**Warning: contains strong language and references to the female reproductive system** Chestnuts not roasting on an open firefor fear I may incinerate myself Yuletide carols being sung by a choir trigger my auditory startle response.Everybody knows cold turkey without meds can bea recipe for disaster timebut the drugs don’t work for me right now you seeso I’ll… Continue Reading →
Those of you who have been following this site for a while may be aware I suffer from a chronic health condition known as PMDD. I haven’t written a PMDD post in some time, because I realise it may not be relevant to most of my readers. Nevertheless, I believe it is important to raise… Continue Reading →
I don’t mean to complainabout my ruthless uterus but all the same(though I hate to make a fuss)periodically it drives mealmost insane. Ok it’s not reallythe uterus, butthe hormones triggeredby its cycles and not even really thatbut the actions of these hormones on the brain. Why is it always ‘the’ brain anyway?as if to say we… Continue Reading →
I haven’t written about PMDD for a while, because I’ve been trying out a new approach for dealing with my symptoms. I wanted to make sure this was working before reporting back and sharing my experience with fellow sufferers. It is important to note that this is not medical advice, I am most certainly not… Continue Reading →
This is a PMDD post. I write these from time to time, mainly to help other sufferers, and to raise awareness of the condition. Also out of sheer exhaustion and exasperation at trying to find some kind of treatment that works. What is PMDD? PMDD is Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. It is often described as ‘a… Continue Reading →
Invisible illnesses. If you have one, you stand a high chance of having spent a large portion of your life being misdiagnosed, misunderstood and doubted, both by medical professionals and the world at large. It is so difficult to live with this kind of gaslighting, and yet for many people (myself included) this is a… Continue Reading →
I promised an update on my latest PMDD treatment ‘about the time I would normally be entering “hell week,”‘ but as the treatment has not lasted that long, I thought it would be more appropriate to give that update now. This post is intended to offer help and support to other sufferers. Please be advised,… Continue Reading →
How can I go onLike thisI sometimes wonderHow can I go onAt allWhen my body Throws me curveballsAnd nobodyCan be asked to understandThe demons that existInside of meThough only temporarilyThey torment me So I lose myselfFor whole days at a timeAnd one day’s damageCan’t be easily undoneIn fourteenWhen it begins againWhen seemingly it wins againAgain again so… Continue Reading →
I haven’t done a PMDD post so far this month. But rest assured, while I’ve been cheerily sending out Postcards from Slovenia, privately I’ve been going through hell. Today I’d like to discuss PMDD, and other mental health conditions, in the light of a thoroughly powerful and disturbing short story by Guy de Maupassant. Spoiler… Continue Reading →
Issue V of Free Verse Revolution’s literary magazine is out today, and is entitled ‘Cassandra: Prophecy and Deceit.’ I am honoured to be included amongst the list of contributors. For this issue, I submitted a poem about PMDD, a pre-menstrual disorder which affects up to 1 in 20 women of reproductive age, most of whom… Continue Reading →
