If you've ever felt dismissed when trying to get help for symptoms tied to your menstrual cycle, you're far from alone. A UK survey of 530 people whose mental health was affected by their cycle found that nearly 80% of those who sought help from a doctor or other healthcare provider felt their concerns were not taken seriously — with almost half saying they weren't taken seriously at all.
The survey found that about 65% of respondents had sought some form of help, but many turned to the internet rather than — or in addition to — a healthcare professional. The most common reason for searching online was to look up symptoms (86%), followed by researching treatment options (40%) and taking online mental health tests (34%). People with more severe symptoms were especially likely to combine online searching with visits to a healthcare provider.
Among those who screened positive for PMDD using a standard screening tool, mental wellbeing scores were significantly lower compared to those with milder premenstrual symptoms. Nearly all participants (97%) reported that their symptoms interfered with daily life, with work and relationships being the most affected areas. In the PMDD group, about 58% reported that their romantic or intimate relationships were severely impacted.
The researchers highlighted a real gap in care: even in the group with the most severe symptoms, about 13% hadn't sought any help at all. They also noted that quality online resources about PMDD are hard to find and that there's still no dedicated PMDD page on the NHS website. The study calls for better training for healthcare providers, improved formal care experiences, and the development of reliable, evidence-based digital resources for people managing menstrual cycle-related mental health symptoms.
Key findings
- 64.91% of participants had sought help (online only: 29.81%; formal only: 7.36%; both online and formal: 27.74%), while 35.09% had not sought any help
- 78.49% of those who sought formal help from a healthcare provider felt their mental health symptoms related to the menstrual cycle were not taken seriously (45.16% not at all seriously, 33.33% only slightly seriously)
- 97.17% of participants experienced functional impairment in at least one domain, with work/studies being the most commonly affected domain (83.40%)
- The PMDD group had the lowest mental wellbeing scores (mean WEMWBS = 36.62, SD = 9.65) compared to moderate-to-severe PMS (41.09) and no/mild PMS (43.51), with significant differences across all groups (F(2,527) = 22.70, p < .001, η² = 0.08)
- 85.57% of online help-seekers looked up mental health symptoms related to the menstrual cycle, 39.67% searched for treatment options, and 34.43% took an online mental health test
- In the PMDD group, 87.27% had sought help, but 12.73% had sought no help at all despite severe symptoms; 55.45% of the PMDD group used blended (online and formal) help-seeking
Methods, briefly
UK-wide anonymous online survey (N=530 participants whose mental health was affected by their menstrual cycle) recruited via social media (Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter) from January–March 2023. Premenstrual symptoms were assessed using the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST; retrospective, 20 items), and mental wellbeing was measured with the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS). Participants were categorised into no/mild PMS (n=172), moderate-to-severe PMS (n=248), and PMDD (n=110) groups. Group differences were analysed using one-way ANOVAs, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and chi-squared tests.
Limitations to keep in mind
- Retrospective screening tool (PSST) was used instead of prospective daily symptom tracking across two menstrual cycles, likely overestimating PMDD prevalence
- Recruitment via social media introduces selection bias toward digitally literate individuals, potentially inflating online help-seeking rates
- Sample was predominantly white (94.15%), well-educated (71.89% with at least an undergraduate degree), and relatively high-earning, limiting generalisability
- The study did not control for other factors that may affect mental wellbeing, so directionality of the association between premenstrual symptoms and wellbeing cannot be determined
- Self-report design may be subject to recall bias
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