Mindfulness for PMDD with Diane

In this episode, I share the symptoms that had me wondering if I had entered perimenopause and what is has been like navigating a tangled mess of PMDD, Autism, Autistic Burnout and Perimenopause. I also review the book Autistic Menopause: A Guide to the Menopausal Transition for Autistic People and Those Supporting Them by Dr. Rachel Moseley and Professor Julie Gamble-Turner, sharing my reactions...

 Have you ever noticed that when you're having a really tough day it can often feel harder to do the very things that you know will help you to feel a bit better? Mindfulness can be especially hard to practice on our hard days, even though stress management skills can be helpful for those of us with PMDD or Autism (or other chronic illness or neurodivergence, for that matter). In this episode...

Learn how the Belle app is so much more than a symptom tracker and how it can help you to not only get some relief from PMDD in the short term, but also build resistance over time. Victoria Schoeffel is the CEO and Co-founder at Belle Health. Victoria was inspired to " change the status quo in female health" after identifying a gap in support for premenstrual dysphoric disorder. While sh...

What if I told you that you don't need to meditate or do a mindfulness exercise to practice mindfulness? What if I also told you that it is an act of mindfulness to: kindly acknowledge how much things suck right now recognize your needs and choose to move forward by giving yourself what you need right now That's what I talk about in this episode.  I also share how I haven't been pra...

Do you feel like you spend so much time managing your PMDD that you are losing touch with:  the things that are important to you? the things that bring you joy? the people you love to be around? This absolutely happened to me. And it makes sense! It makes sense that when when PMDD is taking over our lives, we want to do everything we can to feel better and get back to living. And yet, that very pr...

In this episode, Shamash Alidina and I discuss:  How living with PMDD, or other chronic illness, can lead us to pause our life while we try to heal  And how this can lead to losing touch with ourselves and the things that bring value, meaning and purpose to our lives Shamash and I talk about how making room for our challenges, and turning back to the things that are meaningful for us, can help us...

Last month, I shared that I recently learned I'm Autistic. This month I'm talking about the autistic burnout I've been in since the summer. Specifically: What triggered autistic burnout The first signs I was in burnout How I realized I was in autistic burnout and had it confirmed How autistic burnout came on just before my autism assessment The symptoms of autistic burnout I'm...

Cheryl Crow, OTR/L, is an occupational therapist who lives with Rheumatoid arthritis and runs a support group for others living with chronic illness. She also practices and applies Acceptance and Commitment Therapy into her own life and in her work. In our chat, Cheryl shares about: Her diagnosis story and experience with medical gaslighting How she came to run a support group for people with rheu...

I recently had an Autism assessment and learned that I am in fact Autistic. In this episode I discuss what led me to pursue an Autism assessment, how I've been feeling since having my Autism confirmed, and what this has to do with my PMDD and this podcast. Mentioned in this episode: Aspergirls by Rudy Simone Unmasking Autism by Devon Price, PhD. Dr. Stephen Shore Connect with me! DM me on Ins...

Have you ever said or done something in luteal that left you cringing with guilt and shame? Have you wondered whether you might have bipolar disorder or PMDD or both? Want to know how to tweak your daily routines to help boost your mood? This episode is for you!  On it, I chat with Robyn Tamanaha, LMFT, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, based out of California. Robyn specializes in Bipol...

You know the feeling... You're in your luteal phase and along comes some negative thought--about yourself, your life, your PMDD--and before you even know what is happening you are getting swept up in that thought and down an endless spiral of ruminating on this thought. You are now going down the rabbit hole with this thought, unable to let it go, and maybe even believing whatever awful thing...

I discovered Nikki Wilson’s Mindfulness work when I was in the throes of my own birth trauma drama, which ultimately led to a diagnosis of PTSD. While I was searching for help & support and seeking out a diagnosis, I needed something to help me survive and get through the difficult early days of new motherhood. At that time, Nikki had created, and was single-handedly running, a Mindfulness for...

I like this meditation for helping to align body and mind, so you can use this one if: you're feeling disconnected from your body you're feeling up in your head with your thoughts you're experiencing some uncomfortable sensations in your body you want to explore trying to bring some ease and more comfort into your body It can be nice in the luteal phase of your menstrual cycle or an...

Do you find it hard to take care of yourself when you've also got kids to parent, a demanding job, a partner to show up for, and bills to pay? Then you need to listen to this interview with Ali Cornish. I reached out to Ali because I wanted to talk to another chronic illness warrior who has embraced simple living, minimalism, and mindfulness. Because I've learned that while we may have d...

So much of my resistance to PMDD came from trying to maintain the charade of perfection that I'd been trying to keep up my whole life! Mindfulness and Acceptance taught me to be present, not perfect. That the full spectrum of emotions is normal. That the aim is not to feel better, but to get better at feeling. And here's the crazy thing that happened when I let those ideas in...not ONLY...

Have you thought: "Is this grief? Am I going through grief right now?" Have you wondered why your experiences don't quite match up with the 5 Stages of Grief model we've all heard about? If you've got PMDD or any other chronic illness, chances are that, yea, you very well may have experienced grief as a result or are going through grief right now. Sarah McCauley LMFT is he...

If you feel like you have tried all the PMDD treatments and suggested self-management tools and strategies and STILL feel like you're trapped in a vicious cycle with PMDD, you need to listen to this episode. I was there. That was me. Literally doing EVERYTHING I could to take care of myself--to optimize my health and minimize my symptoms--and guess what?? No matter how good of a place I got m...

I cannot stop seeing the commonalities between Minimalism and Mindfulness! In this episode, Emily and I chat about: Minimalism and Simple Living and their relevance to living with PMDD and Chronic Illness How my relationships with minimalism and mindfulness are connected Unexplained fertility and in vitro fertilization Motherhood The science behind clutter and stress How to simplify to decrease de...

Does PMDD make it really tough to be around other people? Do you deal with feelings of isolation and anxiety in even the simplest of interactions?  I used to hide from my landscapers, no joke! Classic kindness helps us to take a step back and see the common humanity we all share.  You are not alone in your struggles. When you are reminded of this, it may feel a bit easier to navigate the challengi...

Does your PMDD lead you feel isolated, alone and misunderstood around others...even with friends, family and colleagues? Do you suffer with social anxiety over chatting with a neighbor or making a routine phone call? Does feeling unseen, unheard, and sensitive to rejection cause tension between you and your partner? This is all super common in PMDD. I myself have experienced every one of these iss...

Do you feel the pressure to get back into the swing of things once you come back out of the luteal phase?  And then the burnout of going through the cycle--yet again--of feeling completely useless for 2 weeks and then trying to do it all, all at once, for the next 2 weeks? Do you fear giving yourself what you need in the follicular phase because you're afraid to fall behind even further? What...

Hi friend, Let’s pause for a moment and set an intention to be kinder and more gentle with ourselves the next time PMDD tries to bring us down, with negative thoughts and feelings about ourselves and our PMDD experiences. Our relationship to our thoughts and feelings isn’t something that changes overnight. But if we can open the door–and our hearts–to responding just the tiniest bit differently, e...

How many things are you doing for your PMDD--to minimize your symptoms and optimize your health--and you STILL feel like you haven't found that sense of stability and flow with your PMDD that you're looking for?  How long is your list of PMDD self-care tasks and you STILL feel exhausted and burned out by the emotional rollercoaster--and vicious cycle--that is PMDD?  How many tools do you...

Have you ever felt like PMDD has thrown your sense of self into chaos? It's not uncommon, especially when PMDD disrupts our lives and prevents us from being the person we once knew. PMDD can alter the course of our lives–sometimes dramatically–and it can make us feel unrecognizable to ourselves. I recently came across some valuable insights from mindfulness teachers Shamash Alidina and David...

Hey friend, If you've been feeling consumed by your PMDD, I'm here to tell you that YOU ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN YOUR SYMPTOMS , thoughts and feelings! I've been there, where PMDD felt like my whole identity. But I want to encourage you to consider that you are more significant than just your PMDD experience. While it can be easy to feel engulfed by your symptoms, PMDD DOES NOT DEFINE...