Support for PMS and PMDD in Anna Paulowna
Do you experience PMS or PMDD symptoms that have a major impact on your daily life? Do you experience mood swings, irritability, anxiety, low mood, fatigue, tension, physical discomfort or other recurring symptoms during the second half of your cycle?
PMS and PMDD can have a major impact on how you feel. In the second half of your cycle, you may lose your balance more easily and everything can feel heavier. This can leave you feeling uncertain and sad, particularly when you know that you feel very different at other points in your cycle.
Perhaps you are tired of worrying, searching for solutions and feeling concerned. Perhaps you have often been told that you “just have to learn to live with it”, while deep down you feel that more is possible. I believe things can be different. And somewhere inside, you feel that too.
PMS and PMDD symptoms recur in the second half of your cycle. You may experience mood swings, irritability, anxiety, low mood, fatigue, tension or physical discomfort. This can leave you feeling uncertain and sad, particularly when you know that you feel very different at other points in your cycle.
Perhaps you try to cope with it again each month. You adjust your diary, plan around your energy or try to hold yourself together. Yet it can still have a major impact on your relationship, family, work and general wellbeing. From my own experience of lichen sclerosus, I know how vulnerable women’s health concerns can feel. That is why I understand that PMS and PMDD are not only physical, but can affect you deeply on an emotional level too.
What does support for PMS and PMDD in Anna Paulowna look like?
Your nervous system forms the foundation of your health and vitality. It influences your hormones, digestion, immune system, emotions and the way you respond to stress. Women’s health concerns never exist in isolation. Your body and emotions continually affect one another. This often receives too little attention in healthcare, even though for many women with PMS and PMDD it can be an important key to feeling better.
Perhaps you recognise the pattern of always carrying on, caring for others and adapting yourself. Constantly keeping all the plates spinning is not only stressful and exhausting; it also takes you further and further away from yourself. I help you break that cycle.
In the sessions, there is space to slow down and feel what you truly need. Together, we look at what PMS and PMDD do to you and what they ask of you. By combining ACT coaching with body-oriented exercises, we explore not only the symptoms themselves, but also what may be going on beneath them. Step by step, this can bring greater calm to your mind and body. From there, space for recovery can emerge.
“From the very first moment, it felt safe and familiar, and I am incredibly grateful to Lotte for her warm way of coaching. Thanks to her, I feel happier, lighter and full of energy again.” — Isa
What are PMS and PMDD?
PMS stands for premenstrual syndrome. With PMS, you develop symptoms before your period, usually in the second half of your cycle. These symptoms often return every month and usually ease when your period begins or shortly afterwards. Common PMS symptoms include mood swings, irritability, low mood, anxiety, fatigue, tension, headaches, abdominal pain, breast tenderness, bloating or poor sleep. PMDD stands for premenstrual dysphoric disorder. It is a more severe form of premenstrual symptoms.
What is the difference between PMS and PMDD?
The difference between PMS and PMDD lies mainly in the severity and impact of the symptoms. With PMS, you may experience physical, mental and emotional symptoms before your period. These can be difficult, but are usually less disruptive than PMDD.
PMDD stands for premenstrual dysphoric disorder. It is a severe form of premenstrual symptoms and is considered a mood disorder associated with the menstrual cycle. With PMDD, emotional and psychological symptoms are particularly intense and may include low mood, anxiety, irritability, anger, despair, panic, crying spells or the feeling that you are losing yourself. An important feature is that the symptoms recur in a clear pattern within your cycle. They often begin after ovulation and ease when your period begins or shortly afterwards. PMDD is a serious condition that can have a major impact on daily life.
What do stress, tension or long-term overload have to do with PMS and PMDD?
PMS and PMDD are not caused by “too much stress”. They are associated with your cycle and your body’s sensitivity to hormonal changes. Long-term stress, tension, overload and too little recovery can, however, influence how intense your symptoms feel. When your nervous system remains “switched on” for a long time, your body may be less able to recover. You may become more sensitive to stimuli, emotions, stress and physical sensations. This can be particularly noticeable in the second half of your cycle, when your capacity is often different.
My support pays attention to your body, nervous system, thoughts and feelings. You learn to recognise when your body has been “switched on” for too long and what you need to settle again. This gives your natural capacity for recovery more space and can help greater balance to emerge, physically and mentally and emotionally. This can be supportive alongside PMS or PMDD and the impact your symptoms have on daily life.
Why are PMS or PMDD not always recognised in mainstream healthcare or mental health services?
PMS and PMDD are not always recognised straight away. Many women visit their GP, psychologist or mental health services with symptoms such as anxiety, low mood, panic, irritability, fatigue or overload. These symptoms can resemble an anxiety disorder, depressive symptoms, burnout or stress-related symptoms. What may receive less attention is the connection with the menstrual cycle. If no one looks carefully at when symptoms begin and ease, the cyclical pattern can be missed, even though that pattern is particularly important with PMS and PMDD.
What can support offer you if you experience PMS and PMDD?
✔ Your mind becomes calmer and you worry less about your symptoms.
✔ You feel more relaxed in your body and pelvic area.
✔ You learn to listen to and trust your body’s signals.
✔ You gain clarity about your boundaries, needs and desires.
✔ You live according to your own rhythm and cycle, and what truly suits you.
✔ You feel more in control of how you deal with PMS and PMDD.
Dear woman, from my own experience of lichen sclerosus, I know how deeply intimate symptoms can affect you. But I have also learnt that they can be an invitation. They can open a path back to yourself. For me, this may have been the most remarkable journey I have ever taken. A journey from always carrying on, caring and adapting. Back to connection. To the intimacy of being allowed to come home to yourself. To being truly present with what you feel, long for and deserve. This journey is here for you too, if you feel that now is the time to take that step.
VERBINDING Programme
VERBINDING is for women with PMS and PMDD who feel: things are truly allowed to be different now. Women who do not only want to gain more control over their symptoms, but above all long for a deeper connection with themselves. Over nine weeks, we meet every other week for a total of five sessions (online or in person in Anna Paulowna, the Netherlands). Between appointments, you receive inspiring exercises and support via WhatsApp. You will also receive the workbook De Verbonden Vrouw (The Connected Woman) to support your process. The fee for this programme is €595.
Book your free discovery call today
Practice in Anna Paulowna
I support women with PMS and PMDD at my practice in Anna Paulowna, the Netherlands. Sessions take place in our welcoming garden room, surrounded by greenery. The practice is easy to reach for women from the surrounding area, including Julianadorp, Callantsoog, Schagen, Wieringerwerf, Breezand, ’t Zand, Hippolytushoef and Den Helder.
Words from other women
11 years’ experience as a therapist | More than 10,000 hours of therapeutic support
“I really appreciated looking together with Lotte at where I was getting stuck and what I needed. She thought things through with me and helped me find my way, but did not do it for me. It truly was a journey we undertook together. Thanks to Lotte, I have come closer to myself and experience far fewer physical symptoms and negative thoughts. I always found the atmosphere warm and pleasant. Lotte is very attentive and radiates calm, while also being direct and honest. A lovely combination. I would certainly recommend coaching with Lotte if you want to find more calm within yourself.”
Marianne
“During the programme with Lotte, I went through an enormous transformation. Her approach is particularly valuable because it is not a quick fix, but a complete programme. When I encounter challenges now, I consciously pause with those experiences and apply the new insights. This has changed my entire perspective. I felt safe with Lotte from the beginning; she proved to be a warm and skilled coach. It felt like a shared journey in which you are not alone.”
Nikki
“Over the past few months, I followed a coaching programme with Lotte. Through many exercises and conversations, I learnt an incredible amount about myself and my symptoms. It is a very personal programme, but Lotte is highly knowledgeable and had a good sense of what I needed. There was also always space for me to say what felt right for me. From the very first moment, it felt safe and familiar, and I am incredibly grateful to Lotte for her kind and warm way of coaching.”
Lisanne
“Among other things, I was looking for more calm in my mind and a deeper connection with my body and feelings. Lotte has a great deal of knowledge and experience, and works with gentleness, love, calm and creativity. She always seemed to know exactly what I needed. The combination of ACT and yin yoga was the ideal way for me to engage more physically alongside our conversations. It was something I had never experienced before and proved very valuable. I also received personal exercises to work on. I learnt a great deal and am grateful that I was able to do this together with Lotte!”
Merel
Women from Julianadorp, Callantsoog, Schagen, Wieringerwerf, Breezand, ’t Zand, Hippolytushoef and Den Helder, among other places, come to my practice in Anna Paulowna for support with PMS and PMDD.