Premenstrual mood disorders : a feminist psychosocial perspective

![CDATA[Premenstrual change in mood and embodied sensation first appeared in the biomedical literature in the 1930s, described as “premenstrual tension” (PMT) (Frank, 1931). Premenstrual “disorders” were renamed “premenstrual syndrome” in the 1950s, to incorporate a broader range of symptoms (Dalton, 1959), Late Luteal Phase Dysphoric Disorder (LLPPD) in the 1980s, and now sit in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) as Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), an official psychiatric diagnosis (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). It is estimated that 2–5% of women in North America, Western Europe, and Australia meet a PMDD diagnosis; around 40% meet the lesser diagnosis of PMS – the same basic conglomeration of symptoms, just experienced to a lesser degree (Hartlage, Freels, Gotman, & Yonkers, 2012). Recognition of the continuum of premenstrual distress, and overlap between the diagnostic categories PMS and PMDD, has led to the adoption of the term “Premenstrual Disorders” (PMDs) by an expert advisory panel (Nevatte et al., 2013).]]