PMDD: severe cycle-related mood disorder

Historically, medical research has done a disservice to women. In fact, for many years, scientists only studied men, assuming that all effects would generalize to women. But we now know that’s not true. In today’s show, we’re talking about how we can improve the state of science on women’s health, and how that begins with having a fuller understanding of the hormone shifts that occur during the menstrual cycle and how they affect women’s brains and bodies.

I am joined once again by Dr. Sarah Hill, the author of This is Your Brain on Birth Control. She has spent most of her 20+ year career studying women, relationships, and health. Her latest book is titled The Period Brain: The New Science of Why We PMS and How To Fix It.

Some of the specific topics we explore include:

• What’s the problem with one-size-fits-all medical advice?
• How does the concept of PMS pathologize natural things that happen to women’s bodies?
• What’s the problem with using the male body as the “standard” in scientific research?
• What’s wrong with the way scientists typically treat the menstrual cycle in studies of women?
• How can we do research that actually serves women?

You can check our Sarah’s website to learn more about her work.

Got a sex question? Send me a podcast voicemail to have it answered on a future episode at speakpipe.com/sexandpsychology.

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The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University has been a trusted source for scientific knowledge and research on critical issues in sexuality, gender, and reproduction for over 75 years. Be sure to register for the Sex and Aging Symposium, which will take place on October 4, 2025.

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Credits: Precision Podcasting (Podcast editing) and Shutterstock/Florian (Music). Image created with Canva; photos used with permission of guest.