---
title: Do difficulties handling emotions affect premenstrual symptom severity?
description: Yes. Women who act impulsively when upset had worse premenstrual symptoms. Women who ruminate (think repetitively about problems) had symptoms that increased
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/emotion-related-impulsivity-and-rumination-predict-the-perimenstrual-severity-2018/
---

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- Do difficulties handling emotions affect premenstrual symptom severity?

Survey study, 2018

# Do difficulties handling emotions affect premenstrual symptom severity?

Yes. Women who act impulsively when upset had worse premenstrual symptoms. Women who ruminate (think repetitively about problems) had symptoms that increased faster before their period and improved more slowly afterward.

 Early or limited evidence

54 women with menstrually related mood disorders (mean age 38, 65% Caucasian)

## What they did

Study of 54 women with menstrually related mood disorders (average age 38). They completed questionnaires measuring emotion regulation difficulties and rumination, then reported symptoms daily for 2-4 menstrual cycles.

## What they found

Emotion-related impulsivity was linked to worse premenstrual symptom severity. Rumination predicted that symptoms increased more rapidly before menstruation and improved more slowly after menstruation began.

## What it means for you

How women handle emotions may be an important treatment target to reduce symptom severity and cyclical patterns. The main limits are the small sample (54 women) and the observational design, so we cannot prove emotions cause the symptoms.

54

women studied

38 years

mean age

2-4

menstrual cycles tracked per woman

## About the study

Original title Emotion-related impulsivity and rumination predict the perimenstrual severity and trajectory of symptoms in women with a menstrually related mood disorder Authors Dawson DN, Eisenlohr-Moul TA, Paulson JL et al. Journal Journal of clinical psychology Year 2018 Study design Survey study Participants 54 What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22522](https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22522)

## 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/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Mood swings and emotion regulation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-emotional-regulation/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Cognitive behavioral therapy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-cbt/)

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

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What do we know about PMS and PMDD and how are they treated?

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Case-control study, 2023

Do emotion regulation strategies help women with PMDD manage mood and stress hormones?

Cohort study, 2022

What are PMS and PMDD and how should they be diagnosed and treated?

Survey study, 2021

Does cognitive-behavioral emotional regulation training help women with PMDD?

Randomised trial, 2023

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