--- title: Crying at work before your period: what to do right now description: Crying at work before your period is common. Here's what to do right now, what to tell your manager, and how to plan around your cycle next month. url: https://niyora.com/moments/crying-at-work/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Hard moments](https://niyora.com/moments/) - Crying at work before your period Moment # Crying at work before your period - Crying at work before your period is common. - Step out, run cold water on your wrists, and breathe out longer than you breathe in. - You don't owe your manager an explanation unless you want to give one. - Planning around your cycle can cut down on these moments next month. Updated 13 October 2026 Niyora editorial In the moment, three steps - Calm down Slow your body before anything else. - See it another way Find a kinder, truer read of what happened. - Choose what to say Or decide to say nothing yet. ## At a glance - Stepping away for a few minutes, even to a bathroom stall, is usually enough for the worst of it to pass. - Cold water on your wrists or face and slow breathing out can calm your body faster than trying to will yourself to stop. - You don't have to explain yourself to a manager or coworker unless you choose to. - Tracking your cycle can help you move demanding meetings or hard conversations to a lower-risk week. - If this costs you a week of work most months, it's worth keeping notes and asking a doctor or HR about support. ## What can you do right now, at work? If tears come on without warning, the fastest thing you can do is leave the room. Say "I'll be right back" and head to a bathroom, stairwell, or outside. You don't need a reason ready, and no one needs to see this part. Cold water helps more than most people expect. Run it over your wrists or splash your face for about 30 seconds. It cools your skin fast enough to interrupt the body's stress response, and [cold water for PMS](https://niyora.com/techniques/cold-water/) explains more about why that works. Breathing out longer than you breathe in calms your body down too. Try six counts out, four counts in, five times through. [Breathing exercises for PMS](https://niyora.com/techniques/breathing/) walks through a couple of patterns if you want one to practice before you need it. Give yourself a real five minutes before you go back in. Rushing back while you're still shaking makes it harder to hold things together once you're there. For more on why crying spikes before your period, see [PMS and crying](https://niyora.com/pms/crying/). ## How do you get through the next hour? Once the tears stop, your body is still a little keyed up even if your mind feels steadier. Splash cool water on your face again if you need to, and keep a tissue or two at your desk so you're not caught off guard twice. Pick low-stakes tasks for the next hour if you can. Filing, email, anything that doesn't need a sharp edge. If a meeting is unavoidable, sit near the door and keep water close by. If what set you off was a text, a comment, or a conflict with someone, it can help to write down what happened before you respond to anything. Niyora is a PMS and PMDD support app, and its Moon feature lets you write what happened, see it from another angle, and draft a reply you can hold for 20 minutes before you send it. Headphones help too, even with nothing playing. They're a quiet signal that you're focused and not asking for conversation right now. Right now The next ten minutes - 1 Excuse yourself. Say "I'll be right back" and head to a bathroom, stairwell, or outside. - 2 Run cold water over your wrists for about 30 seconds, or splash it on your face. - 3 Breathe out for six counts, in for four. Repeat it five times. - 4 Write yourself one line about what set this off, so you can look at it later instead of replaying it right now. - 5 Check the time and give yourself five more minutes before you walk back in. Niyora walks you through this when it happens: - Calm down - - See it another way - - Choose what to say ## What should you tell your manager, if anything? You don't owe anyone an explanation for crying at work. In a 2021 survey of working women in the UK, over 90% reported some premenstrual symptoms, and about 40% described them as moderate or severe enough to affect their day. Most didn't tell their employer, often because they didn't think work was the place for it. That's a reasonable call, not a failure of nerve. Keep it short if you'd rather say something: "I'm having a rough morning, I'm okay" covers it. You don't have to name your cycle unless you want to. A coworker who saw you cry, or a sharp comment earlier in the day, is worth addressing directly. [Snapping at a coworker before your period](https://niyora.com/moments/snapping-at-a-coworker/) has language for repairing that without over-explaining. When this is a pattern most months, not a one-off, it's worth knowing that moderate to severe premenstrual symptoms are linked to lower presenteeism and more missed or shortened workdays. That's useful context if you ever do talk to a manager, not a reason to feel like you're failing at your job. ## How do you plan your work around your cycle? Once you've been through this once, you can start to see it coming. If you track your cycle, even loosely, you'll notice the days before your period tend to repeat the same pattern: tears closer to the surface, less patience for interruptions, lower tolerance for noise. Niyora's [PMS calculator](https://niyora.com/tools/pms-calculator/) gives you an estimated window for when PMS symptoms are likely to start, based on your own cycle. Once you know roughly which week that is, you can move the presentation, the hard conversation, or the big ask to a week when you have more room. [Getting through a demanding work week before your period](https://niyora.com/blog/pms-at-work-managing-a-hard-week/) has a fuller plan for the days you can't move, including what helps when concentration drops. None of this means premenstrual symptoms are the whole story. If a work situation is genuinely unfair, or a relationship at work is genuinely strained, tracking your cycle won't fix that. It just tells you when you'll have the least patience to deal with it. ## When should you ask for accommodations? Most months, a few coping steps are enough to get through a hard day. But if premenstrual symptoms are costing you a week of work every month, affecting your pay, your review, or your relationship with your team, it's worth asking about formal accommodations. [PMDD workplace accommodations](https://niyora.com/care/pmdd-workplace-accommodations/) covers what you can ask for, from flexible deadlines to a quieter workspace in the week before your period. Before you go to HR, it helps to have something concrete. Keep two months of daily notes on your symptoms and how they affected your work. If you have at least five symptoms the week before your period, including a mood symptom, that ease within a few days of it starting, that pattern fits premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and it's worth seeing a GP or gynecologist with those notes in hand. If you're also managing anxiety or depression that worsens that week but doesn't fully go away afterward, mention that too. It changes the kind of support that will actually help. From the research library ## Research on mood swings 116 studies in the library look at mood swings in PMS and PMDD. They were published from 1971 to 2026, and each one is summarised in plain English. 116 studies, 1971 to 2026 How strong the studies are Strong study design 6 Moderate study design 41 Early or limited evidence 69 - [Study, 2026How do women with PMDD process emotions differently in their brains?Women with PMDD show increased activity in emotion-processing brain networks, especially during the luteal phase, and this baseline difference even appears in the follicular phase and relates to symptom severity.Strong study design](https://niyora.com/research/papers/emotion-generation-and-regulation-in-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-2026/) - [Case-control study, 2026Do women with PMS handle emotions differently at different times of the cycle?Yes. Women with PMS tend to use emotion coping strategies that make symptoms worse (like dwelling on negative thoughts) and fewer strategies that help (like accepting difficult thoughts). These patterns change across the menstrual cycle.Strong study design](https://niyora.com/research/papers/trait-and-phasic-emotion-regulation-strategies-in-women-with-premenstrual-2026/) - [Systematic review, 2025Do people with PMDD and severe PMS have difficulties with emotion regulation?People with PMDD and severe PMS may have difficulties identifying emotions and choosing how to handle them, particularly using rumination (replaying upset thoughts) in the late-luteal phase. Evidence remains limited.Strong study design](https://niyora.com/research/papers/emotion-regulation-in-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-and-premenstrual-syndrome-2025/) - [Systematic review, 2025Does teaching adolescent girls about their menstrual cycle and health help reduce period pain and PMS?Yes. A systematic review of five good-quality studies shows that psychoeducation (structured teaching) significantly reduced period pain and PMS symptoms and improved emotional wellbeing in adolescent girls.Strong study design](https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-effectiveness-of-psychoeducation-on-menstrual-disorders-in-adolescent-girls-2025/) - [Randomised trial, 2007Does paroxetine work better if taken daily or just during your luteal phase for PMDD?Daily paroxetine had an 85% response rate and was most effective overall, while luteal-phase-only paroxetine worked equally well for irritability and mood swings but was weaker for depression and physical symptoms. This well-designed study provides reliable results.Strong study design](https://niyora.com/research/papers/placebo-controlled-trial-comparing-intermittent-and-continuous-paroxetine-in-2007/) - [Survey study, 1994How many different ways do researchers measure PMS in clinical trials?Researchers use many different measurement tools across studies. 65 different questionnaires were found in 350 trials of PMS drugs, making it hard to compare whether treatments actually work.Strong study design](https://niyora.com/research/papers/clinical-trials-of-treatments-of-premenstrual-syndrome-entry-criteria-and-scales-1994/) [See all 116 studies on mood swings and emotion regulation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-emotional-regulation/) ## Questions people ask Is it normal to cry at work before your period? + Yes. Crying at work in the days before your period is common. A 2021 survey found over 90% of working women reported some premenstrual symptoms, and about 40% called them moderate or severe. Hormones lower your threshold for tears, but what's upsetting you is still real and worth addressing. What can I say if someone asks why I'm crying? + You can say as little as "I'm having a tough morning, I'll be fine" and leave it there. You don't have to mention your period or your cycle unless you want to. A short, calm answer usually ends the question faster than a long explanation does. Should I tell my manager about PMS or PMDD? + Telling your manager about PMS or PMDD is your choice, not a requirement. Most women who experience premenstrual symptoms at work never disclose them. If symptoms are costing you a week of work every month, naming the pattern can help you ask for accommodations like flexible deadlines. How do I stop crying quickly at work? + To stop crying quickly, step away if you can and run cold water over your wrists or face for about 30 seconds. Breathing out longer than you breathe in, six counts out and four in, also calms your body down within a few minutes. Can tracking my cycle help with crying at work? + Tracking your cycle can help you predict which week crying spells are more likely, so you can move demanding meetings or hard conversations to a different week. It won't stop every heavy moment, but it gives you more say in when you handle the hardest parts of your job. ## Sources - 1. [Premenstrual Symptoms and Work: Exploring Female Staff Experiences and Recommendations for Workplaces](https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073647), International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021 Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗ On this page - [What can you do right now, at work?](#what-can-you-do-right-now-at-work) - [How do you get through the next hour?](#how-do-you-get-through-the-next-hour) - [What should you tell your manager, if anything?](#what-should-you-tell-your-manager-if-anything) - [How do you plan your work around your cycle?](#how-do-you-plan-your-work-around-your-cycle) - [When should you ask for accommodations?](#when-should-you-ask-for-accommodations) - [Research](#research) - [Questions](#faq) Niyora PMS & PMDD support For the hard moment before your period. Private, no account. [Get it on iPhone](https://apps.apple.com/app/niyora-pms-emotions/id6764561688) ## Keep reading Guide Crying Article How to get through a demanding work week when you have PMS Article Does PMS affect focus at work? What changes and what helps Moment Snapped at a coworker before your period? PMS irritability at work Guide Breathing Guide Cold water