The Conscious vs Subconscious Mind in PMDD Healing

Why PMDD Healing Can Feel So Hard

For many women living with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), healing can feel like a never-ending uphill climb. You might promise yourself every month that things will be different — that you’ll stay calm, keep your mood steady, and not let PMDD take over your relationships or your life.

And yet, as your cycle shifts, the familiar storm hits: mood swings, despair, anxiety, or rage. Suddenly, it feels as though all the journaling, self-help books, or positive affirmations in the world aren’t enough.

The Stoic philosopher Epictetus once wrote, “Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.” But here’s the catch: with PMDD, that “view” often isn’t coming from your conscious mind at all. It’s shaped by the subconscious mind, which can hijack your thoughts, feelings, and reactions — especially when your hormones fluctuate.

The Conscious Mind: The Voice We Hear Every Day

The conscious mind is what we use to plan our meals, keep track of deadlines, or tell ourselves, “This month I’ll be calm before my period.” It’s logical, deliberate, and focused on the here and now.

But as many women with PMDD know, willpower alone doesn’t stop the monthly storm. You might consciously decide to stay grounded, but your body and emotions can pull you in a completely different direction.

It’s a bit like being the captain of a ship: you can plot the course, but the true power lies in the engine room — and that’s run by the subconscious.

The Subconscious Mind: Where PMDD Hits Hardest

The subconscious mind is the powerhouse beneath the surface. It stores your memories, emotions, and core beliefs . It also manages your body’s automatic functions — your heartbeat, your breathing, your immune response .

During the first seven years of life, our brains spend much of their time in delta and theta brainwave states — the same states we enter during deep relaxation or hypnosis . This “imprinting phase” is when the subconscious is most open. It soaks up everything around us — from the words we hear to the silent emotional undercurrents in our family homes.

This is why unresolved childhood trauma or difficult family dynamics can shape how your body and mind respond decades later. If you grew up feeling unsafe, unseen, or not enough, your subconscious may have created protective patterns that now resurface during your premenstrual phase, when your system is more sensitive to stress and emotional triggers.

Trauma and PMDD: Old Programs on Repeat

With PMDD, many women describe a sense of living two lives: one where they feel like themselves, and another where they barely recognise who they become before their period. This is often the subconscious replaying old survival programmes.

Examples include:

• Shutting down emotionally or withdrawing when conflict arises, even when you long for connection.

• Experiencing intense guilt or self-criticism because of a subconscious belief that love must be earned.

• Feeling abandoned or unworthy and clinging to relationships, even when they’re unhealthy.
  
  

These aren’t signs that you are “broken.” They are survival strategies that your subconscious created to protect you when you were younger . The difficulty is that, during the hormonal shifts of PMDD, these patterns get amplified — leaving you feeling like you’re at the mercy of something bigger than yourself.

Conscious vs Subconscious: Who’s Really in Control?

It’s natural to believe your conscious mind is in charge. After all, it’s the part that sets intentions: “I’ll eat well this luteal phase” or “I won’t lose my temper with my partner.”

We think our conscious mind is running our lives… but what’s running the conscious mind? Underneath is unconscious programming.

Carl Jung once wrote: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”

This can feel painfully true for women with PMDD. You may believe you’re destined to experience monthly breakdowns, but often, it’s the subconscious patterns — not fate — that are creating those cycles.

The Hope: Awareness and Neuroplasticity

Here’s the good news: the brain isn’t fixed. Thanks to neuroplasticity, our neural pathways can be reshaped throughout life . Just as learning a new language or instrument rewires the brain, healing trauma can re-pattern the subconscious.

When subconscious beliefs and stored emotions are brought into the light of awareness, you gain space to make new choices. Instead of unconsciously repeating old cycles, you can learn to respond with greater calm, compassion, and self-trust.

From Surviving to Thriving with PMDD

Unresolved trauma often leaves the nervous system stuck in one of two states:

• Hyper-arousal: constant anxiety, irritability, or rage.

• Hypo-arousal: shutdown, exhaustion, or numbness .

For many women, PMDD magnifies these states. It’s not “all in your head” — it’s your subconscious survival responses being triggered by hormonal shifts.

Healing naturally from PMDD isn’t just about managing symptoms month to month. It’s about creating a stable foundation in your body, your nervous system, and your subconscious, so that you can move from surviving your cycle to actually living with ease and vitality.

How Family Constellations and Rapid Core Healing Can Help with PMDD

To truly shift PMDD, it’s essential to work with both the conscious and subconscious mind. This is where Family Constellations and Rapid Core Healing come in.

• Family Constellations
  This therapeutic approach works with hidden family dynamics and inherited trauma that may be influencing your PMDD. Many women discover unconscious loyalties — such as carrying unresolved pain from mothers or grandmothers — that intensify their premenstrual struggles. By gently bringing these patterns into awareness, Family Constellations can restore balance, belonging, and emotional release.

• Rapid Core Healing (RCH)
  RCH combines hypnotherapy, NLP, Gestalt Therapy, cognitive behavioural methods, and systemic constellations work . It works directly with the subconscious to safely reprocess trauma, dissolve limiting beliefs, and release deep emotional pain. Women with PMDD often describe it as a breakthrough — a way to move beyond simply coping each month, and into real healing.
  
  

Together, these approaches allow women to address both the conscious awareness of their patterns and the subconscious programmes that drive them. This integrated work creates the foundation for lasting PMDD recovery.

Healing the Roots of PMDD

Healing PMDD naturally isn’t about suppressing symptoms — it’s about understanding and transforming the deeper patterns that fuel them. The subconscious mind may be powerful, but it is not fixed. With awareness, compassionate guidance, and holistic approaches like Family Constellations and Rapid Core Healing, women can release the emotional roots of PMDD and reclaim a life of balance, connection, and inner calm.

As Rumi said, “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” For women living with PMDD, healing the subconscious is often the key to transforming monthly suffering into a journey of resilience and renewal.

About Camilla Brinkworth

Camilla Brinkworth is a naturopath, clinical nutritionist, and trauma-informed practitioner specialising in plant-based health, gut restoration, and emotional well-being. With a focus on conditions like SIBO, IBS, and PMDD, Camilla helps clients uncover root causes and create practical, personalised strategies for lasting digestive and hormonal balance.  She works globally online so that you can receive the support you need from the comfort of your own home.

Learn more about Camilla’s naturopathy consultations and gut health programmes at www.camillaclare.com.