premenstrual tension

From puberty to the menopause, most women produce a regular rhythm of hormones that stimulate the various stages of the menstrual cycle. The change in hormone levels may cause premenstrual tension. This diagram shows an average menstrual cycle. The dates of each stage vary from woman to woman.

Medical condition caused by hormone changes and comprising a number of physical and emotional features that occur cyclically before menstruation and disappear with its onset. Symptoms include mood changes, breast tenderness, a feeling of bloatedness, and headache.

In 1993 the American Psychiatric Association decided to rename premenstrual syndrome and to categorize sufferers as being mentally ill. The Association estimates that 5% of US women suffer from the condition now to be known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), and need treatment.