{"id":8236,"date":"2026-09-03T09:47:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T09:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lotteboekhout.nl\/?p=8236"},"modified":"2026-09-25T20:31:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T20:31:48","slug":"psychedelics-and-pms-why-cycle-timing-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lotteboekhout.nl\/en\/psychedelics-and-pms-why-cycle-timing-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychedelics and PMS: why timing within your cycle matters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


Psychedelics and PMS: why timing within your cycle matters<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Written by Lotte Boekhout<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Could we do next Friday?\u2019 That is almost always the first question I hear when a woman wants to book a truffle ceremony. Understandably so. Perhaps you have been considering it for a while, felt uncertain and finally taken the step. You probably do not want to hear that you need to wait another three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet my first question is usually different: \u2018Where will you be in your cycle at that point?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That Friday could fall in the week before your period. If you experience significant PMS symptoms, it may not be the best moment for a psychedelic experience. In this article, I explore what happens in your body during your PMS week, why a truffle ceremony might feel different at that time, and when in your cycle might be a better fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What happens in your body during your PMS week<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In my previous article, I wrote about how PMS is not only a hormonal story. It also involves how your brain, nervous system and emotions respond to hormonal changes during the second half of your cycle: the luteal phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After ovulation, oestrogen falls and progesterone rises. As your period approaches, both hormones fall again. Those last few days can feel considerably harder for many women. You may feel more irritable, emotional or low. You might feel restless, cry more easily or find everything a little too much. Physical symptoms often come alongside this, such as headaches, tender breasts, bloating or poor sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps this sounds familiar: one week you feel fine, and a few days later everything suddenly feels much heavier. When planning a truffle ceremony, it is therefore worth considering your cycle as well as your diary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PMS or PMDD?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

PMS affects around 20 to 40 per cent of women. For approximately one in twenty, symptoms are severe enough to meet the criteria for PMDD: premenstrual dysphoric disorder. With PMDD, psychological symptoms are particularly prominent. These may include profound low mood, intense anxiety, anger or a feeling that your emotions have completely taken over. It can feel as though you have temporarily lost yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PMDD is recognised as a diagnosis in the DSM-5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have PMDD, I would be particularly cautious when planning a psychedelic experience. It is important to look carefully at how you are feeling and whether this is truly an appropriate setting for you at that time. Discuss this with your facilitator and, where relevant, your GP or treating clinician. Medication is also important to consider. If you take an SSRI, for example, always discuss this beforehand. SSRIs can affect how psilocybin, the active substance in truffles, works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Psychedelics and PMS: why I would avoid a truffle ceremony during your PMS week<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Psychedelics can amplify what is already present within you. This is one reason why a ceremony can be valuable, but it also means that timing matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I like to imagine it this way: suppose your emotions are a radio station. Truffles turn up the volume. What is already present may become much clearer and more intense. If you are already feeling sad, anxious, frustrated or overstimulated during your PMS week, those feelings may become stronger during a ceremony.

That is not necessarily a bad thing in itself. Sometimes it can be valuable to truly feel something. But a psychedelic experience at such a time can also be demanding, especially if your nervous system is already under more strain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Various processes in your body and brain also change during this phase of your cycle, including systems involved in serotonin. Your body is already doing a great deal of adjusting. Adding a psychedelic experience may simply be too much for some women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you usually experience significant PMS symptoms, I personally would not make the week before your period my first choice for a truffle ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why this is so rarely discussed<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Something that strikes me is how rarely women are asked where they are in their cycle when booking a truffle ceremony. The date, availability, perhaps your intention and what you need to prepare are considered. But your cycle often does not come up at all. If you experience considerable PMS or PMDD symptoms every month, it may be relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine booking a ceremony, without thinking about it, during the week when you usually feel most vulnerable. At the time of booking, you may feel great and think that next Friday is perfect. By then, however, your body may be in a very different phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This does not mean planning your entire life around your cycle. But I do think it is worth considering when you consciously choose a time for an experience that can be intense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Psychedelics and PMS: when might you plan a truffle ceremony?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For most women, PMS symptoms ease once their period starts. Sometimes this happens almost immediately; sometimes it takes a few more days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many women, the first half of the cycle therefore feels quite different. Your energy returns, your mind feels clearer and you have a little more capacity. This can make the follicular phase, the first half of your cycle, a more comfortable time for a ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might, for example, plan it after your period has started and in the days leading up to ovulation. Oestrogen rises during this phase, and many women feel more energetic and settled. Of course, there is no perfect day that works for everyone. Pay particular attention to how you feel and how your own cycle unfolds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What about during ovulation?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Around ovulation, oestrogen reaches its peak. Many women feel well, energetic and more comfortable in themselves during this phase. Even so, I would not necessarily plan a ceremony right around ovulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A ceremony does not end as soon as the experience is over. What emerges during a journey may continue to affect you for days or weeks. You need time to settle, feel and process it. If you have a ceremony right around ovulation, you will soon move into the second half of your cycle afterwards. Before you know it, your PMS week may be approaching again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why I often prefer the days before ovulation. There is space not only for the experience itself, but also some time afterwards for integration before your cycle enters another phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Can psychedelics help with PMS symptoms?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Feeling a little more emotional, sensitive or irritable for a few days before a period is part of the cycle for many women. But if you struggle considerably with low mood, anxiety, irritability or other symptoms for a week every month, I would not simply accept that without looking further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where does that tension come from? What is happening in your life? Are there things you have been carrying for a long time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A truffle ceremony may help you explore this from a different perspective. Not as a quick solution for PMS, but as an experience that may help you see certain patterns or emotions more clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Space to feel what you have pushed aside<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps you are busy throughout the month. You keep going, care for others and organise everything, while taking little time to notice what is happening within you. Or perhaps you learnt long ago not to allow yourself to feel certain things too deeply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then your period approaches. Your hormones change, you become more irritable, and everything you usually manage quite well suddenly seems to affect you more strongly. This can be confusing. You may wonder: where has this suddenly come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But perhaps it is not sudden at all. Perhaps it has been there throughout the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sometimes compare it to a beach ball you are trying to hold underwater. You can manage it for a while, but it requires constant effort. As soon as you let go, the ball springs up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emotions can work in a similar way. Sadness, anger, fear or old pain that you have pushed aside for a long time may suddenly feel much more present. Just before your period, this may be particularly noticeable, as hormonal changes can make it harder to push those feelings away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A truffle ceremony may create a moment to consciously attend to this. Psychedelics can amplify what is already present, sometimes making emotions and patterns clearer. You may feel sadness you usually do not allow yourself to experience. Anger you have always swallowed. Or suddenly notice how often you push past your own limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps you discover that you have been holding a great deal of tension for a long time. That you always keep going. That you are there for everyone except yourself. These insights can be valuable and may help you look at your PMS symptoms differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A final thought<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When planning a truffle ceremony, consider more than which date is available. Consider yourself, too. Where are you in your cycle? How do you usually feel during that phase? Do you experience significant PMS or PMDD symptoms? Will you have enough time and space afterwards to settle and process the experience?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially if you know that the week before your period is difficult for you, it may be worth avoiding a ceremony in the middle of it. A psychedelic experience involves more than the moment you take the truffles. That is why timing can sometimes make more difference than you expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lotte Boekhout\u2019s practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Does this resonate with you? <\/strong>Perhaps you are curious about what psychedelics could mean for you and are looking for an approach that suits you. As an experienced ACT therapist specialising in supporting women, I offer microdosing coaching<\/strong><\/a> and individual truffle ceremonies<\/a><\/strong>.

Curious? Book your free discovery call today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nCeremonies<\/a>\n\n\n\nContact<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Read my latest articles<\/a> about women\u2019s wellbeing<\/h2>\n\n\n