For two weeks of every month, Becci Smart would be "teetering on the edge of wanting to live and wanting to die." After spending half the month feeling like her normal self, Becci said it was as if she had been taken over by an entity she could not control.
Becci, 36, has Pre-menstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), a severe form of pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS). It causes a range of emotional and physical symptoms every month in the week or two leading up to a period. For Becci, she would become lethargic and fatigued, feeling as though she had flu. From there, she says she would become snappy and easily irritated.
"Somebody could be chewing something and it's too loud. It's not too loud in the slightest if I'm in my good weeks, but to me it is too loud. The light becomes horrific - I can't stand light, I can't stand noise. Really, I can't stand anything. I just want to crawl out of my own skin to get away," she said.
