From Survival Mode to Stability: Healing PMDD Naturally

For years, I felt like I was living two lives—one where I was grounded, competent, and peaceful, and another where, for up to two weeks each month, I disappeared into a version of myself I hardly recognised.

It began shortly after I left an abusive relationship and entered a new one. Around the same time each cycle, a tidal wave of rage, despair, and disconnection would roll in, knocking me sideways. I had intrusive thoughts I didn’t recognise as my own. I’d cry at nothing, lash out at my new partner over the slightest provocation, and feel utterly hopeless and full of shame. Then, like magic, it would pass with the arrival of my period. And I’d be left wondering what just happened—again.

As a naturopath and Kundalini yoga teacher, I had all the tools I thought I was supposed to have. But nothing touched the depth of what I was experiencing. It wasn’t PMS. It wasn’t “just hormones.” I was suffering from PMDD—Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder—and no one seemed to be talking about it.

One of my lowest moments was sitting across from a GP who told me I was “lucky” my boyfriend put up with my PMT. I walked out humiliated, enraged, and still without answers.

Eventually, I stopped looking for something to manage the symptoms and began asking deeper questions. Why was my body reacting this way? What were my hormones trying to tell me? And what might happen if I truly listened?

Understanding PMDD

PMDD is like PMS, but much louder. It affects around 5–8% of menstruating people and is marked by extreme mood changes, anxiety, anger, depression, and a disconnection from self that arrives in the luteal phase (the two weeks before your period). Once menstruation begins, the symptoms often quickly subside—but the emotional fallout can linger.

Many are offered hormonal birth control or antidepressants as first-line treatments. And for some, they bring relief. But for others—myself included—they can feel like a blunt instrument: numbing, disempowering, or ineffective.

PMDD isn’t simply hormonal. It’s neurological, emotional, and physiological. It’s a conversation between the endocrine system, the gut, the nervous system, and often, unprocessed trauma. And that’s why treating it needs a whole-person approach.

What Actually Helped Me Heal

When I began recovering from PMDD, it wasn’t due to any one supplement or magic bullet. It was because I started supporting all of me—hormonally, nutritionally, emotionally, and somatically. Here are the five core pillars that helped me return to myself.

1. Herbal Medicine
Herbal support was one of the most powerful tools in my recovery. Three herbs in particular stood out:

• Vitex (Chaste Tree) helped regulate my cycle and reduce hormonal volatility—but only after consistent use over several months.
• Saffron lifted the heavy fog that clouded my thoughts each luteal phase. It became my go-to support for mood resilience.
• Kava was my emergency herb. It helped soften the spikes of anxiety when they became too much.

Of course, herbs, whilst natural, are potent and need to be matched to the person, not just the symptom. Tailoring formulas was key to getting results without unwanted effects.

2. Targeted Nutritional Support
I’m not a fan of supplementing blindly. But a few key nutrients made a noticeable difference:

• Calcium and Magnesium help stabilise my moods and reduced physical tension.
• Vitamin B6 and Zinc supported hormone metabolism and helped ease emotional reactivity.
• Tryptophan, when timed carefully, helped support serotonin production.

Testing and symptom assessment guided my choices. Guesswork, or following other people’s Dr Google protocols, often leads to disappointment.

3. Therapeutic Nutrition
Making my vegan diet more stabilising and anti-inflammatory was a turning point.

I focused on:

• Mineral-rich greens, plant-based proteins, and colourful whole foods
• High-quality omega-3s and GLA—Ahiflower oil became my favourite source
• Eliminating caffeine, alcohol, and processed food in my luteal phase (which made a bigger difference than I expected)

It wasn’t about perfection. It was about nourishment that gave my body’s cells what they needed to support me.

4. Nervous System Support

PMDD doesn’t just live in the hormones—it lives in the way our nervous system interprets hormonal shifts. If your body is stuck in a chronic stress or trauma response, hormonal changes can feel threatening, even if they’re biologically normal.

Nervous system regulation helped me bridge the gap between knowing and doing. Yoga Nidra, breathwork, and vagus nerve toning gave me access to calm when I couldn’t think my way there.

I vividly remember the first time, during a breathwork practice, when my body felt completely calm, and I realised in the most visceral way how much I’d been in survival mode for years.

5. Trauma Healing & Ancestral Work

The deepest healing came when I began working with trauma-informed practices. Talk therapy helped me vent and cope, and I think the world of the psychologist I had at the time for the support she gave me, but it didn’t move the core material my body was holding.

Through Family Constellations, inner child reparenting, and Rapid Core Healing, I started to reclaim parts of myself I’d abandoned—especially the parts that surfaced in my luteal phase. I stopped seeing them as broken and started seeing them as messengers.

A New Cycle

Once I integrated these supports, the changes came—slowly, but profoundly.

My luteal phase stopped feeling like a hijacking. My relationships felt safer. I could work consistently. I no longer braced myself every month.

I started sleeping deeply, thinking clearly, and living more gently. But perhaps the greatest shift was this: I began to trust my body again.

If You’re Struggling

If PMDD is taking over your life, know this: you are not irrevocably broken. And you are not alone.

Healing can feel slow, but it is absolutely possible. Start with one thing. One small act of nourishment. One breath. One conversation with a practitioner who sees the whole you.

And if you’re looking for truly holistic support, I’ve created a 12-week naturopathic programme (link to www.pmddnaturopath.com) to help women navigate PMDD from a root-cause, integrative perspective. It’s not about managing symptoms—it’s about reclaiming stability, connection, and self-trust.

Final Words

PMDD often hides in silence and shame. But it doesn’t need to stay there. The body speaks in symptoms. And when we listen—with curiosity, compassion, and science-backed tools—it responds.

You don’t have to live in fear of your own cycle. There is another way. And the journey home to yourself is worth it.

Photo by Anna Tarazevich