---
title: How do healthy women perceive and understand their premenstrual symptoms?
description: Women view premenstrual symptoms as normal, everyday experiences rather than a medical problem. They explain these experiences through a mix of biological, ps
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/women-s-perceptions-of-phenomena-they-label-premenstrual-tension-normal-1999/
---

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- How do healthy women perceive and understand their premenstrual symptoms?

Interview study, 1999

# How do healthy women perceive and understand their premenstrual symptoms?

Women view premenstrual symptoms as normal, everyday experiences rather than a medical problem. They explain these experiences through a mix of biological, psychological, and social factors and manage them with regular strategies.

 Early or limited evidence

17 healthy women

## What they did

Researchers interviewed 17 women who had previously participated in a symptom diary study 4 years earlier. The interviews were analyzed to identify common themes in how women understood their premenstrual experiences.

## What they found

Four main themes emerged. Women said their premenstrual experiences vary widely, that symptoms are normal and common in healthy women, that they explain them through biological, psychological, and social factors, and that they manage them using everyday strategies.

## What it means for you

Women generally see premenstrual symptoms as a normal part of life rather than a medical condition needing treatment. This is a very small study based on interviews, so results reflect only these women's views.

17

women interviewed

4

main themes identified

4 years

since original diary study

## About the study

Original title Women's perceptions of phenomena they label premenstrual tension: normal experiences reflecting ordinary behaviour Authors Sveinsdóttir H, Lundman B, Norberg A Journal Journal of advanced nursing Year 1999 Study design Interview study What was tested None Read the paper [doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.1999.01169.x](https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.1999.01169.x)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Stigma, attitudes and culture](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-stigma-culture/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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Study, 1989

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