Christina Bohn Foundation (PMDD Awareness)

The Christina Bohn Foundation was created to advocate for women suffering from Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and Premenstrual Exacerbation (PME). Through increased awareness and education, we hope women will receive an accurate and more timely diagnosis. We also hope our efforts will prevent deaths by suicide related to having PMDD. 

Our Mission

To advocate for increased awareness and education about premenstrual disorders so healthcare professionals 

and the public will recognize PMDD and PME much earlier in the diagnostic process.

Our Vision

Our hope is for PMDD and PME to become as commonly known as 

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is known throughout the world.

Our 33-year-old daughter Christina Elizabeth Bohn (October 2, 1988 – November 3, 2021) died by suicide due to having Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), a disorder which made her want to die almost every month.  It wasn’t always so bad that she wanted to die every month; rather, it became that bad for her the longer she went undiagnosed and untreated.

Christina graduated as valedictorian from her university’s nursing school in 2010—three years before PMDD would be listed in the DSM-5—so PMDD was not yet in the curriculum. She had no idea there was something far worse than Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). She sought help for 11 years for depression and anxiety, and she was never asked about her menstrual cycle, which we later learned is considered the fifth vital sign. As we’ve tried to piece together when PMDD may have started in her life, we think she may have suffered for as long as 15 years. She could effectively mask her symptoms for most of those years, and she could still work as a thoracic ICU nurse, serve as a leader in her church, take care of her two children, take care of her home and yard, and plan vacations and parties. She functioned very well until she couldn’t keep it up any longer. Very few people knew hidden deep inside our cheerful Christina was a darkness and hopelessness that couldn’t stay hidden forever. The mask slipped off in the last year and a half of her life. Looking back, we believe COVID and the sudden halt of life as we all knew it had a role in the unmasking of her symptoms.

For some, PMDD’s symptoms can start young, even from their first period and can be severe even at young ages. PMDD can surface at any time the during the reproductive years. It’s thought reproductive events tend to bring on PMDD—events such as starting to menstruate, taking hormonal contraceptives, miscarriages, giving birth, perinatal depression, and perimenopause.

PMDD is a shared disorder between psychiatry and gynecology. The menstrual cycle is doing what it’s supposed to do. The hormones are shifting as expected during the luteal phase (the time between ovulation and the onset of the monthly period). There’s nothing wrong with the hormones; a blood test won’t show PMDD. The brain is having a negative reaction to the shifting hormones during the luteal phase, and with that negative reaction comes a myriad of symptoms, which can cause an individual who menstruates to become depressed, anxious, angry, rageful, overwhelmed, fatigued, impulsive, highly sensitive, easily offended, suicidal (72% have thoughts, 49% plan, and 34% attempt), and so much more, to the point their lives are disrupted for a week or two every month. The onset of the monthly period brings relief for many, but for some, the misery continues during the week of menstruation, which leaves them with only one good week every month.

Notice the lightbulb moments. Do you eagerly wait for your period to start because you know you’ll feel relieved? Do you ask for a divorce or want to break up with someone every month before your period? Prior to your period, do you impulsively want to quit your job because you were suddenly offended by something that normally wouldn’t bother you? Do you feel impulsive and run up your credit card bills or make other poor choices before your period starts? Do your friends and family stay away? Do you self-isolate? Do you compare yourself to others? Do you feel anxious? Do you have panic attacks? Do you become delusional? Do you feel suicidal?

What are the steps to getting diagnosed?  Track every day of the menstrual cycle on a chart, calendar, or app for two or three months. For the tracking to show an accurate picture, a person cannot be using hormonal birth control. Notice if there’s a spike in any of the symptoms listed above in the one- or two-weeks prior to the onset of menstruation. Take the evidence (the trackers) to a psychiatrist, a gynecologist, or to a GP. Note: It is possible to have PMDD and PME.

We want to increase awareness so the millions of Christinas who are suffering will learn about PMDD and will know there is hope, and there is help.

Please visit ChristinaBohnFoundation.org to learn more about Christina 

and to see the journey we have been to increase awareness about PMDD and PME.