--- title: Do women with PMS have difficulty managing emotions across their whole cycle or only before their period? description: Women with PMS reported more difficulty managing emotions overall, but when tested at different cycle phases, these difficulties were not actually found. Whet url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/association-and-timing-of-changes-in-emotion-regulation-and-mood-along-the-2025/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do women with PMS have difficulty managing emotions across their whole cycle or only before their period? Survey study, 2025 # Do women with PMS have difficulty managing emotions across their whole cycle or only before their period? Women with PMS reported more difficulty managing emotions overall, but when tested at different cycle phases, these difficulties were not actually found. Whether emotion problems cause PMS or untreated PMS makes women feel like they have emotion problems remains unclear. Moderate study design 105 women aged 18 to 35, with 54 confirmed to have PMS/PMDD and 51 healthy controls ## What they did Study of 105 women aged 18 to 35 who completed questionnaires about emotion regulation and were tested at three points in their cycle (mid-follicular, mid-luteal, and premenstrual phases). 54 women had confirmed PMS/PMDD and 51 were healthy controls. Testing continued over two menstrual cycles. ## What they found Women with PMS/PMDD reported more emotion regulation difficulties on a trait questionnaire. However, when emotion regulation was tested during specific cycle phases, no differences were found between women with PMS and controls. Emotion regulation problems did not explain the severity of PMS symptoms. Mood worsening before menstruation occurred in women with PMS/PMDD but not in healthy controls. ## What it means for you Women with PMS may perceive emotion regulation problems when they do not actually experience them during testing, or untreated PMS may make them feel this way. This highlights the importance of proper diagnosis and treatment. The study was relatively small and followed participants over only two cycles. 105 women studied 54 with confirmed PMS/PMDD 51 healthy controls ## About the study Original title Association and Timing of Changes in Emotion Regulation and Mood along the Menstrual Cycle in Women with Premenstrual Syndrome Authors Pletzer B, Gnaiger A, Kinzelmann J et al. Journal medRxiv Year 2025 Study design Survey study Participants 105 What was tested None (observational study) Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1101/2025.03.18.25324201](https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.03.18.25324201) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Mood swings and emotion regulation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-emotional-regulation/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Study, 2026 How do women with PMDD process emotions differently in their brains? Case-control study, 2026 Do women with PMS handle emotions differently at different times of the cycle? Systematic review, 2025 Do people with PMDD and severe PMS have difficulties with emotion regulation? Case-control study, 2025 How does PMS affect the brain's response to positive emotions? Cohort study, 2023 Does the menstrual cycle affect how often women have suicidal thoughts? Case-control study, 2023 Do emotion regulation strategies help women with PMDD manage mood and stress hormones? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗