r/PMDD • u/hayleybeth7 • 1d ago
Need to Vent - No advice please Anyone else get a “claustrophobic” feeling?
For lack of a better word, I feel so trapped whenever my period is near. I generally don’t want to be around people, I just want to be able to do my own thing and I feel like I’m going to come out of my skin.
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u/natty_ann 20h ago
Yes! Every single month. It's like the walls are closing in, my personal space bubble doubles in size, and my skin is too tight. I'm so overstimulated and uncomfortable in my own body, and any environmental stressors are amplified times a thousand. I can't stand it. This also fuels me to clean in some sort of manic freakout a few days before my period every month.
One time when I was younger, I was at a restaurant with my family, and I started to feel very intensely claustrophobic. I was sitting in a booth between the wall and my brother, and I suddenly just flipped out and threw my arms out, knocking our drinks and food to the floor. I had to get up and go to the bathroom to calm myself. I was so goddamn embarrassed.
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u/finnwittrockswhore 22h ago
Yess I feel like I want to tear through my skin 😭 everyone and everything is soo overstimulating
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u/CarolCroissant PMDD 23h ago
Experiencing this now!!! This makes me feel so seen 😭 it makes me feel like I have to scream and peel my skin off
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u/millenial__trash 23h ago
Oh my god yes, I spend at least 5 days on the brink of ghosting my entire life.
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u/cygnusolar 23h ago
Yes, I was yelling to my boyfriend about this last night! I can't explain it and I'm waiting for my period to start. I'm so glad I read this
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u/Shoddy-Rutabaga-2837 1d ago
I didn't have that, my key turned after 30, any place or environment that is very closed or with people I don't like causes this to me, and on PMS days it gets worse.
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u/valterrsen 1d ago
Yes - get the feeling of wanting to (for lack of better words) tear out of my body and skin.
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u/Counterboudd 1d ago
YES! Almost every time, I feel like I need to “get out” of whatever my current situation is. I used to live in a large metropolitan area and every time I’d be so annoyed about people being around me all the time when I left the apartment, the size of my apartment and how it was too small, and generally feeling like I needed my own space and couldn’t take it anymore being in that environment where I was constantly surrounded by people and too much stimulation. I’ve since moved to the middle of nowhere in a forest partially because of those feelings. Well, now when I’m PMSing, I feel isolated, lonely, and like I need to get away from here and be in a city where I can meet new people and see and be seen and am upset I’m not going out and wasting my life. I feel like I’m going to explode from frustration! It’s wild because truly believed it was my environment but I’m pretty sure weirdness around hormones was at least partially to blame.
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u/askcafer 1h ago
Oh man you put into words exactly how I feel. And because I have PMS 10-14 days per month I have this feeling a significant portion of the time so it really affects my life satisfaction. I've moved a bunch of times and I always get this feeling of wanting to be in the opposite place no matter what setting I'm in. It sucks so bad that it's hormonal.
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u/Mombi87 9h ago
That’s so interesting! I’ve often thought I’d be better off living “in the middle of nowhere” and always read my desire to isolate/ run away, and my rage at other people during luteal, as being unsuited to busy crowded urban environments. I wonder would I also experience a stuckness if I lived in the countryside…
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u/Counterboudd 5h ago
Yeah, I don’t really regret moving because I think it was more than just PMDD and I did drastically go from “center of the city” to “highly isolated” and also started working from home due to covid at the same time, so I think that compounds it, but I have noticed that the discomfort with my life seems to be there while PMSing regardless of where I am and the grass is always greener wherever I am not.
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u/Background-Anxiety27 1d ago
yes! one million percent this !! i resent myself and absolutely everyone and everything around me. i also want to crawl out of my skin i hate this but i find comfort in knowing we are not alone!!!
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u/Objective-Garbage-41 1d ago
I actually seem to get more social right before it starts. Even if my period is early it's always a sure sign it's about to start when I impulsively have a hangout with my best friend bc I ALWAYS start while I'm at her house or a few hours after coming home.
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u/deadgirlmimic A little bit of everything 1d ago
YES omg I've been gaslighting myself so bad about it too 😢
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u/Dramatic_Paramedic_6 1d ago
Omg yes 😬 and just the sound of cars driving outside in my neighborhood, would cause me to have a panic attack. I don’t want to hear any noise or be around ANYONE. Just complete silence.
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u/nichtsdestotrotz_91 4h ago
Absolutely. I feel suffocated by having to talk to anyone, even my own family. It’s the first symptom of my PMDD-week and I often really wish I could stay completely alone for these days until my period starts. I’m looking forward to being able to, when my kids are grown up. It’s hard to stay patient during this time and comes with so much guilt to not being able to enjoy the time with my kids.