Do you have "Post-menstrual HUSTLE Syndrome?"

How many days per month do you lose to PMDD?

Chances are, you’ve already calculated the percentage of your life that you lose to PMDD. 

But what you may not know is that almost every single person I talk to who experiences PMDD also suffers from what I call “Post-menstrual Hustle Syndrome.” 

What’s that, you ask?  It’s a term I made up because after losing so many days, you likely do the following as a result:

• Make up for the shame and guilt of what just happened by hustling for your worthiness (as Brene Brown would put it). 
• Make up for lost time by getting as much done as possible before the next “storm hits.”
• Make amends and repair damaged relationships, hoping they’ll stick around… although you’re starting to doubt why they would. 

Oof. It’s exhausting, isn’t it?

But I promise you there’s a different way. 

Limits, Not Limitations

If there’s anything that PMDD taught me it’s that I have limits. Wait.. what?

When my PMDD symptoms were at their worst, it served as the ultimate reminder that something had to give. I couldn’t do it all, be all things, to all people, and expect to get well. 

It taught me that I have limits, not limitations, and need to decide how to both use and conserve my energy so that I can show up and serve the greater good in my own unique way. 

So after years of learning it the hard way, I’ve now learned to honor my capacity.

You see, I learned to trade the do-it-all and suck-it-up badge of honor for asking for and receiving help. 

For example, after birthing twins in 2021, I birthed the PMDD Revealed program in 2022. 

Knowing about my chaotic life as an entrepreneur and mom of 4 kids and 2 dogs, people often ask me, “Mandy, how do you do it all?”

After I noticed a hint of instinctual pride from leftover remnants of my perfectionistic self, a much wiser version of me (who has learned from her mistakes) responded, “I don’t.”

As much as we’d like the outside world to think we are superhuman, I wholeheartedly believe that if we can reject the idea that we should show up in our authentic human messiness and ask for help and support, it gives others the permission to do the same. 

I knew that if I was going to pour my brain and soul into creating this program, that I needed to practice what I preach and honor my capacity. 

So I planned ahead for support:

• My mom helped with my kid’s laundry for over a year. 
• My suegra flew in from Mexico to help for a few months. 
• I hired an assistant, Zoe, who is also a former client and one of my favorite success stories. 
• I took guilt-free naps. Like lots of naps. 

And I knew some stuff had to go: 

• I went off social media for months on end, other than random fun creating videos like the Elf-the-Shelf who has PMDD. (It’s epic, if I may say so myself.)
• I only said yes to social plans when I genuinely wanted to. I unapologetically said no to a lot of stuff. 
• I even stopped watering my plants. They all died. Not joking.

The takeaway here is this:

You don’t have to make up for time lost. In fact, I see that it worsens PMDD symptoms for the next cycle. Instead, reflect on where you need to honor your capacity and set different limits. 

What does that look like for you?

• Is that saying no to certain obligations?
• Is it saying yes to help and support?
• Is it honoring your cyclical nature? (You were never meant to be the same all month long, after all.) 

*All information on this site is general information and education only and is not meant to be personal medical advice or a substitute for a medical evaluation.