Is mindfulness related to premenstrual symptoms?

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a complex set of symptoms which include physical,psychological and behavioral changes of varying severity. These symptoms can interfere with the livesof the affected females, as well as their interpersonal relationships. Researches reveal a soundinfluence of mindfulness on the mind, somatic aspect, and conduct, claiming that educating a furthermindful way of being is related to fewer psychological suffering, more optimistic condition of mind,and improved quality of life. Despite the existence of many experimental studies revealing theconsequences of cognitive mindfulness-based therapy on the premenstrual tension, few studiesattempted to study the relation between mindfulness level and premenstrual symptoms severity amongaffected women. Objective: Examine the relation between mindfulness level and premenstrualsyndrome among faculty nursing students. Setting: The study was conducted on nursing students atthe Faculty of Nursing, Damanhour University. Subjects: A sample of 291 nursing students waschosen by simple random sampling method. Tools: Two questionnaires were used namely; FiveFactors Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and a modified version of Premenstrual SymptomsScreening Tool for clinicians (PMSST) in addition to socio-demographic data and menstrual historystructured interview schedule. Results: Study findings indicated that the only statistical significantrelation was present between mindfulness and behavioral symptoms. However, no statisticalsignificant relationships were found between mindfulness and total score of premenstrual symptoms aswell as the rest of subscales of premenstrual symptoms. Conclusion: Mindfulness is significantlyrelated to behavioral premenstrual symptoms. Recommendations: Mindfulness training can be usedto address premenstrual behavioral symptoms.

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