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What Helps Liza, 19, With Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

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Editor's Note

Any medical information included is based on a personal experience. For questions or concerns regarding health, please consult a doctor or medical professional.

With our ongoing “What Helps Me” series, The Mighty is leaning into what sets us apart from other health sites: We aim to provide real health advice from real people who live it.

In this spirit, we asked our community for the best insights and tips they’ve developed for managing their conditions. As always, they responded with their unique health stories and we are happy to pass along their well-tested resources to you.

Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

Today, we meet Mighty member Liza. She is 19 years old and lives with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

Liza, what helps you?

A white woman with wavy blonde hair wearing a black blazer smiles while holding a glass.

THE MIGHTY: What helps you most when your condition affects your physical health?

LIZ: Nothing beats a nap! Drifting off to sleep on the sofa with my furry friend and some music playing is so helpful.

What helps you most when your condition affects your mental health?

Being able to talk about it calmly to my partner, a friend, or a family member and being reminded that I’m safe and grounded helps me. Simple reminders to ground my mental state, such as “You’re safe here” or something similar is a huge help.

How do you cope when your normal self-care isn’t working?

My self-care looks different every day. I just have to keep trying until something works. One day it might be a hot bubble bath; the next, it might be starting a book or TV series I’ve always been meaning to begin or taking a walk outside. If nothing works, turning to someone I trust to do self-care with me is a massive help.

Thank you to Liza for her contributions to our community. Did you find this helpful? Add your gratitude in the comments.

If you want to tell us what helps you, you can complete our survey here.

Image via contributor.

Originally published: May 9, 2022
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