Psychosomatics of painful periods and PMS

What psychosomatics says

In psychosomatics, period pain is linked to how you relate to your own femininity. Your period seems to remind you: you're a woman. If that brings up fear or rejection, the body answers with pain.

Often it's a fear of pregnancy: you've been intimate, and every month you wait anxiously. Or the opposite: you want a baby so much that every period becomes a disappointment.

There can also be unspoken resentment toward a man, or dissatisfaction with intimacy. Psychosomatics helps you see what exactly stirs in you every month.

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What it is

Period pain happens because the uterus contracts, and special substances called prostaglandins make these contractions stronger. This pain is called dysmenorrhea. According to the Russian Ministry of Health clinical guidelines (2024), it affects 45–95% of women of reproductive age, depending on the data.

If the pain is severe, it may be caused by endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids or inflammation.

PMS means mood swings, irritability, swelling and breast heaviness a few days before your period. It's linked to how the nervous system reacts to hormone changes.

According to the Russian Ministry of Health clinical guidelines on premenstrual syndrome (2024), up to 90% of women have noticed these symptoms at least once. In 20–30% of them, the symptoms come back cycle after cycle and get in the way of life. That's what PMS is.

How it shows up

• Severe pain in the lower belly and lower back
• Nausea, diarrhea, headache during your period
• Irritability and tears before your period
• Swelling and breast heaviness

A gynecologist looks for the cause of severe pain.