04/29/2026
April is Autism Awareness Month and PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) Awareness Month.
Hereās my experience as a late-diagnosed AuDHD woman with PMDD:
For years, I couldnāt explain why part of the month I felt clear, creative, capableāand the other part, everything would crash. Sensory input became unbearable. Routines stopped working. Executive function disappeared. Even my ADHD meds felt like they justā¦ stopped.
This isnāt ābad PMS.ā PMDD is a severe cyclical condition that impacts mood, executive function, and emotional regulation.
And what isnāt talked about enough: autistic peopleāespecially those assigned female at birthāare significantly more likely to experience PMDD.
So many of us were missed growing up. We masked, adapted, pushed throughā¦ and later find ourselves asking, āWhat is going on?ā
If youāve ever felt like something is āoffā but couldnāt explain itāthis might be why. This isnāt a mindset issue. Itās neurological. Itās hormonal. And itās hard.
šØ Content note: around 1:40, there are implied references to self-harm and dark thoughts. Viewer discretion advised.
Research shows ~70ā80% of people with PMDD experience suicidal thoughts, and about 1 in 3 have attempted. When layered with autism or ADHDāboth already higher riskāthe impact can be even greater.
Each condition increases vulnerability. Together, they can compoundāintensifying distress and emotional dysregulation.
And none of this exists in a vacuum.
Cuts to womenās health research, harmful rhetoric, and policies that limit autonomy only push us further behindāmaking an already underdiagnosed experience harder to navigate.
Send some extra love to your fellow neurodivergents with PMDDāpart of the month our brains fully convince us everyone hates us and we should probably just disappear for a bit š
If this resonates, youāre not alone. And youāre not imagining how hard this is.
Womenās healthāespecially for neurodivergent womenādeserves so much more awareness, research, and support.
Feels backwards to say, butā¦ happy PMDD & Autism Awareness Month š¤
