Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD): insight from mothers with PMDD

This document presents creative illustrations, capturing the key findings from our 'PMDD and parenting' study. This was one of the first studies to explore the impact of PMDD on mothers and their children. Eight mothers took part in three consecutive, creative workshops. Their insight highlighted strong themes of suicidality, and feelings of guilt and shame while parenting. Mothers described isolating themselves while symptomatic for fear of harming their children (physically or emotionally), leading to inconsistent parenting and fears of how this impacted their children’s wellbeing. They described the dismissal and exhaustion of trying to obtain a diagnosis, which led them to avoid seeking further support for fear of being judged by others such as schools or other services. This insight went on to inform a qualitative interview and online survey phase. To keep up to date with our findings visit www.pmddresearch.com