Tola, a 29-year-old banker in Lagos, experiences severe mood changes in the week before her period. She becomes highly irritable, snaps at colleagues, avoids social contact, and once nearly resigned from her job after a minor disagreement. Her symptoms vanish a few days after her period starts, leaving her confused and embarrassed. Amina, a 35-year-old mother of three in Kano, faces a similar cycle. Ten days before menstruation, she feels overwhelming sadness, loses interest in her children and business, and has intrusive thoughts about not wanting to exist. These feelings disappear once her period begins. Neither woman has heard of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), a severe mental health condition linked to hormonal fluctuations. PMDD affects 3 to 8 per cent of women of reproductive age globally, which could mean up to 8 million affected women in Nigeria. Symptoms include intense mood swings, depression, anxiety, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and difficulty concentrating. They occur in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and subside with the onset of menstruation. The condition is often dismissed as moodiness or laziness, leading to years of untreated suffering.
Tola and Amina are told they are overreacting, yet their symptoms align with a recognised mental health disorder that affects millions. If up to 8 million women in Nigeria may have PMDD, normalising dismissal of their pain as "moodiness" risks widespread psychological harm. The lack of awareness means women are blamed for a condition they do not even have a name for. This is not emotional weakness — it is a medical issue masked as attitude.
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