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Relationship Partner with BPD (Straight and LGBT+) => Romantic Relationship | Bettering a Relationship or Reversing a Breakup => Topic started by: sammykin on January 03, 2014, 11:56:17 AM



Title: premenstrual
Post by: sammykin on January 03, 2014, 11:56:17 AM
my partner gets even more paranoid and on self destruct and more needy and more jealous and more unsure of herself in the week or so running up to her period. do others find this? and if you do - what helps as i find it very difficult to comunicate with her at this time without screaming.


Title: Re: premenstrual
Post by: Mono No Aware on January 03, 2014, 05:47:29 PM
my partner gets even more paranoid and on self destruct and more needy and more jealous and more unsure of herself in the week or so running up to her period. do others find this? and if you do - what helps as i find it very difficult to comunicate with her at this time without screaming.

Welcome to the forum!

Definitely read the Lessons:  https://bpdfamily.com/message_board/index.php?topic=56206.0

My undiagnosed BPD wife (common forum shorthand: uBPDw) for years has had skyrocketing emotional episodes on the week before the red tide. Just went though this right around Christmas, that was fun (and by "fun" I mean "sheer hell".

She's even aware of it... . but only after the flow starts and she calms somewhat. During the emotional dysregulation there is no stopping her.

I pursue a strategy of careful balance between being responsive and supportive... . but absolutely refusing to be drawn into arguments.

I have mantra songs I play in my head for self-calming, and I refuse to let the barbed wild nonsensical accusations get my anger response up. Instead of answering the loaded circular-argument questions, I ask her questions back about her feelings.

In the Lessons is the important point, "Before it can get better stop making it worse." There's many tools like Validation, SET-UP, DEARMAN, etc, that we can employ to keep communication positive. They ALL depend upon keeping calm, you gotta self-care and self-regulate to the point where you keep your cool.

Hang in there... . you are not alone!

- Mono No Aware


Title: Re: premenstrual
Post by: Nonamouse on January 04, 2014, 01:18:44 AM
Yes, this is definitely an issue with my wife too. She just went through a major episode last week and tonight in bed she told me that she was starting tomorrow. So one week in advance sounds about right. I have to put this in my calendar now so I can remember next month.