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To mark World Menopause Day on 18th October I am cycling 178km around Lake Geneva to raise funds for research into Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) — a severely debilitating hormonal condition that affects women in line with their menstrual cycle and can have devastating and debilitating symptoms.

PMDD is far more than "bad PMS"; it is a recognised psychiatric and gynaecological condition that causes extreme mood disruption, crippling anxiety, and profound psychological distress in the days before menstruation. Despite its impact, it remains widely misdiagnosed, poorly understood, and frequently left untreated or incorrectly managed — with devastating consequences. PMDD presents can present as a mix of severe depression, extreme rage, suicidal ideation, self-harm, relationship breakdown, loss of employment, and in some cases women being incorrectly sectioned or taking their own life.

From the age of 42 to 47, I suffered with PMDD without ever receiving a correct diagnosis. The cyclical psychosis came with fear of being sectioned, losing my children, family distress and deep shame. Not one GP raised it as a possibility, and not one offered me the treatment that would have made a difference — hormones. I had to piece it together myself, through my own research years later. I didn't reach successful treatment until I was 47 accidentally when I started HRT for different reasons. Those are five years I cannot get back, and my story is far from unique.

Research is urgently needed to improve recognition, diagnosis, treatment, and awareness of PMDD so that other women are not suffering this terrible but easily treatable condition. Every pound raised brings us closer to the answers they deserve. Please donate today and help change that.