Redefining Life: Life w/ PMDD

PMDD and the Holidays

It’s that time of year again, the Holidays.  Hopefully for most of you this is an incredible time.  For me, it’s an awesome time, but as we all know, PMDD hits 2 wks of every month so it’s bound to interfere with get-togethers.

I wanted to give some tips/ideas on how to try and make this Holiday season less stressful on yourself.

First, Thanksgiving probably won’t be as difficult for most of you as Christmas, unless you are traveling to visit family or friends.  If you are traveling and it will be during your 2 wk time, don’t over extend yourself.

See if you can combine visits rather than running all over while you are out of town.  If you are visiting family, have one big get-together for Thanksgiving lunch.  This will allow you some down time.  We all know that rest is so important right now.

Watch what you eat.  LOL, I know, I know… It’s Holiday time!  Eat smaller amounts and eat more often instead of gorging yourself at Thanksgiving lunch.  You will feel much better, not being bloated.

Also, watch how many desserts you eat.  Try eating fruit salad if you have a sweet tooth or instead of depriving yourself of any sweets, just choose one.

While you are sitting and visiting with family, especially if you have cooler weather where you are, it’s easy to go overboard on your caffeine intake too.  This will only cause your PMDD to heighten.  Women with PMDD are very sensitive to caffeine, especially during your 2 wk time.

Have your caffeine when you get home if you must have it, this will help limit any possible outbursts you may have.

Know when to say, “No” or when to say, “enough is enough” and know your limits.  You don’t have to be the last person visiting.  If you feel yourself getting overly tired and you are staying somewhere other than your home, excuse yourself and explain the traveling has exhausted you and you are done for the day.  Go to bed.  If you are driving home, go home when you feel yourself becoming tired, grouchy, more annoyed, etc…

Believe me, these are tips I have to follow myself.  I am one that thinks I am ‘supposed’ to visit everyone because I come in from out of town.  I make myself feel as though I should do it all.  As an adult and someone that is in control of their PMDD, you must watch what your body is telling you.

What I hope is that all of you will get to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas during the best time of your month.:)  A girl can dream!

Now, onto Christmas time…

Christmas time is a little different because most people do feel as though they need to visit more people, buy things for people, everything just gets crazy and rushed.

STOP!  Christmas time is about visiting with family.  Once again, explain to everyone (send a group email) that you are coming in town and in order to see everyone a group get together will be a must.  You have so much to do… you get the point.

Remember, you are coming in town.  It’s not too much to ask for everyone to get together for even just an hour so that you aren’t expected to go to different homes, different days.  No one wants to feel like they spent their entire Holiday time running all around.

Gifts…if you have a lot of friends/family to do something for, my favorite is baking.  This is something that I can show I thought of you, I can afford to it for everyone, and I can do it in bulk.  Peanut brittle, brownies, fudge, cookies, there are all sorts of things you can make and share.

Saying No will be a must again during this Holiday too.  Don’t over-extend yourself, you will be miserable which will make others miserable and at the end of it all you will be angry about the whole situation.

Don’t let it get to this point where you do something you will have to feel guilty about.

If you don’t feel like you can travel this year, just say so.  You tell family and friends that this year your family has decided to spend Christmas or Thanksgiving at home.  It’s what works better for you guys. End of story, no more explanation necessary.

REMEMBER! Have fun.  Remember what the Holidays are really about and don’t lose sight of that, especially if you have children.

I hope this helps some.

Oh, and at the end of a long day of visiting…relax in a bath and wash the day away.  Even if it’s a great day, I like to jump in the shower and wash the day away and get ready for the next day. A fresh start.

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