Natural PMDD Treatments No One Talks About: Why Healing Trauma Is the Missing Link
Living with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) can feel like being trapped in a cycle of chaos. The mood swings, depression, anxiety, rage, and exhaustion arrive predictably every month—and yet the causes and solutions often remain a mystery.
While most women are offered antidepressants, birth control, or surgery as their only options, a growing number are seeking natural treatments for PMDD. Nutritional therapy, herbal medicine, lifestyle changes, and nervous system support all play an important role. But there’s one area that is often overlooked—trauma healing.
Research shows that women with PMDD are more likely to have experienced childhood adversity, emotional trauma, or heightened nervous system sensitivity. Trauma changes how the brain and body respond to hormones. Without addressing this, even the best diet or supplements may only get you halfway to healing.
So, let’s explore the different natural treatments for PMDD—and then dive into why trauma therapy is often the missing piece.
Nutrition and Diet for PMDD
Nutrition is often the first stop on the journey to natural relief.
Anti-inflammatory foods (leafy greens, berries, turmeric, ginger) help reduce the inflammatory pathways linked to mood instability.
Complex carbohydrates (quinoa, oats, legumes) can help regulate serotonin, reducing depressive symptoms.
Magnesium-rich foods (pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate, spinach) calm the nervous system and ease cramps.
Omega-3 fatty acids (Ahiflower oil, flax, chia, walnuts) support brain function and mood balance.
Nutrition matters enormously. But diet alone rarely resolves PMDD—it sets the foundation for deeper healing.
Herbal Medicine for Hormone Balance
Many herbs have been studied for their impact on mood, hormones, and stress regulation.
Vitex (Chaste Tree Berry): helps regulate progesterone, easing irritability and mood swings.
Saffron: shown in studies to reduce depression and anxiety, sometimes as effectively as SSRIs.
Kava: supports relaxation and reduces anxiety.
St John’s Wort: helpful for mood, though it can interact with medications.
Herbs can be life-changing when used well—but like nutrition, they usually need to be part of a bigger picture.
Supplements for Nervous System Support
Key nutrients can stabilise mood and energy levels.
Magnesium for relaxation and hormone support.
Vitamin D for mood and immunity.
B vitamins (especially B6) for neurotransmitter balance.
Omega-3s for reducing inflammation and stabilising mood.
Supplements are often helpful but work best when combined with trauma-informed care.
Lifestyle and Stress Management
Exercise improves mood by boosting endorphins.
Sleep hygiene is essential for hormone balance.
Mindfulness, yoga, and meditation regulate the nervous system.
These strategies are powerful—yet many women still relapse each cycle because deeper emotional wounds remain unresolved.
Trauma Therapies for PMDD: What’s Out There
This is where many women miss the mark. Trauma work is rarely mentioned in PMDD treatment plans—yet it’s often the missing key. Trauma shapes how we process stress, relate to others, and even how our body reacts to hormones.
Here are the trauma therapies commonly explored by women with PMDD:
Traditional Psychotherapy: offers space to explore feelings, but progress can be slow and may not fully shift PMDD patterns.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): useful for managing thoughts and behaviours, but often too surface-level for deep hormonal trauma triggers.
Somatic Experiencing: focuses on body-based trauma release, helping regulate the nervous system.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing): effective for PTSD and trauma, but not specifically designed for hormonal conditions like PMDD.
Inner Child Work: helps reframe past pain, but can be unstructured without skilled facilitation.
Mind-Body Therapies (Yoga therapy, Breathwork): good for nervous system regulation, but may not resolve root trauma.
Each of these methods has value, but many women find that the hormone-triggered nature of PMDD requires a more integrated approach—one that addresses both body and mind, biology and biography.
Why Rapid Core Healing and Family Constellations Stand Out
Here’s where things come together.
Family Constellations looks at inherited trauma patterns—those invisible loyalties and family dynamics that keep us stuck. Many PMDD clients discover that their rage, grief, or despair is not just theirs—it echoes family trauma handed down through generations. By releasing these entanglements, women often feel an immediate lightness and relief.
Rapid Core Healing (RCH) goes even further. It integrates constellation work with trauma release for personal life events—such as childhood neglect, abuse, or relationship trauma—that continue to fuel PMDD patterns. Unlike some therapies that take years, RCH gets to the root quickly, creating profound shifts in both emotional regulation and physical symptoms.
Why is this so effective for PMDD?
It addresses the nervous system dysregulation that amplifies hormonal sensitivity.
It resolves emotional trauma triggers that keep PMDD cycles alive.
It complements nutrition and herbal medicine, creating a whole-body healing approach.
Most naturopaths and integrative doctors don’t know how to work with trauma at this depth. And most trauma therapists don’t understand the nutritional and hormonal layers of PMDD. That’s why combining the two—through a PMDD-focused naturopathic and trauma-informed approach—is so powerful.
The Most Holistic Natural Treatment for PMDD
When nutrition, herbal medicine, and supplements are combined with deep trauma healing, the results are transformative.
This is the integrated approach I use as a PMDD naturopath:
Nutrition and supplementation to stabilise hormones and reduce inflammation.
Herbal medicine to support mood and hormonal balance.
Family Constellations and Rapid Core Healing to resolve inherited and personal trauma.
Nervous system regulation techniques for long-term resilience.
This is not about suppressing symptoms. It’s about addressing root causes—biological, emotional, and ancestral. That’s what makes it different.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve tried supplements, diets, or even therapy without lasting relief, it may be because you’ve been missing this deeper integration. PMDD isn’t “all in your head” and it’s not simply a hormonal imbalance—it’s how your body, mind, and history interact each month.
By combining the best of natural medicine with deep trauma healing, you don’t just survive your cycle—you begin to truly thrive.
About Camilla Clare Brinkworth
Camilla Clare BHSc Naturopathy, Grad Cert Human Nutrition, is a naturopath, nutritionist, and trauma-informed practitioner specialising in PMDD. Drawing on her own lived experience with PMDD, she integrates nutrition, herbal medicine, Family Constellations, and Rapid Core Healing to help women find long-term relief and emotional balance. Camilla offers consultations, retreats, and her signature PMDD Transformation Programme, supporting women worldwide to heal naturally and reclaim their wellbeing.