Helen Flanagan, the beloved former Coronation Street star, recently shared an honest update with her followers about her ongoing battle with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).
On Friday, the 34-year-old actress took to Instagram to talk about how the condition affects her and to offer some insights into how she’s been managing it.
Helen, who was diagnosed with PMDD in 2023, admitted that before her period, she often feels “horrendous mentally” and even reached a point where she felt she “couldn’t cope” with it.
PMDD: A Glimpse into Helen’s Experience
In her post, Helen shared a humorous video of herself that illustrated the different stages of her menstrual cycle.
She revealed that the reel was inspired by Vicky Pattison, another celebrity who suffers from PMDD.
Helen shared, “We message sometimes about PMDD, and I always love her posts on it and the awareness.”
The actress explained that, while her PMDD had become more manageable recently, she still experiences intense symptoms, particularly during certain phases of her cycle.
Helen went on to describe her experience of having “four personalities in one month.”
She joked that anyone who has been in a relationship with her would be familiar with how challenging her PMDD can be.
“I always feel like I have four personalities in one month,” she said.
“Any boyfriend I’ve ever had knows how bad my PMDD can be.”
The actress shared that she used to suffer from “severe depression, sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, anxiety, and ‘crippling’ OCD” during the luteal phase, which is the part of her cycle leading up to her period.
A More Manageable Phase
Helen explained that, in recent times, the intensity of her symptoms has eased.
“Now, I get about four days before my period where I don’t feel myself mentally,” she said.
She also noted that before her period, she experiences severe bloating, which sometimes makes her feel like she could be pregnant.
“I’m always desperate for my period to come because I know how much happier I will feel once it starts,” she added.
The actress also shared her journey with medication. She mentioned having been prescribed sertraline, an antidepressant, for her PMDD, but it didn’t work for her.
“It made me feel angry, which isn’t me at all,” she explained.
She also tried the contraceptive pill Yasmin, but that didn’t help either.
Helen’s sensitivity to hormones—especially after her pregnancies, which involved hyperemesis gravidarum—led her to feel unwell on the pill.
She also experimented with ADHD medication but eventually became disillusioned with pharmaceuticals due to her past experiences.
Natural Remedies and Cycle Syncing
Instead of relying on medication, Helen turned to more natural approaches to manage her condition.
She shared her success with Cycle Syncing, a method she explored with her friend Grace. “I absolutely loved it,” Helen said.
“It helped me understand myself and my cycle better, and gave me strategies to manage the different stages.”
Cycle Syncing involves adjusting your diet, exercise, and lifestyle according to the different phases of your menstrual cycle.
Struggles and Setbacks
Helen has been open about her struggles with mental health and PMDD in the past.
In an interview on the Full of Grace podcast last June, she talked about how she used to feel “horrendous” before her period, which pushed her to seek out medication that would “level her out.”
Unfortunately, the medications she tried made her feel even worse.
Helen explained, “I just couldn’t cope. I felt so awful, and I would feel so depressed.
I went to the doctors and said, ‘I honestly feel so horrendous mentally before my period, I need something to help me.’” Unfortunately, the medication didn’t provide the relief she had hoped for.
Taking Time for Herself
In February of the previous year, Helen made the difficult decision to step away from her role as Miss Scarlett in the show Cluedo 2 after being advised to take a break for medical reasons.
She didn’t initially share the specifics of her condition, which left her fans concerned.
Later, she revealed that she had been dealing with a secret mental health battle, exacerbated by her split from long-time partner Scott Sinclair in 2022.
She described how the breakup had triggered a breakdown in early 2023, leading to a period of mental and physical exhaustion.
A New Chapter in Her Personal Life
Helen, who shares three children—Matilda, 8, Delilah, 5, and Charlie, 2—with Scott, has since started a new chapter in her personal life.
In February 2024, she began dating former footballer Robbie Talbot, 45, after the two met at a restaurant.
Helen has found a balance between her career, motherhood, and personal life, continuing to advocate for better awareness and understanding of PMDD.
What is PMDD?
For those unfamiliar with the condition, PMDD is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), causing both emotional and physical symptoms that can be debilitating.
Symptoms include mood swings, extreme irritability, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, and physical discomfort like bloating, breast tenderness, and fatigue.
It’s a condition that affects many, and Helen’s openness has sparked more conversations around PMDD and the struggles people face during their menstrual cycle.
PMDD is tough to manage, but Helen’s journey shows that with awareness, support, and finding what works for you—whether through medication, natural remedies, or self-care strategies—it’s possible to take control of your health and well-being.