When it comes to PMSing, most of us feel free to talk openly about being bloated, moody, or craving chocolate; but sometimes, PMS can get much darker than that. Studies have shown that the time before we get our periods can be a hotbed of negative feelings, a time when many women experience low self-esteem, poor body image, and even body dysmorphia. And as it turns out, these negative feelings towards our bodies may be rooted in more than unfair societal beauty standards — they may actually be a product of our hormones themselves.

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I know that in my case, a feeling of general dissatisfaction with myself is usually the first sign my period is coming. Before I even feel cramped, bloated, or extra-hungry, I’ll find myself looking in the mirror and suddenly just feeling … ugly. Logically, I know nothing about my physical self has changed, but the feelings are nearly dysmorphic anyway. All of the sudden, it feels like something about my face just looks gross, unfamiliar. When I feel this monthly pang of self-criticism and disgust, I know that my period is coming in a few days. But that still doesn’t explain why it happens — especially when I tend to feel pretty good about myself during the rest of the month.

After years of experiencing this feeling, I decided to look for some answers. A cursory Google search of “PMS and body image” only turns up some vague coded language for the phenomenon on medical websites — the closest thing I could find was a mention of “decreased self-esteem” as a symptom of PMS. Online forums, however, spell out the phenomenon clearly.

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My coworker Kelsea, 28, confirms that this happens to her, too. “I feel absolutely terrible about my body during PMS. The most anti-Body Pos thoughts about myself tend to flow through my head at that time. It’s hard to do anything to stop it, but I usually try to dress in clothes that feel like sweats but still make me feel dressed up,” she tells me. “It doesn’t fix the problem, but it can help distract me from my own negative feelings.”

Another coworker, Jordan, 26, echoes the sentiment. “Every month, I go through that very stereotypical cycle where one week I feel in control and somehow the next, I’ve taken a turn and just feel like a monster — bloated, puffy, and uncomfortable,” she says. “I grew up with an eating disorder, so sometimes I think I’m harder on my body than I should be. But in the past few years, I’ve gotten a lot better at reminding myself that this is a part of life.”

And for many of us, the fun might continue while we’re menstruating, too: a small study of 44 women in 2013 published in the journal Perceptual & Motor Skills revealed that….

Read the complete article here on Bustle.

Image credits:- Ley/Flickr

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