of why I thought I grew out of the emotional symptoms of my period with time. Little did I know that I had PMDD and was on a solid treatment for it. Would my general practitioner have forced me off The Pill when my blood pressure got high in 2011 had she known it was treating my PMDD, as well as doing birth control duty? Possibly. PMDD wasn't officially recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders until 2 years later. And even once it was known, GP's tend to fixate on weight and blood pressure over anything else, in my experience. However, if it was a known diagnosis for me then, might she have sent me to the Stanford Psych Clinic where they were researching such things to help me transition to a different treatment? God, I would hope so. It would have saved me from 5 years of drama and questioning what was wrong with me. Come my 2016 diagnosis though, my blood pressure was still a roadblock to me returning to The Pill, so I would up on antidepressants. And I took to them like a duck to water. They've needed some minor adjustment, but they've been a successful treatment for me. That said, I continue to work towards going back on The Pill. Why be on an IUD and antidepressants when one medication will cover both needs? My gyno is favorable to trying it, but I am about to get a new GP, and don't know what hoops I will have to jump through to get her to agree. And despite all these headaches, I'm lucky. (And not just because I have health insurance and local experts.) Not everyone can use The Pill or antidepressants to treat PMDD, or other menstrual or mood disorders, because they can cause worse symptoms than they're meant to alleviate. So even if I can't go back on The Pill, at least the antidepressants make my PMDD more manageable. https://www.instagram.com/p/CN_UGh0hWXG/?igshid=1rf2wblugcooh