Read the premenstrual dysphoric disorder symptoms and you’ll understand Lacey’s story. The moments kneeling, make way for receptivity that can change your life.
The following were questions and preparation notes for being interviewed on the podcast, Becoming Wildly Well. Be sure to check out the podcast in 2-3 weeks when it goes live. I will post the link here. (3/2/23)
BIO:
Lacey is the owner/designer/optimizer for her business J. Lacey Taylor where she offers creative solutions to optimize women owned businesses. She does that through website design and SEO (aka search engine optimization).
She originally launched a successful career as a pioneer in website design during the start of the internet designing some of the first professional websites for the Fortune 500 companies. She led teams through numerous design, marketing and IT projects. And expanded into optimization where she launched businesses successfully and beyond expectations. One of the businesses to benefit was a law firm that she rebranded to match the owners grand visions and met all of the design, marketing and media requirements of getting an important wrongful death case in the international spotlight.
My Story:
While I was goal oriented and having my successes, I also noticed I was struggling too. I couldn’t put my finger on it but I knew I had amazing relationships and regular burning bridges moments. Separately, I also knew something about my cycle was not normal, as I couldn’t RSVP to anything until I knew how my cycle was going during the week of the event. I wasn’t putting two and two together. Eventually I was diagnosed with a condition with the nickname “half life” which was fitting because I felt I was living half of a great life and half of the time I didn’t feel like it was a life worth living. As I went on her journey to a cure, while working, being a wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend, an artist, and an aspiring author, I noticed other women I was close to had their own extreme struggles and not much in the society was supporting them through it. I vowed at that point to niche in on supporting women to help them visually manifest their dream businesses. And, extend a hand back to those suffering with PMDD and help them on their journey to being cured as well.
What is PMDD:
IAPMD.org Definition: “Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a cyclical, hormone-based mood disorder with symptoms arising during the premenstrual, or luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and subsiding within a few days of menstruation. It affects an estimated 5.5% of women and AFAB individuals of reproductive age. While PMDD is directly connected to the menstrual cycle, it is not a hormone imbalance. PMDD is a severe negative reaction in the brain to the natural rise and fall of estrogen and progesterone. It is a suspected cellular disorder in the brain. Symptoms can worsen over time and or around reproductive events such as menarche (the first menstrual cycle), pregnancy, birth, miscarriage, and perimenopause.”
My short version: “Trauma created a belief that changed the way our DNA is expressed, creating an extreme sensitivity to the normal hormonal fluctuations of a cycle and how your body responds to it.”
Old stats: 1 in 20 women have it, 90% of the women that have it are undiagnosed because most doctors don’t know or understand it and 30% of the women that have it will attempt suicide.
What are premenstrual dysphoric disorder symptoms:
- Mood/emotional changes (e.g. mood swings, feeling suddenly sad or tearful, or increased sensitivity to rejection)
- Irritability, anger, or increased interpersonal conflict
- Depressed mood, feelings of hopelessness, feeling worthless or guilty
- Anxiety, tension, or feelings of being keyed up or on edge
- Decreased interest in usual activities (e.g., work, school, friends, hobbies)
- Difficulty concentrating, focusing, or thinking; brain fog
- Tiredness or low-energy
- Changes in appetite, food cravings, overeating, or binge eating
- Hypersomnia (excessive sleepiness) or insomnia (trouble falling or staying asleep)
- Feeling overwhelmed or out of control
- Physical symptoms such as breast tenderness or swelling, joint or muscle pain or bloating
My short version: It feels like a dark cloud moves in between day 14 – 21 of your cycle and stays until you start your period. You can’t think normally. If you do it’s extremely negative. Your body wants you to do absolutely nothing but if you must there will be repercussions in the form of rage and mood. Overwhelm is heightened. You lose relationships, jobs, etc.
Healing:
After diagnosis, I researched the heck out of it and tried everything. Got on cycle suppression birth control. Best years of my life thus far.
Until I turned 40 and noticed it wasn’t working as well.
Then, miraculously the international conference was in my backyard, I learned even more about PMDD and met the mother of Gia Allemand, the organization’s original name. She was one of the bachelorette that had PMDD (unfortunately she took her own life.)Symptoms increased even more with age and stress of losses and I was at my wits end again. The deaths of loved ones led to a spiritual awakening and I was finally receptive to “the cure.” Because, “what do I know,” obviously nothing because I struggled with this for decades. It’s in those humbling moments, when you kneel and ask for help and knowledge from a higher source… that you become receptive to the answers. When the student is ready the teacher will appear. And, the teacher had been there. I had read about her for a couple of years but it just wasn’t clicking for me. The body keeps the score: How do we cure it? By getting to the root cause. How do you get to the root cause of trauma? With RTT you go back to the moment of impact and change the scene creating a new neural pathway which then dissolves the old wiring and all physical symptoms leave with it. Humility, receptivity, openness, investing in the expert, being dedicated to the work and learning CHANGED MY LIFE and I am now CURED from what I had known to be incurable.
Now & Why:
My why is constantly developing. Ultimately it is to become self actualized and help others evolve as well.
Now I am in the process of offering services to reach back to the PMDD community to show them the light at the end of the tunnel.
My identity has changed over time by becoming someone with a strong spiritual connection. I have realized that I can be cured of PMDD but the circumstances that gave me PMDD can still exist in my world. That is difficult to digest. It means I will constantly be tested in protecting myself, I learn to let go and have faith that the universe has my back.
Mental health and worthiness: I walk the beach, build a strong spiritual connection and do fun cardio classes for my mental health, because those endorphins and ions chemically give me the positive mental boost I love. And, I strength train, travel and simply get out more for my worthiness because when I am enjoying myself in this world it is a reminder that I am worthy of all the joy this world has to offer.
Advice:
On Nov. 5th I celebrated my 1 year anniversary of being cured from something that had interfered with my life for decades. The term “cured” is controversial in the PMDD community because some of the women who did the program didn’t get results. And, I believe why it worked for me was my level of … humility, receptivity, openness, investing in the expert, being dedicated to the work and learning… and I plan to apply that to other areas of my life.
The keyword in Becoming Wildly Well is “becoming.” I don’t know anyone who is “wildly well” in all aspects of their life. It’s not about the destination, we may never be fully wildly well but we can take steps each day to try.
Find/Follow:
www.jlaceytaylor.com and IG: @jlaceytaylor (the linktree will have information on visually manifesting your dream business and PMDD services.)
Read more about her story at: Freedom From PMDD