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Thread: Studies show.. PMS not real!

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    Default Studies show.. PMS not real!

    Psychology: Eighth Edition by Carole Wade and Carol Tavris. 2006.

    Controversy has also raged about another long-term rhythm, the female menstrual cycle, which occurs, on average, every 28 days. During the first half of the cycle, an increase in hormone estrogen causes the lining of the uterus to thicken in preparation for a possible pregnancy. At mid-cycle, the ovaries releases a mature egg, or ovum. Afterward, the ovarian sac that contained the egg begins to produce progesterone which helps prepare the uterine lining to receive the egg. Then, if conception does not occur, estrogen and progesterone levels fall, the uterine lining sloughs off as the menstrual flow, and the cycle begins again.

    The interesting question for psychologists is whether these physical changes are correlated with emotional or intellectual changes, as folklore and tradition would have us believe. Most people seem to think so. In the 1970s, a vague cluster of physical and emotional symptoms associated with the days preceding menstruation- including fatigue, headache, irritability, depression- came to be thought of as an illness and was given a label: "premenstrual syndrome" ("PMS"). Several popular books have asserted, without any evidence whatsoever, that most women suffer from it.

    What does the evidence actually show? Many women do have physical symptoms associated with menstruation, including cramps, breast tenderness, and water retention, although women vary tremendously in this regard. And of course these physical symptoms can make some women feel grumpy or unhappy, just as pain can make men feel grumpy or unhappy. But emotional symptoms associated with menstruation- notably, irritability and depression- are rare, which is why we put "PMS" in quotation marks. In fact, fewer than 5 percent of all women have such symptoms predictable over their cycles (Brooks-Gunn, 1986; Reid, 1991; Walker, 1994). Just as with "SAD," more people claim to have symptoms than actually do.

    If true PMS is so uncommon, then why do so many women think they have it? One possibility is that they tend to notice feelings of depression or irritability when these moods happen to occur premenstrually but overlook times which such moods are absent premenstrually. Or they may label symptoms that occur before a period as "PMS" and attribute the same symptoms at other times of the month to a stressful day or a low grade on an English paper. A women's perceptions of her own emotional ups and downs can also be influenced by cultural attitudes and myths about menstruation. Some studies have made biases in the reporting of premenstrual and menstrual symptoms more likely by using the questionnaires with titles such as "Menstrual Distress Questionnaire."

    To get around these problems, psychologists have polled women ab out their psychological and physical well-being without revealing the true purpose of the study (e.g., AuBuchon & Calhoun, 1985; Chrisler, 2000; Englander-Golden, Whitmore & Dienstbier, 1978; Gallant et al., 1991; Hardie, 1997; Parlee, 1982; Rapkin, Chang & Reading, 1988; Slade, 1984; Vila & Beech, 1980; Walker, 1994). Using double-blind procedures, they have had women report symptoms for a single day and have then gone back to see what phase of the menstrual cycle the women were in; or they have had women keep daily records over an extended period of time. Some studies have included a control group that is usually excluded from research on hormones and moods: men! Here are the major findings:

    * No gender differences exist in mood. Overall, women and men do not differ significantly in the emotional symptoms they report or the number of mood swings they experience over the course of a month, as you can see in Figure 5.1 (McFarlane, Martin & Williams, 198

    * No relationship exists between stage of the menstrual cycle and emotional symptoms. Most women do not have the typical "PMS" symptoms even when they firmly believe they do (Hardie, 1997; McFarlane & Williams, 1994). They may recall their moods as having been more unpleasant before or during menstruation, but, as you can also see in Figure 5.1, their own daily reports fail to bear them out.

    * No consistent "PMS" pattern exists across successive menstrual cycles. Even when women know that menstruation is being studies, most do not consistently report negative (or positive) psychological changes from one cycle to the next. Their moods and emotions vary far more in degree an direction than one would expect if predictable hormone fluctuations were the main reason for these changes (Walker, 1994).

    * No connection exists between "PMS" and behavior. There is no relationship between stage of the menstrual cycle and work efficiency, problem solving, motor performance, memory, college exam scores, creativity, or any other behavior that matters in real life. (Golub, 1992; Richardson, 1992). In the workplace, men, premenstrual women, postmenstrual women, and nonmenstrual women all report similar levels of stress, wellness, and work performance (Hardie, 1997).

    These results are unknown to most people and have usually been ignored by doctors, therapists, and the media. As a result, since the 1970s, premenstrual symptoms have come to be defined almost solely in medical and psychiatric terms (Parlee, 1994). In 1994, over the objections of many psychologists, the American Psychiatric Association included "premenstrual dysphoric disorder" (PMDD) in an appendix of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the official guide to psychiatric diagnosis. The label is supposed to describe a rare and debilitating disorder, but its description includes the same hodgepodge of physical and emotional symptoms as "PMS" does. A few years ago, the antidepressant Prozac was repackaged and marketed as Sarafem, a medication supposedly just for PMDD.


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    Featured Member NatalieFRPhilly's Avatar
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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    Phuck that. I am still blaming me being a bitch on that one unspecial week a month.

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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    Boy howdy - I get to be the first one to call BULLSHIT!
    Quote Originally Posted by Katrine View Post
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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    um, if it's not true, then its a weird coincedence that one week before my period, i get irate and cry at the drop of a hat. i pick fights with my boyfriend. i am living on pins and needles until i finally start.

    yeah.

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    BrunetteGoddess
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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    No shit Corgan! Plus any human being who has to go through that pain and bleeding would be strange if they were perfectly mellow and normal for that time!

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    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    I'm not as bad as some women, but I DEFINITELY get PMS. Right before my last period, I was on the elliptical machine at the gym and I burst into pouring tears over a dog-food commercial on the TV. I also get bloated and my mood swings wildly every few minutes. If that's not PMS, then I want to know what it is.

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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    add: but my boyfriend knows how i am, so it's more routine now. lol.

    also, when i can't make my mind up about anything... he asks "when are you starting?"

    that's another sign.

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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    Am I the only person who never got PMS their entire life? o.O;


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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    Quote Originally Posted by Corgan View Post
    add: but my boyfriend knows how i am, so it's more routine now. lol.

    also, when i can't make my mind up about anything... he asks "when are you starting?"

    that's another sign.
    That's not another sign.. that's a man being a total dick. I had people asking me that when I was in a bad mood...and nowhere near my period. It's like I just wasn't allowed to be upset.


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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    I KNOW!!! I cried over roseanne when i was PMSing

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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    Where did you get that? One would think that someone educated enough to conduct a study would also know that you can't draw causal conclusions like that. Just because they did not FIND a relationship between the two variables (mood vs. time in menstrual cycle), does not mean that there isn't one.

    Was this published in a journal? If not, it can be complete and utter B.S. I don't see where it says how they did their measurements. DId they have women write down their feelings once a day? If so, I can see how they didn't find a relationship. PMS is like ,BAM you're depressed and then BAM, you're fine.
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    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    Quote Originally Posted by lilithmorrigan View Post
    Am I the only person who never got PMS their entire life? o.O;
    I never did either until my mid-twenties. Just wait.

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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    Quote Originally Posted by lilithmorrigan View Post
    That's not another sign.. that's a man being a total dick. I had people asking me that when I was in a bad mood...and nowhere near my period. It's like I just wasn't allowed to be upset.
    um, my bf jokingly says it... he's not a dick about anything to me really.

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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    Quote Originally Posted by Bella21 View Post
    Where did you get that? One would think that someone educated enough to conduct a study would also know that you can't draw causal conclusions like that. Just because they did not FIND a relationship between the two variables (mood vs. time in menstrual cycle), does not mean that there isn't one.
    I stated my source the first sentence.


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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    Quote Originally Posted by Corgan View Post
    um, my bf jokingly says it... he's not a dick about anything to me really.
    Alright... I was gonna say!


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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    haha yes, i should clarify myself more often.

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    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    This is interesting, K always knows my cycle better than I do and last month he told me why. Evidently during sex he can tell the difference in the way my vagina and my fluids feel. He said right before my period I get softer and I feel different, and my fluids are thicker and more slippery. I had never considered that he would be able to tell that just from sex! But yeah, he ALWAYS knows when I'm about to start... and generally he makes with the chocolate and red wine without even being asked, thank G-d.

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    Glamazon
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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    Someone can tell me till they're blue in the face that there's no such thing as PMS, but there are at least 3 days straight during my cycle where if they want to try and convince me, I'll punch them in the fucking face and go back to bed to hibernate.

    I don't get cramps or back pain, I get crazy and no matter what I do to stop it, it doesn't go away until I start. Lucky for the women who don't experience it.

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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    So PMS, is essentially, a learned condition because of social pressures...

    Which always made sense to me.


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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    Tell that to my bloated, miserable, cranky, Illfuckyouupifyouevenlookatmeweirdly face you two freaking traitors to your gender.

    What are they trying to do? Ruin the one week where we can finally say what's been on our minds the other three weeks and get away with it?

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    aussiepunkshocker
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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    I dont get PMS either but interestingly enough one of my boyfriends used to get it for me. My periods have never been regular but when I was with him I always knew when they were coming because a few days before he'd get shitty for no reason! Thats not unheard of, how do they explain it?
    Its just a study - there are always studies for everything saying totally opposite things.
    I do agree that women shouldnt need an excuse to be shitty though (-:

    Im fairly certain there are noticable physical changes too, geezzz.

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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    Quote Originally Posted by aussiepunkshocker View Post
    I dont get PMS either but interestingly enough one of my boyfriends used to get it for me. My periods have never been regular but when I was with him I always knew when they were coming because a few days before he'd get shitty for no reason! Thats not unheard of, how do they explain it?
    Its just a study - there are always studies for everything saying totally opposite things.
    I do agree that women shouldnt need an excuse to be shitty though (-:

    Im fairly certain there are noticable physical changes too, geezzz.

    I've heard of sympathy pain for pregnancy but not for PMS. That's a hoot!

  23. #23
    aussiepunkshocker
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    Lol yeah when I had my son my boyfriend got PND and I didnt. The midwife says it often happens that way. It was only for a day or so though so it was ok.

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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    that's a croc.

    i don't have periods anymore (endometrial ablation) and haven't had one for almost a year...but i know when i "would" have a period because of my mood...and the fact that for a week or so of the month i can't fit into my normal size 3's and have to go up to my size 5's. i cry at the drop of a hat and am super sensitive.

    i know of a woman that had premenstrual psychosis! her husband had to hide all the knives and such before her period every month. she had to take medication to control it!





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    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: Studies show.. PMS not real!

    APS, I had forgotten but my ex-husband used to get my PMS for me, too. I didn't get any PMS symptoms back then, but right before my period he would get bloated and emotional and he would crave chocolate, and he'd get all clingy and need more affection than usual. It was hilarious. He was like that with his high-school sweetheart too, and he's now married to her. I wonder if he still does that.

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