I often get asked “Dr Dani, does stress make PMS worse?”. Well, if you suffer like many woman from bad PMS, both the physical stuff (feeling bloated, tender, headachey, tired etc) AND the emotional stuff (more sensitive, more irritable, get ‘teary’ more easily) it can really make you dread ‘that time of the month.”
How Chronic Stress Makes PMS Worse
One of the things you may not know is that chronic stress that is not being managed with a regular mindbody practice, can actually cause hormonal disruptions and make monthly PMS symptoms WAAY worse. We can’t avoid stress, especially in a busy modern life, but how stress affects our physiology and our endocrine, or hormonal systems, depends on what we do each day to ‘buffer’ it–meaning a daily, simple, quick mindbody practice.
How To Use Mindbody Practices To Reduce Stress And PMS
I like to start the day with yoga, even for 15 minutes if I’m in a rush. Just 10 minutes a day of relaxation practice is enough over time to ‘buffer’ against the negative effects of stress and can really have a HUGE affect on reducing or even getting rid of PMS symptoms! In the pre menopause time frame, these hormonal imbalances can become even more pronounced, so if you are approaching menopause, it’s extra important to find a mindbody practice now more than ever to do each day!:)
For more ways to manage stress to help your PMS and get access yoga videos and stress busting guided meditations, sign up for my free course below this post :)
I thought that stress caused by PMS but it is the contrary as what you have said. I had a second thought about it though because you have a point. Eitherway, I drink a cup of theanine? tea to keep calm and ease the pain of PMS. Atleast, I also know what I am gonna do to change it.