Your Period and Your Mental Health Are More Connected Than You Think
By Diamond, Founder of Muna
With May being both National Menstrual Health Awareness Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, I wanted to highlight the connection they hold and how this intersection should be more supported and researched to actually improve women's well-being.
Mental Health Is Physical Health
Mental health is more than just not having a mental illness. It's about how you think, feel, and function every single day. Mental Health Awareness Month was founded by Mental Health America in 1949 to fight stigma, provide education, and highlight the importance of mental well-being. It exists to support the 1 in 5 adults living with mental illness — and yes, your physical health absolutely includes your cycle.
Why Menstrual Health Gets Written Off
The reproductive system gets dismissed as just the baby-making system. But the hormones it regulates touch everything: your mood, your energy, your skin, your sleep. So maybe it's actually one of the most important systems we have. National Menstrual Health Awareness Month was created to highlight the impact of menstrual health on mental well-being, education, economic status, and workplace productivity.
The Stigma Is Real — and It's Costing Us
Both menstrual health and mental health carry stigma. Both are underfunded. Both disproportionately affect women. And both have been consistently deprioritized by the very systems meant to support us.
The NIH didn't require women to be included in clinical trials until 1993. As of 2015, there were five times more scientific studies on erectile dysfunction — affecting about 18% of men — than on PMS, which affects about 90% of women.
So why is it called MENtal and MENstrual health? Maybe it's time we start talking about WOMENtal and WOMENstrual health instead.
What Is PMDD?
PMDD is where menstrual health and mental health collide. It's often misdiagnosed as depression or bipolar disorder because the symptoms look identical. But here's what the research actually shows: PMDD isn't about having abnormal hormone levels. It's an abnormal central nervous system response to normal hormonal fluctuations. The hormones themselves aren't the problem — it's how the brain responds to them.
Women with PMDD have a 7 times higher risk of suicide attempt compared to women without it. This isn't dramatic. This isn't just hormones.
The ADHD Connection
And if you have ADHD, that response hits even harder. Estrogen affects dopamine regulation, which is why ADHD symptoms often worsen in the luteal phase. When estrogen drops, dopamine drops with it. ADHD symptoms spike. PMDD symptoms spike.
A 2025 study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that 31–41% of women with ADHD have PMDD. This is a real condition that deserves real attention.
How Muna Helps
Muna is a cycle-aware planning app built for women with ADHD and PMDD, because your mental and menstrual health are connected — and the tools you use to plan your life should actually reflect that.
Most productivity systems were built for a linear, same-energy-every-day kind of life. That's not how our bodies work. Muna helps you do more during your follicular phase when your energy and focus are naturally higher, and give yourself actual grace during the luteal phase when PMDD and ADHD symptoms peak.
Not because you're falling behind — but because you're finally working with your body instead of against it.