Content advisory: this episode contains themes of suicide and self-harm
Joining Dr Louise on this week’s podcast is Wendy Barker. Wendy experienced postnatal depression after the birth of her first child in the late 80s and was later diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a very severe form of premenstrual syndrome.
‘For probably three weeks of the month, I was like a coiled spring,’ Wendy recalls.
‘And the only way that I would get anything sort of relief from that would be to either rage, scream, shout, and then there'd be the tears. And then I would think that's it until it starts all over again.’
Wendy movingly describes the impact of PMDD on her physical and mental health and her relationship with her family, her fight for a diagnosis and ongoing access to treatment, plus her advice for others in similar situations.
You can find more information about PMDD in Dr Louise’s book, the Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause. And you can listen back to episode 216 of the podcast with Dr Hannah Ward on progesterone, PMDD, postnatal depression and menopause.
Click here for more information on Newson Health.
Contact the Samaritans for 24-hour, confidential support by calling 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
255 - Mental health issues and hormones: introducing Newson Health’s psychiatrist Dr Louisa James
254 - Dr Louise’s new paperback book: what’s new and who’s it for?
253 - Coping with the perimenopause when you’re a carer
252 - Bryony Gordon: mental health, hormones and witchy magic
251 - Kate Muir: everything you need to know about hormones but were afraid to ask
250 - Testosterone: the missing piece of the jigsaw?
249 - Dr Mary Claire Haver: on a mission to demystify menopause
248 - The menopause brain: why it might be feeling strange and what you can do about it
247 - Addiction and menopause
245 - How medicine has failed women, with author Elinor Cleghorn
244 - Hot flush drug fezolinetant
243 - Contraception during perimenopause: HRT, the pill and the Mirena coil
242 - Sex, hormones and the menopause
241 - Women, ADHD and hormones
240 - Creating long-lasting food habits for better health
239 - Challenging NICE's draft menopause guidance
238 - New Year, new mindset – why movement matters more than exercise
237 - The juggling act: how to navigate menopause and midlife
236 - Menopause in overlooked communities
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