Understanding the causes of premenstrual syndrome is the first step to coping with the consequences
Passengers requesting glasses of water is a pretty common occurrence during Pasana Yimyaem's working day. But at least once a month this seasoned flight attendant finds herself regarding such people as right pains in the neck and wishing that they could be tossed off the aircraft immediately like so much unwanted baggage.
"Sometimes I get unreasonably grumpy about things," she conceded. "A passenger asking for something as simple as water will get me so annoyed and inside I'll be screaming, 'not again!'."
Actress and model Panwad Hemmanee is often overcome with similar feelings of unaccountable, uncontrollable resentment.
"There's a certain period every month when I'm prone to get unnecessarily irritable about things or people around me," she said. "My older sister once casually asked whether I'd had dinner yet. 'Can't you see that I haven't?' I snapped back at her."
Pasana and Panwad are not in the minority, unfortunately; many women are easily angered, flying into irrational fits of rage, by insignificant matters in their everyday lives. In fact, 90% of women around the world suffer from what used to be called PMT (premenstrual tension) but is now more correctly referred to as premenstrual syndrome (PMS) because it encompasses a whole range of uncomfortable changes that affect a woman not just physically but also emotionally in the run-up to her monthly period.
According to the dean of Chulalongkorn University's College of Public Health Sciences, Prof Surasak Taneepanichskul, PMS is a very common condition, which usually strikes a woman five to seven days prior to the beginning of her next menstrual cycle.
"Basically, women experience different levels of stress and anxiety," Dr Surasak explained. "Before the onset of the period, the level of sex hormones inside the body drastically drops so as to allow the shedding of the uterine lining. The lowering hormonal level affects the part of the central nervous system which controls emotions, resulting in a number of premenstrual conditions, both physical and emotional."
According to Dr Surasak, who is also a gynaecologist, the physical effects of PMS include abdominal cramps, bloating, breast tenderness, pimples, swollen hands and feet, headaches and difficulty in sleeping. The emotional aspects involve unusual mood shifts, excessive stress, depression and anxiety.
Many of these symptoms are similar to those found in women who have reached menopause and who are trying to cope with rapidly fluctuating levels of natural sex hormones. This drastic physical change explains why women are easily irritated or become enraged for little or no reason.
"More than 50% of women worldwide develop more than one symptom of PMS prior to the onset of their monthly bleeding," Dr Surasak noted.
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a more severe form of PMS. While the symptoms of PMDD are similar to those of PMS, they are generally more intense and debilitating. PMDD can cause extreme mood shifts which are, in many cases, very hard to control. The psychological effects can be so severe as to force sufferers to seek treatment from an experienced psychologist. Fortunately, PMDD is not that common.
"In the United States about 12% of women suffer from PMDD, but it Thailand it only seems to occur in about five per cent of females," the gynaecologist remarked.
Whether caused by PMS or PMDD, the unpredictable mood swings and emotional frenzy that result affect not only the sufferer herself but also those with whom she comes into contact; they can have a tremendously negative effect on people around her and damage relationships she has with co-workers, friends and even family members.
A fair number of people believe that taking vitamin B supplements or consuming lots of leafy green vegetables and low-fat foods or having regular workouts can alleviate the worst symptoms of PMS, but Dr Surasak points out that these claims have not yet been scientifically proven so women should not rely on them as a protective shield.
For those who regularly exhibit severe symptoms attributed to PMS, he recommends a course of hormones to replace the natural sex hormones that run low prior to the start of the monthly menstruation cycle. Women afflicted with PMDD may need to get a prescription for tranquillisers, he added.
"Hormone treatments usually prove very effective as a remedy for PMS in Thai patients" he noted.
To those men who claim that women are difficult to understand, Dr Surasak has a suggestion: he says that to understand women one must first comprehend female biology and bodily function. To clarify the picture regarding male and female sex hormones, he makes an analogy with a switch for an electric light bulb.
"Men and women are completely different in terms of physical and emotional changes in their bodies when the level of natural sex hormones decreases," the specialist remarked. "Let's imagine hormones as being like electricity. As she approaches the age of 50 and certainly as she heads towards 60, a women's switch is in the 'off' position _ by which I mean that after menopause the female sex hormone is totally depleted. But men of a similar age still have the switch in the 'dimmer' position, by which I mean that their supply of male hormone is reduced but not totally dried up.
"And this menopause analogy works equally well for PMS. So when it comes to a woman's mood swings, what those directly impacted have to do is to understand the situation and try to put up with it as best they can."
No comments:
Post a Comment