36-year-old Terri Bailey loves her two beautiful children.
She enjoys family time with her wife Rachel and their two kids, Ezra, 4, and Freya, 11 months old.
However, her feelings quickly change before and during her period and she feels like a completely different person.
The mother-of-two from Worthing, West Sussex, has premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). The condition causes her personality to change drastically as she becomes consumed by feelings of uncontrollable anger, depression, and extreme anxiety.
Bailey admits that the condition also makes it difficult for her to hear the voices of her children.
Speaking to the Mirror, the 36-year-old mother said: “PMDD turns me into a whole other version of myself. For half of the month I’m so happy, in control, and rational. I’m a good wife, mother and friend.
“And then I ovulate and it’s like I get a second personality. I am me, and then I’m not me.”
Many women experience mood swings, heightened emotions and menstrual cramps during their monthly cycle but PMDD is more extreme and very different.
According to reports, the condition affects one in 20 women worldwide and is categorized as extreme premenstrual tension or PMT.
“It’s like my personality fades, I am full of anger, anxiety, depression, and paranoia. I’m crippled by fatigue and constantly experiencing hot flushes,” Bailey continued.
“I struggle to cope with the sound of my son talking non-stop. Or the sound of music on the radio. I get so easily overwhelmed and forgetful. I struggle to connect with my role as a mother, and as a partner. I feel attacked and often withdrawn. At its worst, the thoughts have been so hard to handle.”
Her disorder started when her son was Ezra was born. “The GP tried to label it as postpartum depression because it started when my son was a baby. Then it was suggested that it was early menopause,” she said.
“I think it comes down to lack of knowledge, PMDD seems to be misunderstood across the board. Often I’ll hear ‘it’s just what all women go through’.
“But it’s all cyclical, and that’s the defining thing about PMDD. Doctors just don’t seem to understand that I’m fine for one half of the month and not fine for the other half.”
Bailey is currently taking SSRIs.
“It’s often misdiagnosed, or undiagnosed, and yet so often dictating and ruining young, healthy women’s mental and physical wellbeing,” she added.
“I have half a month to live a full life. I have two small children who I love and want to mother well, and PMDD is constantly challenging that. I’m 36 and should be in the prime of my life. Enjoying my family.”
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