Dixie D’Amelio Has Been Diagnosed With ‘Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder’ – What Exactly Is That?

And that’s on period.

You’ve likely heard of or experienced first-hand the infamous Premenstrual Disorder – AKA, PMS.

It’s often depicted in TV, movies and media as that time of month when women go hysterical, ‘crazy’, and cry into chocolate wrappers while nursing hot water bottles on their stomachs.

But the media rarely focuses on a more serious and often debilitating aspect of menstruation which affects around 5-10% of women. It’s called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and it’s finally been given some airtime by Dixie D’Amelio.

The 21-year-old TikTok star and influencer shared her experience with PMDD on Instagram Live, attributing it to her recent hiatus from social media.

"I wasn't feeling great and not really sure why," she began. "I recently got diagnosed with this thing called PMDD, which is premenstrual dysphoric disorder."

"It really affects your moods and your behavior and many different parts of your life," D'Amelio continued. "I feel like I didn't realize how much it was affecting me until I got to this point I was in last week."

So, what exactly are the symptoms of PMDD?

In short—it’s a concoction of pure exhaustion, pain, and emotional turmoil. According to WebMD, just some of the symptoms include mood swings, depression or feelings of hopelessness, intense anger, anxiety, fatigue, sleep problems, join or muscle pain…and a whole lot more.

There’s not one be-all end-all cure for PMDD, but symptoms can be minimised with various treatment plans given by doctors.

Dixie talked about the extent to which PMDD affected her emotions, saying “I have never felt so low…and having no idea what was wrong with me was very alarming.”

She’s dealt with it for the past seven years but was only recently diagnosed and has started addressing it.

“I’m very happy that I know what’s wrong because now I can find better ways to handle my emotions,” she said.

“I’m feeling better now and I will probably be going through the same thing next month and the month after that.”

Dixie is not the first celebrity to speak outwardly about her experience with PMDD, with singer Zara Larsson sharing her story a couple of years ago.

She said, “I can barely get out of my bed. And it feels really, really bad – and I know that I’m not alone in that.”

Visit your doctor if you think you may have symptoms of PMDD.