You might think you're going through bad mood swings and bloating due to premenstrual syndrome (PMS), but not according to one psychologist who calls it all a myth.
PMS can be a really difficult time for women. Sufferers experience a combination of mood swings, bloating, breast pain and low sex drive. And, NHS claims one in 20 women will have these symptoms severe enough to stop them from carrying out their day-to-day activities.
However, a female psychologist has claimed that not only is PMS a myth but also that it is used as an excuse for women to take a break.
Psychologist Robyn Stein DeLuca — also author of The Hormone Myth: How Junk Science, Gender Politics And Lies About PMS Keep Women Down — believes women have been fed these lies over the years which makes them think they're suffering from it when they're actually not.
"Growing up, when we become women, we are told in books, on the internet and in magazines that PMS is out there. We internalise this idea that our bodies must be faulty," she told Daily Mail.
The psychologist also said: "Women are expected to do a lot of things these days — we work, take care of families, we make sure everyone's health is OK, we make the Christmas dinner and a lot of women use PMS as a release valve or if they just can't give any more."
She explained: "You lose your good woman crown if you say 'I just don't feel like doing this right now', and relinquish your responsibilities."
However, PMS acts as a "get-out-of-jail-free card" and that's why women use it as an excuse to get a break.
She is, however, not the first person to claim it. A 2012 study by the University of Toronto also concluded that "PMS may not exist."
