01  ·  MEET JANNA

Fifteen Years of Being Two Different People

Janna is a 34-year-old physician assistant from the Netherlands. She'd been living with PMDD since her mid-twenties, dismissing the pattern as stress for years before realising it was cyclical. By the time she came to us, she'd been managing it for 15 years.

She'd spent a decade & a half working in high-pressure healthcare while struggling in silence with the very thing her patients needed her to be clear-headed for.

"My mood symptoms have decreased enormously. My period is arriving with no issues in the lead up."

- JANNA · EXIT

02  ·  LIFE BEFORE HMM

Two Different People Depending on the Week

Janna came in with a symptom burden score of 575. More than half her month spent in a version of herself she didn't recognise.

What she was dealing with:

• Anxiety symptoms
• Low mood & depressive symptoms
• Anger
• Dissociation
• Excessive overthinking & catastrophising
• Irritability
• Exhaustion
• Difficulty communicating with the people she loved

She was cancelling plans with friends regularly. Struggling to put her own needs first. Afraid of making clinical errors during her worst symptom days. Feeling like two completely different people depending on where she was in her cycle.

She worked in a system that had no good answers for this. So she kept looking.

03  ·  WHAT SHE'D ALREADY TRIED

She Knew the Conventional Options. She'd Tried Them.

As a healthcare provider, Janna had access to the standard options. She knew their limits firsthand.

• Birth control pills, multiple formulations

• SSRIs prescribed by her GP

• The Dutch healthcare system's standard approach

• Self-directed lifestyle changes: exercise & diet

• Therapy focused on anxiety management

• Various supplements from the pharmacy

Birth control flattened her mood & killed her libido. SSRIs helped at the edges but she wanted off medication long-term. She knew there had to be more to the picture. Conventional medicine kept offering band-aids. She needed the root cause.

04  ·  THE TURNING POINT

January 2025

During a night shift in January 2025, Janna's anxiety & dissociation became so overwhelming she nearly made a clinical error. The close call terrified her. Not just for her patients, but because she realised she couldn't keep living this way.

She knew her system didn't have the answers. She started looking elsewhere & found Her Mood Mentor through a PMDD support group on Facebook, where another European woman had shared her story.

"I feel confident in managing things. I understand my body better and can tell when it is telling me something is wrong."

- JANNA

05  ·  THE ROOT-CAUSE APPROACH

Built Around What Her Body Was Actually Doing

Janna's plan focused on root causes & personalised tools, not symptom management.

• Identifying core values & aligning daily choices

• Diet & supplement changes tailored to her PMDD presentation

• Blood sugar stabilisation

• Anti-inflammatory nutrition

• Targeted supplementation: magnesium, B-complex, vitamin D, adaptogenic herbs

• Nervous system regulation

• Cycle-synced energy management for shift work

• Boundary-setting practices

• Communication strategies for her relationship

• Stress resilience for healthcare work demands

06  ·  EARLY WINS

She Felt the Shift Within the First Week

More grounded emotionally within the first week. Better sleep despite irregular shift hours. Reduced overthinking & catastrophising. Her first cycle without cancelling plans.

More present at work. Starting to recognise early warning signs before symptoms escalated.

"Setting goals that work for me was a huge change in my mindset."

- JANNA

07  ·  THE RESULTS

The Numbers

"I am making social plans during my luteal phase and not making excuses/not showing up."

- JANNA

• SYMPTOM BURDEN
• 575 → 261
• 54% drop (−314 points)

• TIMELINE
• 4 months
• Feb → Jun 2025

• ANXIETY SYMPTOMS
• Before: High
• After: Very little to none

• LOW MOOD
• Before: Present
• After: Very little to none

• ANGER
• Before: Present
• After: Greatly reduced

• DISSOCIATION
• Before: Present
• After: Greatly reduced

• OVERTHINKING
• Before: Excessive
• After: Gone

• IRRITABILITY
• Before: Present
• After: Low & manageable

• EXHAUSTION
• Before: High
• After: Greater energy

• COMMUNICATION
• Before: Difficult
• After: Improved

08  ·  HOW HER LIFE CHANGED

She Can Show Up Now. For Everyone.

Janna has a calm, grounded emotional baseline. No excessive overthinking. She can trust her body's signals instead of being ambushed by them.

She's more relaxed at work despite the demands of healthcare. More energy for exercise, socialising, & the things she'd quietly let go of. She can take on night shifts without total emotional depletion.

Her relationship is healthier. No more withdrawing during luteal. Better communication, more connection, less conflict.

She reconnected with reading & hiking. She makes plans without fear of having to cancel them.

"I am much more relaxed at work and still have energy to exercise, socialise, and enjoy my free time."

- JANNA

09  ·  JANNA'S MESSAGE

For Every Healthcare Worker Who Knows the System Is Missing Something

Janna spent 15 years working in a system that had no answers for what she was living with. When she went looking outside that system, things changed in four months.

Even healthcare professionals need support beyond conventional medicine. Understanding your body changes what's possible.

"I now have other ways to help manage symptoms. I feel confident in managing things."

- JANNA

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Ready to Start Your Own Story?

Her Mood Mentor offers personalised, root-cause support for women with PMDD. Functional lab testing, targeted nutrition & cycle-informed coaching. Real answers instead of more guessing.

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL

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Results vary. This case study reflects one individual's experience & is not a guarantee of outcomes. Her Mood Mentor does not provide medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider about treatment decisions.