Mindfulness for PMDD aims to help those living with debilitating menstrual cycles to find management and acceptance of PMDD and PMS through the practices of Mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Training.
Have a Rich & Meaningful Life With PMDD
Have you worked so hard to manage your PMDD, PME, or PMS that you have lost your connection to the people, places, and ideas that are most important to you? This exercise comes from Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, or ACT (pronounced as the word, not the letters). When we reconnect with our values and figure out how to start adding them back into our lives, we can begin to live meaningfully again!
Meditation For A Busy Brain in PMDD / PMS
This meditation is a tool for learning how to unhook from your thoughts and feelings and, instead, allow them to exist and to pass on by. It may be helpful when you feel like your brain is full with ruminating or catastrophizing thoughts, especially in the luteal phase of PMDD or PMS. Practicing this one when you feel good may make it feel a bit easier to pull yourself out of that thought spiral in the luteal phase. This is a 'leaves on a stream' meditation.
Meditation For Self-Kindness In PMDD / PMS
This meditation guides you through setting an intention to be more kind and gentle with yourself, even as you struggle with PMDD or PMS.
It is an opportunity to acknowledge your challenges while showing yourself some compassion and love, and finding what feels good. This meditation offers up the chance to turn tough times around and ask: “How can I be kinder to myself about this?" and “How can I be more gentle with myself right now?"
Meditation For PMDD / PMS Anxiety
This meditation can be useful when you are experiencing anxiety during the luteal phase of your menstrual cycle. It may help you to feel more grounded when you find yourself feeling hooked by challenging thoughts or feelings. This meditation uses your connection to the external environment in order to guide you back to the present moment, without the pressure of focusing on your thoughts or the breath.
Mindful Moments and Meditations from the Podcast
Mindfulness for When You Don’t Have the Energy
This episode features a mindfulness moment called Cup of Calm, a mindfulness exercise that makes use of something you might already be doing on a challenging day, which is reaching for a cup of your favorite, warm, cozy drink.
Meditation for Anxiety in PMDD
You don't need to meditate or do a mindfulness exercise to practice mindfulness. I certainly practice differently when in Autistic Burnout. That said, this episode features a meditation for PMDD anxiety at the end, which I call The Steady Anchor.
Meditation To Take Back Your Life
Do you spend so much time managing your PMDD that you are losing touch with the people and things that bring you joy? This exercise guides you through imagining the life you'd create if you had no burdens and encourages you to consider how to bring a bit of that into your current day-to-day experience.
Get Out Of The Spiral Of Luteal Thoughts
This episode features a mindfulness moment called Leaves On A Stream, which helps us practice putting space between ourselves and our thoughts, so we may feel less hooked by them over time. I find it helpful for when I go down the rabbit hole of ruminating negative thoughts.
Get Out Of Your Head And Back In Your Body
This meditation helps to align body and mind. Use this one if you're feeling disconnected from your body and up in your head with your thoughts, you're experiencing some uncomfortable sensations in your body, or want to explore bringing more ease and comfort into your body.
Meditation to Feel Less Anxious and Alone Around Others
PMDD can make it really tough to be around other people, even in the simplest of interactions and among those we love. 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 challenging feelings that PMDD can stir up.
Intention for Self-Kindness
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.
Meditation to STOP the Spiral
Does irritability and overwhelm lead you to feel like you're spinning out of control in the luteal phase? You can try this quick check-in–with yourself and your surroundings–to put on the brakes when you’re spiraling. You can also practice this one when you just need a brain break.