PMDD and Bipolar Disorder - Are They Linked?

If you know anything about PMDD you will know that it comes with some extreme moods and extreme changes in moods which puts many people thinking about bipolar disorder. Some PMDD sufferers may even think they might have bipolar disorder which is a scary thought as well. But do PMDD and bipolar disorder have any real proven links or is it just a few similarities that make these conditions seem like they could have links?

What is Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a condition which is also known as manic depressive because the highs and lows a person feels with this disorder is on the extreme ends. For a time they can be extremely depressed, low, and even suicidal. However, they can very quickly change to a state of extreme highs which is the manic state. They can go with very little sleep for many days and seem full of energy and ideas. This is almost as bad sometimes because it wears them and everyone else out and they take more risks and do not have a balanced life during any phase.

What is PMDD

PMDD or Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder is a disorder that effects your moods as well, but also many other psychological and physical symptoms. With PMDD the mood regulators in the brain are not working as they should, but this only happens during the last week of your menstrual cycle when your hormones are completely out of balance. This can lead to depression and anger and anxiety. It can also make you sleep less, or more, and change your appetite and many other things. This stops very soon after you start to bleed however.

As you can see the conditions only really intersect with the low moods. Bipolar has no exact trigger for changing these moods like PMDD does, and PMDD does not have the extreme highs that manic depressives do.

Knowing this, PMDD and Bipolar disorder are not strongly linked except for malfunctions in the brain chemistry that regulates mood. While bipolar disorder is very difficult to treat, PMDD is not as bad because the root causes of this problem are hormonal and we can balance our hormones using natural methods and lifestyle changes.