Premenstrual Disorders

skills needed to help others. Counselors who have their doctorate have spent a longer time in training and have a medical background, but they are not physicians and cannot prescribe medications. Psy- chiatrists are both counselors and medical doctors. They have stud- ied mental disorders but have also had four years of medical train- ing. They can prescribe medications as well as provide counsel. Each of these persons may be able to provide extra help in managing stress levels and uncovering misconceptions from childhood or adulthood. Counselors can also help a woman to see where she fits into her family, work, and social settings by giving her the skills to see the truth of her value as an individual, whatever her position. Stress-management classes teach participants how to channel the tension, stress, and anger of PMS. Breathing exercises and relax- ation techniques work to not only calm the woman immediately but also to teach the body what a state of relaxation feels like, helping to reprogram it during times of extreme tension. Hormones Treatment that includes the hormone progesterone has made a sig- nificant change in the PMS symptoms for some women. Dr. Dalton advocates the use of progesterone along with her 3-Hourly Starch Diet for those women who need more than just diet and exercise. Because of the absence of severe side effects, women can try natu- ral progesterone without fear. Some physicians prescribe oral contraceptives (birth control pills) to help alleviate PMS symptoms. Because theywork for somewomen and not others, they must be used on a trial basis. If they don’t work, another treatment might. Some women become depressed while taking birth control pills, or a woman may have a health condition that makes birth control pills an additional risk factor, so birth con- trol pills are not the best choice for everyone.

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Alternative Treatments for PMS