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PMS Hacks: How to Keep your Hormones From Messing up your Life

Ever struggled with PMS? Yeah, you're not alone. In this post I share 6 PMS hacks to keep your hormones from messing up your life!
I'm Stephanie May Wilson!

I'm an author and podcaster and my specialty is helping women navigate big decisions, life transitions โ€” creating lives they love.

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For some of you, what weโ€™re talking about today is a total non-issue. I want to high five you and then maybe give you a good hard slap. Itโ€™s like the women who say theyโ€™ve never felt insecure in their lives, or never found a bit of cellulite on their perfectly smooth rear. Iโ€™m so happy for you, and hate you just a little bit, all at the same time.


But for those of you who have ever felt like you turn into a total nutcase in the week leading up to your period, this article is for you.


For as long as I can remember, I have hated my period. Not just because itโ€™s inconvenient, or unpleasant in a thousand different ways, but because it turns me into someone I donโ€™t recognize, and certainly donโ€™t like. I donโ€™t know how something so small can take over so much, but it does. It totally does.


In the week leading up to that blessed week of femininity, it feels like I somehow manage to gain a cool 5-10 pounds. I feel flabby and uncomfortable and nothing seems to fit. Iโ€™m cranky, constantly. Nothing anyone says is right, and anything anyone says can be turned (as if by magic) into something that either enrages me, or hurts my feelings.


For years, it felt like my kryptonite, my rainy season in an otherwise sunny life. PMS felt like my deal-breaker, the thing about me that made me entirely too much, and even unlovable. Like, โ€œYou think you like me now, but just you wait.โ€ My hormones were the one thing Iโ€™d change about myself if I had a chanceโ€”zapping them away once and for all.


But unfortunately it doesnโ€™t work like that. Itโ€™s a reality about our lives, something weโ€™re forced to grapple with, a beast weโ€™re forced to wrestle exactly once a month.


So if youโ€™ve ever felt this wayโ€”bowled over by your hormones each monthโ€”here are some things to try that might help. Theyโ€™re tricks Iโ€™ve learned the hard way, but ones that have drastically helped me. I hope they help you too!

PMS Hacks: How to keep your hormones from messing up your life

1. Change the way you think about your body


This is going to feel 100% fake at first, and it will probably start out that way. But something significant I began doing a few years ago is to think and talk about my body in a different way. Iโ€™d always treated my period like a curse, something I hated about myself, something I would have gotten rid of if I could have. But that wasnโ€™t helping anything. So I began intentionally thinking about it differently. I began to thank God for the fact that I am a woman, for creating my body, and for the fact that my body will hopefully be able to make a baby at some point. (Which is pretty stinking miraculous when you think about it that way.)


Thinking about my body as a gift instead of a curse started to shift the tides. Being at war with anything is hard, being at war with something inside of you is miserable. So instead, letโ€™s thank God for our bodies, and for everything theyโ€™re able to do. It helps. I promise.

2. Get some backup 


For years in my relationships, I would try to hide this part of myself. I would try to contain it. I would try to be quiet, or isolate myself, or just not say whatever frustrated, irrational thing was about to explode out of my mouth.


As you can imagine, this behavior modification doesnโ€™t work so well, especially in a time when weโ€™re more impulsive than ever.


So when my husband and I started dating, instead of trying to hide my struggle from him, I told him about it.


I distinctly remember the conversation. It was in the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant, and I was crying. I had to tell him that my body seemed to turn on me once a month, making me frustrated, and cranky, and totally irrational, and that there was very little I could do about it.


I cried because I was afraid it would ruin us. I was afraid it would be too much to handle, or that even me telling him would be just too much.


But instead, Carl kissed me, and held me close, and told me that it was okay.


Having that truth out on the table has made it so much easier when those irrational moments do arise. Because he knows what a struggle it is for me, he shows me sympathy and grace instead of being fed up or frustrated.


Having him on my side has been unbelievably helpful. And this is the same for family and girlfriends. Instead of trying to handle it perfectly on your own, bring your loved ones into it with you. Theyโ€™ll give you the grace you need, and be able to help you through when you canโ€™t see the way.

3. Keep track of what happens so you can remind yourself youโ€™re not crazy


The scariest part about PMS for me is that I forget whatโ€™s real and whatโ€™s just a symptom of the week. I feel like Iโ€™ve gained a ton of weight, or like my relationships are a mess, or like Iโ€™m an emotional wreck. But the worst part is I forget about the PMS altogether, feeling like my feelings arenโ€™t a symptom. Theyโ€™re reality!


I went through this cycle about a zillion times before I finally got fed up and wrote down what exactly PMS brings with it. Having these benchmarks helps me differentiate between whatโ€™s real, and what will feel better in just a few days.

4. Donโ€™t make any big decisions


I donโ€™t know about you but for a lot of us, the feelings and frustrations we experience during PMS are enough to prompt us to make some poor, irrational decisions. Itโ€™s like it wipes away our patience and our grace, making us wonder if we really should quit our job, or end our relationship, or stay mad at that friend forever.


But in the midst of PMS, weโ€™re in no place to be making big decisions. In the last several years Iโ€™ve disciplined myself to wait another week. It gives me time to breathe, to calm down, and to really decide if this decision is right, or if itโ€™s just a product of how I was feeling in the moment.


Itโ€™s saved me a lot of heartache, but itโ€™s definitely a lesson I had to learn the hard way.

5. Be really kind to yourself 


The worst thing about feeling this way was the way Iโ€™d treat myself when I did. Not only was I feeling totally off my rocker, but I was furious at myself for being so far off my rocker. Iโ€™d chide myself for being too much, or for being a lot of work. I was mean to myself during this week, telling myself to get it together, or get over it, in a menacing tone.


But at some point, I realized this is just totally not what I needed.


Instead, I realized that what I needed was for myself to be really kind to me during this time. I needed to be spoken to in soothing tones, to be gently reminded of what I knew was true. I needed to be taken care of, and pampered a little, and loved.


And so in the last few years, thatโ€™s what Iโ€™ve begun to do.


Instead of trying to shove myself into something uncomfortable when all I want to do is be wrapped in soft clothes, I let myself wear soft clothes.


Instead of speaking to myself harshly and telling myself to get it together, I gently ask myself what I need to feel better, and then give myself that very thing.


The second I started treating myself more gently during my period, things really began to change. Itโ€™s amazing what some love and support can do, especially when itโ€™s coming from yourself (for more help in this area, check out this podcast episode on self-care).

6. Talk to your doctor


PMS is a real thing, in fact PMDD (a more severe form of PMS) is totally a real thing as well. These are things that impact our lives, that change our moods, that affect our work life and our home life and our relationships. This isnโ€™t something you cook up in your mind, or you being crazy. This is a thing that is going on inside your body. And itโ€™s totally worth talking to your doctor about.


There are kinds of birth control out there that are aimed at helping manage PMS symptoms. There are types of anti-depressants that are great for easing some of the toughest emotional PMS symptoms. I guarantee you are not your doctorโ€™s only patient feeling this way, and so he or she is totally capable of helping you figure out the best way through this.


Iโ€™m not recommending anything in particular, Iโ€™m not a doctor. But what I am telling you is that you donโ€™t have to go through this alone. Talking to my doctor and having her help me figure out a solution that was right for me changed everything, and I want you to know you have that resource available to you as well.


Our bodies are beautiful, wonderful, miraculous things. But theyโ€™re also super tough to manage sometimes. There are physical and hormonal realities about our lives as women that weโ€™re forced to grapple with โ€” and theyโ€™re realities that most people donโ€™t talk about, or even really understand.


But more than any hack or tip or trick, I want you to know this: You're not in this alone.


P.S. Related to this topic, we have a podcast episode called, Answers to the Embarrassing Body Questions You've Been too Afraid to Ask, if you want to check it out!


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Ever struggled with PMS? Yeah, you're not alone. In this post I share 6 PMS hacks to keep your hormones from messing up your life!

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  1. Michelle says:

    Don’t break up with your boyfriend just because you’re PMSing! I promise you’ll like him again in a week! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  2. Laura says:

    This was exactly what I needed to hear today, so well timed! thank you for being open and honest…

    • Sophie says:

      Thank you Stephanie. I’m not doing well at all I’m booking a doctors appointment for tomorrow. I have had awful pms/pmdd the last 3-5 months since coming off birth control. I haven’t felt like myself , I question my relationship and my job everything stresses me out , I just want to be at home as keep, only time I socialise now is when I’m hammered and I know that’s the worst thing. The most upsetting of them all is why I have obsessive thoughts about my boyfriend and it’s really hurting him when I say things , I don’t want to have sex, I don’t want to socialise with his friends or family. I’ve cancelled all our plans together this weekend because I just can’t face it.

  3. Kayla says:

    “Keep track of what happens so you can remind yourself youโ€™re not crazy.” That’s exactly what I need to do and it’s so good to know I’m not alone in this.

  4. MArissa says:

    Preach it, Stephanie!! This was me last week and I had to check my calendar before I realized that I wasn’t out of my mind, just PMSing. Glad to hear I’m not the only one who experiences this!

  5. Yvonne says:

    I struggled SO hard with this. Doctor after doctor kept trying to give me antidepressants, telling me that the reason anger and depression hit before the cycle starts is because progesterone levels crash, and take serotonin with it. The SSRI antidepressants treat the serotonin. I kept asking, then why not treat the progesterone crash? I spent a year figuring this out, I was determined not to take an antidepressant. And it was an acupuncturist who finally told me I needed to use a natural bioidentical progesterone cream in the days leading up to my period.

    I went to a naturopath who referred me to the best cream. The difference was unbelievable and immediate. I feel so much better. And proud of myself for figuring this out without using antidepressants. Ladies, you probably don’t need an anti-depressant!! For some reason, Western medical doctors are totally uninformed about this. It’s sad how many women are suffering, thinking they are crazy, when really it’s just the drop in progesterone.

    • karlita says:

      Dear Yvonne,

      Thank for your writing this comment. I also suffer from PMDD and even though I haven’s seen a doctor yet, I know they will prescribe antidepressants and don’t want to have take that path

      Would you mind sharing the name of that cream you are using?
      This could probably save my life.

      Thank you and blessings,

      Karlita

  6. Oh Girl! I needed to read this. I honestly feel like i’m out of my own body during this time and wonder who I am. I go crazy cleaning and getting mad at my fiance over the littlest things. Luckily, like your honey, mine is great at embracing me during this time and just understanding. I need to remember all this great advice ๐Ÿ˜‰ Thank You for sharing.

  7. Jenny says:

    Thank you for this article !

  8. Amy says:

    This article was exactly what I needed right now. The few days before my periods comes changes my personality and thought processes. I become an insecure crazy lady. Thank you so much for this article. I feel like I have the tools I need to take on my PMS now.

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