Posted by phillybob on August 27, 2001, at 10:22:43
In reply to Re: Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS) and Depression, posted by susan C on August 26, 2001, at 17:35:38
> I feel very strongly that PMS is a very serious illness/imbalance in many women. As more and more women enter the medical world as professionals, more and more studies are being done that recognize the needs of women.
Wanted to throw a male voice into this. I agree wholeheartedly with your above statement, Susan.
Yes, this should be a fascinating area of (hopefully) scientific growth now that more and more women are in the medical profession. In addition to just plain old more research, I'd guess that it will also be more of an acceptable field of study if it is perceived to be studied by those whose (supposed non-financial) vested interests are at stake.
It has seemed to me that many women disregard or publicly minimize attention to PMS as they might perceive it to be a sign of weakness. As a man, I sense women do not wish to bring attention to this for such fears (and traditionally male-dominated medicine might have had, in addition to no seeming non-financial self-interest, the same trepidations in addressing such).
As far as the cause of such fears, I would suppose that men and our society's preference for traditional "male-type" characteristics is the culprit, along with an unhealthy modicum of socially-"acceptable" joking about this female biological function.
Differences between male and female are too often minimized in the name of equality. Differences should be understood and embraced or altered, as REALLY appropriate. (It is somewhat a paradox, though, that the gains made in women's equality by minimizing women's differences is what will hopefully result in more understanding and acceptance of the differences!)
In the risk of generating "attack" (or more hopefully, discussion), I have an idealistic view that there may actually be benefit to having the cyclical hormonal change which may result in giving women the ability to see and participate in the world through a different window ... and I would view such as a gift. (Kind of like forced meditation on life?).
Nonetheless, such a period (no pun intended) could, no doubt, be unbearable if amidst a greater and more generalized "depressed" life. Even for a normally technically undepressed woman, , the power of any symptoms, emotionally and physically, are obviously beyond my fathom and may just be worthwhile eliminating as much as possible?
In a final note, "hormones," as a word, are too often, in our society, bandied about with a relation to women alone as well as having negative connotations. Heck, men and women are biologically different, but we both have hormones and the further study of such could ultimately lead to solutions to many of our collective problems. (I recall some threads here dealing with not only hormone supplements but even just the "food" to create hormones, in the form of vitamins, minerals, etc.; also, any links to such threads or repeat of ideas here, as I likely have done, would be cool).
poster:phillybob
thread:76433
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010822/msgs/76579.html