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Is it PMS, or could it be PMDD?

Think about the week before your period over the last few cycles. Rate each area. We'll show your pattern and how to bring it to a GP.

In short: PMS and PMDD both cause symptoms in the days before a period that ease once it starts; PMDD is a severe form with intense mood symptoms that disrupt daily life. This private self-check asks the questions clinicians use and helps you decide whether to speak to a GP. It cannot diagnose PMDD.

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In the week before your period, how much do you notice…

1Mood swings, sudden sadness, or feeling very sensitive to rejection
2Irritability or anger, or more arguments than usual
3Feeling down, hopeless or very self-critical
4Anxiety, tension, or feeling on edge
5Less interest in things you usually enjoy (work, friends, hobbies)
6Trouble concentrating
7Tiredness or low energy
8Big appetite changes or food cravings
9Sleeping much more or much less
10Feeling overwhelmed or out of control
11Physical symptoms: sore breasts, bloating, joint or muscle aches

Timing and impact

12Do these ease within a few days of your period starting, and stay quiet in the week after it?
13Do they get in the way of work, school, relationships or daily life?

Rate each area and your pattern appears here.

Call Samaritans on 116 123 (UK, free, 24/7), text SHOUT to 85258, or call or text 988 (US). In an emergency call 999 or 911. PMDD is real and treatable.

How does the pms or pmdd? work?

  1. The questions follow the 11 symptom areas in the Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP), which clinicians use to assess PMS and PMDD.
  2. PMDD is described when at least 5 symptoms, including at least one mood symptom, show up before most periods, ease soon after it starts, and seriously affect daily life.
  3. Diagnosis needs symptoms rated daily over at least two cycles (RCOG). A one-off look back can't do that, so this shows a pattern worth tracking.
  4. If symptoms are there all month, something else may be going on, or a condition may be getting worse before periods. That's worth raising too.

Why daily tracking matters

Looking back, it's hard to tell whether low mood came before your period or all month. That's why the RCOG recommends rating symptoms every day for at least two cycles before PMDD is diagnosed. The DRSP is the chart many clinicians use, and the Splash log covers the same areas.

You're not overreacting

PMDD affects an estimated 3 to 8% of people who have periods, and many are told for years that it's "just PMS". IAPMD has peer support and a clinician directory. Read more in our guide to PMDD.

When to see a doctor

  • Premenstrual symptoms are affecting work, relationships or daily life.
  • You have thoughts of self-harm or ending your life: call Samaritans 116 123 (UK) or 988 (US) now, any time.
  • Symptoms are there all month, including after your period.

In the UK you can call NHS 111 for advice, any time. In an emergency call 999 (UK) or 911 (US).

Questions people ask

What is the difference between PMS and PMDD?

Both happen in the days before a period and ease after it starts. PMDD is a severe form, with intense mood symptoms like depression, anxiety or rage that seriously affect work, relationships or daily life.

How is PMDD diagnosed?

By tracking symptoms every day for at least two cycles, often with the DRSP, and talking it through with a GP or specialist (RCOG).

What helps PMDD?

Options include certain antidepressants (SSRIs, sometimes only in the second half of the cycle), some hormonal contraception, CBT and, in specialist care, other hormonal treatments (RCOG). IAPMD has peer support.

Is PMDD a mental health condition?

It's classed as a depressive disorder linked to the cycle. It's thought to be a sensitivity to normal hormone changes, not a hormone imbalance.

Is this a diagnosis?

No. It's a structured way to notice patterns and decide whether, and how soon, to talk to someone. Only a clinician can diagnose, usually with an examination and sometimes tests.

Is anything I enter saved or sent?

No. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent, and the page makes no network requests when you use it.

Sources

  1. RCOG Green-top Guideline 48: Management of premenstrual syndrome
  2. Endicott J et al. Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP): reliability and validity. Arch Womens Ment Health, 2006
  3. NHS: PMS (premenstrual syndrome)
  4. IAPMD: International Association for Premenstrual Disorders

Written by the Splash team · Sources checked Oct 2026 · Updated

Track two cycles, see the pattern

This check is a snapshot. The Splash app tracks the same things day by day, which is what a GP actually needs to see.

  • Log mood and symptoms daily in seconds, the way clinicians ask (DRSP-style).
  • Splash lines them up against your cycle so the pattern is visible.
  • Take the doctor report to your GP: that's what diagnosis is based on.
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Splash makes daily mood and symptom logging take seconds, then lines it up against your cycle. That's the record a GP needs for PMDD.

Splash insights showing mood patterns across the cycle