Anxiety Sucks! - Learn how I control my anxiety and stress in life!

Well it happened again, same time every month. My anxiety goes through the roof (for starters) just before my cycle begins..I am pretty sure it is PMDD..There is a great resource for PMDD at http://www.knowmycycle.com, Here is a clip from their website.

The PMDD symptom severity can be compared to a Major Depressive Episode.^{12, p. 715 C} The symptoms must be debilitating enough to interfere with a woman’s ability to carry on with social or job-related activities. The symptoms may also be accompanied by suicidal thoughts.^{12, p. 715 B}

Because of its impact on women, the American Psychiatric Association has defined PMDD in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV™). In order to be diagnosed with PMDD, a woman must have five (or more) of the following symptoms with at least one of the symptoms being one of the first four.^{12, p. 715}

• Feeling sad, hopeless, or worthless^{12, p. 715 B}
• Feeling tense, anxious, or “on edge”^{12, p. 715 B}
• Mood swings interspersed with frequent tearfulness^{12, p. 715 B}
• Persistent irritability, anger, and increased interpersonal conflict^{12, p. 715 B}
• Decreased interest in usual activities^{12, p. 715 B}
• Difficulty concentrating^{12, p. 715 B}
• Feeling fatigued, lethargic, or lacking in energy^{12, p. 715 B}
• Changes in appetite (may be associated with binge eating or craving certain foods)^{12, p. 715 B}
• Inability to sleep or sleeping excessively^{12, p. 715 B}
• Having a subjective feeling of being overwhelmed or out of control^{12, p. 715 B}
• Other physical symptoms such as breast tenderness or swelling, headaches, sensations of “bloating” or weight gain with feelings of tightness in clothing, shoes, or rings. Joint or muscle pain may also be present.

I have put in bold all of MY symptoms that I have this and every month. This morning I was obsessing with my health and just everything that popped into my head I almost could not get my son to the bus! I was dizzy going into the grocery store I was under so much stress and anxiety! It affected my job also, although I did manage to get a promotion Yeah!

I decided to put this info out here, maybe it can help someone else out.