Case report, 1992
Can a woman's feelings about being feminine or masculine play a part in premenstrual distress?
In this single case, a woman's premenstrual distress was linked to an unconscious fantasy that her genitals were damaged, tied to conflicting feminine and masculine feelings. This comes from one person's therapy, so it cannot tell us how common this is.
What they did
This is a report of one woman treated with psychoanalysis, a long-term talk therapy that explores unconscious thoughts and feelings. Her therapist described her case in detail to illustrate an idea about female psychological development.
What they found
The therapist found that a fantasy about damage to her genitals was underneath her premenstrual distress. Her wishes and worries connected to both her feminine and masculine sides played a part in her symptoms. As therapy went on, it became clear that when she was aware of her feminine wishes, her masculine wishes stayed hidden from her, and the other way around. Working through these feelings helped ease her symptoms.
What it means for you
This suggests that for some women, deep emotional conflicts about gender and identity could contribute to premenstrual distress, and that talking therapy may help. But this is based on one woman's experience described by her own therapist, with no comparison group, so it cannot show whether this applies to other women with PMS.
About the study
- Original title
- A case of premenstrual distress: bisexual determinants of a woman's fantasy of damage to her genital
- Authors
- Renik O
- Journal
- Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
- Year
- 1992
- Study design
- Case report
- What was tested
- Psychoanalysis (long-term talk therapy exploring unconscious feelings).
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1177/000306519204000108
Topics
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