--- title: Do pain sensitivity and negative thinking explain how trauma and stress cause PMS or PMDD? description: Yes. Both heightened pain sensitivity and negative thinking patterns mediate the connection between past trauma or stress and premenstrual disorder symptoms. url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/pain-sensitivity-and-depressive-triad-mediate-the-relationship-between-trauma-2025/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do pain sensitivity and negative thinking explain how trauma and stress cause PMS or PMDD? Cohort study, 2025 # Do pain sensitivity and negative thinking explain how trauma and stress cause PMS or PMDD? Yes. Both heightened pain sensitivity and negative thinking patterns mediate the connection between past trauma or stress and premenstrual disorder symptoms. Moderate study design 228 women in the cross-sectional phase and 90 women in the prospective follow-up ## What they did A two-stage study. First, a survey of 228 women measured childhood trauma, stress levels, pain sensitivity, negative thinking patterns, and premenstrual symptoms. Second, a prospective follow-up of 90 women measured the same factors over time. Researchers tested whether pain sensitivity and thinking patterns explained the link between trauma or stress and premenstrual symptoms. ## What they found In the cross-sectional phase, both pain sensitivity and negative cognitive patterns mediated the trauma-to-premenstrual symptoms connection, with complete mediation found through the thinking pathway. In the prospective phase of 90 women, both variables partially mediated the relationship between past trauma and PMS or PMDD diagnosis. Complete mediation was found between baseline stress level and premenstrual symptoms. ## What it means for you How women think (particularly negative or pessimistic patterns) and how they perceive pain appear to be key mechanisms linking past trauma and stress to current premenstrual symptoms. These could be targets for psychological treatment such as cognitive therapy and pain management techniques. The study is observational, so causation cannot be definitively proven. 228 Women in cross-sectional phase 90 Women in prospective phase Both pathways Pain and thinking mediate ## About the study Original title Pain Sensitivity and Depressive Triad Mediate the Relationship Between Trauma and Stress, and Symptoms of Premenstrual Disorders Authors Antosz-Rekucka R, Prochwicz K Journal Clinical psychology & psychotherapy Year 2025 Study design Cohort study Participants 228 What was tested None (observational study) Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1002/cpp.70062](https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.70062) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Psychotherapy, counselling and education](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-psychotherapy/)[PTSD and trauma](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-ptsd-trauma/)[Relationships and partners](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-relationships/) 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 Systematic review, 2026 What types of talking therapy have been studied for PMS and PMDD? Case-control study, 2013 Are stress hormones different in women with PMDD? Cohort study, 2026 Does brain structure differ between women with PMDD and healthy controls? Survey study, 2026 Do mindfulness, self-compassion and sense of coherence protect against severe PMS and PMDD? Survey study, 2026 Do trauma and stress worsen PMS symptoms, and does how you think about events matter? Review, 2025 How do trauma and sensory processing affect PMDD symptoms? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗