---
title: How do mood, physical state, and self-image change during the premenstrual period?
description: During the premenstrual period, women experienced more negative emotions, fewer positive emotions, and felt worse about their body and themselves. Changes aff
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/psychophysical-characteristics-of-the-premenstrual-period-2010/
---

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- How do mood, physical state, and self-image change during the premenstrual period?

Survey study, 2010

# How do mood, physical state, and self-image change during the premenstrual period?

During the premenstrual period, women experienced more negative emotions, fewer positive emotions, and felt worse about their body and themselves. Changes affected how they saw themselves, not just their mood.

 Early or limited evidence

51 healthy women aged 21-46 who did not seek medical help

## What they did

51 healthy women aged 21-46 kept daily diaries for one week before their period and four days after it started, across two menstrual cycles. They rated their physical state (fatigue, breast tenderness, bloating, poor sleep), emotions (happiness, anger, sadness, irritability, anxiety, distraction), and how they felt about their physical attractiveness and satisfaction with themselves.

## What they found

The premenstrual period was marked by more intense negative emotions, fewer positive emotions, and lower perception of physical attractiveness and satisfaction with oneself. The changes affected how women thought about and saw themselves overall, not just their mood.

## What it means for you

PMS is not just about mood swings. It includes changes in self-image and how women see their bodies and themselves mentally. The study looked at women who were not seeking help, so findings might not apply to women with more severe PMS. Only two cycles per woman were tracked.

51

women studied

21-46

age range

2

cycles tracked

## About the study

Original title Psychophysical characteristics of the premenstrual period Authors Stanicić A, Jokić-Begić N Journal Collegium antropologicum Year 2010 Study design Survey study What was tested None - observation of menstrual cycle changes Open access Yes Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21874732/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21874732/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)

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Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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