My PMDD journey started when I was fired from my job as an art teacher at a refugee charity for not having a "good personality". This poor management made me realise how damaging organisations can be towards supporting women with mental health problems, and I wanted to find a way to make this better. At the time, I couldn't understand why I had such severe mood swings, panic attacks and overwhelming depression that would come and go so often.

Through tracking my mood changes , with help from lift phycology it became clear the problem was cyclical. It’s so hard to seek support for something that comes and goes. We all need support and, for me, having the support of those that do understand has been invaluable.

So, I set up this support group in September 2020 after noticing a lack of support available throughout Lockdown. Bristol is a creative city, and I wanted to bring a creative aspect to the group to help spread awareness, help us to express our frustrations, and share our experiences of living with Premenstrual conditions through art.

I have experience teaching art and working with vulnerable adults in a care setting, and have also worked in the charity sector for the last 6 years. Bringing the expertise I have to this group, including art facilitation and therapy techniques learned over the years, I hope this will be a safe space for anyone seeking peer support for life with PMDD or PME.