Health Constellations for PMDD: Understanding the Hidden Roots of Your Symptoms
For many women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), the struggle feels endless. You try new supplements, fine-tune your diet, follow all the advice—and yet every month the storm comes back. The mood swings, rage, despair, anxiety, or crushing fatigue can make life feel like a cycle of survival rather than living.
But what if your PMDD symptoms aren’t just about hormones? What if your body is holding onto unspoken stories, past traumas, or even patterns passed down through your family line? This is where Health Constellations therapy offers a new perspective.
What Are Health Constellations?
Health Constellations are an extension of Family Constellations therapy, created by German psychotherapist Bert Hellinger. While Family Constellations explore the patterns we inherit from our families, Health Constellations apply the same systemic approach to physical and emotional health conditions—including PMDD.
The body is not only a biological system—it’s also a messenger. Sometimes PMDD symptoms aren’t just a response to hormonal fluctuations, but also the body’s way of signalling unresolved trauma or inherited burdens.
As trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk writes, “The body keeps the score.” For women with PMDD, the body often keeps score of both hormonal sensitivity and deep emotional wounds.
Why PMDD Can Feel So Overwhelming
PMDD is often described as a “severe form of PMS,” but that doesn’t come close to explaining its depth. Research shows that PMDD isn’t simply caused by abnormal hormone levels. Instead, it’s about how the nervous system and brain react to the normal hormonal changes of the menstrual cycle. Trauma, stress, and unresolved emotional experiences can magnify these responses, making PMDD far more intense.
This explains why some women can’t “supplement their way out” of PMDD. Magnesium, B6, or herbal remedies may help—but when trauma or hidden family patterns are driving the body’s reaction, deeper healing is needed.
How a Health Constellation Works for PMDD
In a Health Constellation, we bring your PMDD symptoms into focus—not as “the enemy” but as a messenger. The session can be done in a group or one-to-one setting:
In a group, other participants may represent parts of your system—your hormones, your uterus, your mother, or even PMDD itself.
In a one-to-one session, we might use objects or markers to represent these parts.
When the “field” is set up, hidden dynamics often come to light: grief never acknowledged, trauma carried from past generations, or suppressed emotions that intensify PMDD every cycle. With guidance, these patterns are acknowledged, and healing sentences or repositioning can release the grip they have on the body and mind.
Many clients describe feeling lighter, calmer, and less reactive after just one session.
Beyond Family Patterns: Rapid Core Healing
While some PMDD symptoms are tied to family or ancestral trauma, others stem from personal experiences—childhood neglect, abusive relationships, or moments of deep overwhelm that left an imprint on the nervous system.
This is where Rapid Core Healing (RCH) extends the work of Constellations. RCH allows us to:
Identify the root of an emotional reaction (rage, despair, panic, or feelings of unworthiness).
Reconnect with the part of yourself that was wounded.
Offer what was missing—protection, compassion, resolution.
Allow the nervous system to complete what was once stuck.
For women with PMDD, RCH can be transformative. Instead of re-living trauma every month when hormones shift, the nervous system learns safety, stability, and calm.
What Health Constellations and RCH Can Help With in PMDD
Women with PMDD often seek this work when nothing else has fully shifted their symptoms. It can be supportive for:
Severe mood swings, rage, and emotional sensitivity before menstruation.
Cyclical depression or anxiety that doesn’t respond to medication.
Relationship breakdowns triggered by premenstrual conflict.
Fatigue, insomnia, and physical pain that flare with PMDD.
Feeling trapped in a cycle of self-blame and hopelessness.
Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?” these approaches invite a new question: “What is my body trying to show me?”
Why This Matters for PMDD Healing
If you’ve tried everything—from antidepressants to supplements to restrictive diets—and you’re still suffering, it may not be because you’re “broken.” It may be because PMDD is amplifying wounds the body has carried for years.
Health Constellations and Rapid Core Healing offer a way to address both the systemic patterns and the personal traumas that drive PMDD, alongside naturopathy and nutritional support. Many women find that once these hidden layers are addressed, their monthly symptoms lose their intensity—and life no longer feels like an emotional rollercoaster.
What to Expect in a Session
You don’t have to share every detail of your past. In fact, very little needs to be spoken. The process is experiential, often surprising, and profoundly healing. Clients often report:
Feeling lighter and calmer in their body.
A reduction in PMDD intensity within the next few cycles.
A sense of clarity and peace where chaos once ruled.
As Bert Hellinger said: “When we honour the past, we find peace in the present.”
For women with PMDD, honouring both the body and the hidden stories it carries can be the missing link to true healing.
Final Thoughts
PMDD is not “just hormones.” It is the body’s complex response to hormonal changes, amplified by the nervous system, trauma, and sometimes even family history. By using Health Constellations and Rapid Core Healing, we can explore these deeper roots, release what has been hidden, and reclaim emotional balance.
About The Author:
Written by Camilla Brinkworth, BHSc Naturopathy, Grad Cert Human Nutrition, trauma-informed practitioner and founder of PMDD Naturopath. Camilla specialises in helping women with PMDD heal through an integrative approach that combines naturopathy, nutrition, herbal medicine, Family and Health Constellations, and Rapid Core Healing.