Helen Flanagan says premenstrual dysphoric disorder gave her ‘severe depression’

Actress Helen Flanagan has said premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) gave her “severe depression”.

The 34-year-old former Coronation Street star said her condition, which can take place in the weeks before the period, had become “a lot more manageable recently” as she took to Instagram to share her experience of PMDD, after being inspired by former Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison.

Flanagan said: “I always feel like I have four personalities in one month and any boyfriend I’ve ever had knows how bad my PMDD can be.

“The Luteal phase for me can be the very worst, I used to have very bad intense symptoms for about 10 days, severe depression, sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, anxiety, OCD – OCD so crippling I thought I was going mad – exhaustion, brain fog.

“Now I get about 4 days before my period where I don’t feel myself mentally.

“I also get severe bloating before my period where I can pass off at being pregnant, I also am always so desperate to come on my period as I know how much happier I will feel when I bleed, and I will just feel more able to cope with anything life throws at me and feel I have my sanity back.

“I had this from being about 16 but never really knew what it was.”

Pattison, who appeared on the MTV reality show from 2011 until 2014, has openly shared her experiences with PMDD regularly in a number of interviews and social media posts.

The NHS says the condition is a more severe and rarer version of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), which is much more intense and can have a greater negative impact on everyday life.

It says symptoms include headaches and joint and muscle pain, overeating and problems sleeping, and feeling very anxious, angry, depressed or suicidal.

The health authority says it is not clear what causes PMDD, but says it has been linked to being very sensitive to changes in hormones, or certain differences in the genes inherited from parents.

Flanagan is best known for playing Rosie Webster in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street from 2000 to 2012, she also appeared as a contestant on the 12th series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2012, where she finished seventh.