PMS or premenstrual syndrome is one of those annoying realities goddesses everywhere wrestle with in varying degrees. Some goddesses wouldn’t know a PMS symptom if it tripped them as they were walking down the street. Other goddesses have an intimate understanding of what it’s like to suffer with PMS. The vast majority of women everywhere have at least some experience with PMS. The whole point of this post is to help conquer PMS. It can be done, but it may take a multifaceted approach to do it.
Causes of PMS
Though the exact cause of PMS is not clear, there are some theories out there. Those include:
- Premenstrual hormonal fluctuations
- Changes in the brain chemical serotonin can bring about PMS
- There may be a link to depression
- Stress – Here we go again with the stress thing. It causes way too many problems for our goddesses.
- Diet – A poor diet and excessive consumption of salty foods, sugar, coffee, nicotine and alcohol appear to have links to PMS.
- Lack of exercise – Though no direct link has been made between PMS and exercise, the fact that exercise is one of the treatments for PMS is a good indication that it may be a way to help conquer PMS.
Symptoms
The symptoms of PMS can vary from goddess to goddess. One goddess may have few if any symptoms while another may be plagued with every one of them. Here are some of the major symptoms of PMS:
- Sore breasts
- Bloating
- Increased appetite and cravings
- Mood swings including anxiety, irritability, anger, depression (crying for no reason) and social withdrawal.
- Insomnia
- Inability to concentrate
- Pain in the joints or muscles
- Fluid retention
- Acne
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Tiredness
- Headache
- Dizziness
These symptoms can last from 3 – 14 days.
Here are some pointers to help you conquer PMS
- Take a ½ hour walk a day. This will prevent and alleviate several PMS symptoms like bloating and pain. Swimming is also a good option.
- Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables to get those complex carbohydrates. Avoid excessive salty foods, refined carbohydrates and alcohol.
- Take a good quality multivitamin – You want to make sure you’re getting enough calcium and magnesium. Note: If you crave chocolate during your PMS, that may indicate you need magnesium.
- Control the stress – Bet you’re getting tired of reading that in my posts. Anyway, have yourself a relaxing spa day, meditate, use calming essential oils in a diffuser and or let a good masseuse go to work on you. Do whatever it takes to relax (besides the possible urge to destroy something).
There are a number of essential oils that you can use in a diffuser or add to your bath that can really help you with stress, irritability and anxiety. I have included the best posts under “Related articles” below so you can have the formulations on hand when you need them. None are complicated, but all are oh so good.
There are drugs your doctor may prescribe to help you through PMS. Of course, I prefer our goddesses use natural therapies. Why? No side effects and healthier.
If you want to learn more about PMS, check out http://www.naturalnurse.com/pms.htm.
It’s an awesome site that goes into a lot of detail that I haven’t covered in this post.
Now go have fun and relax.
Related articles:
Recipes Using Essential Oils for PMS