'Every month I would plan my own death due to PMDD'

Shalina Casey, 48, of Hampshire, suffers from the same condition as TV stars Vicky Pattison and Kristina Goodsell. Here, she shares her story

- SARAH MORTON

'The second I heard the huge crash coming from my 13-year-old daughter's room, I ran upstairs with my heart thumping out of my chest. When I swung open the door to Avianna's bedroom, I found her sobbing on the floor, clutching her hand. Glancing at the wall, I saw the plasterboard had been ripped apart with sudden force. It was clear she'd put her fist straight through it. As I begged her to tell me what happened, my sweet little girl just looked up at me with tear-soaked eyes. She told me she was angry - and she had no idea why. It was then that my heart sank. I could have been looking at myself, 30 years earlier.

Avianna may not have understood why her emotions were doing this, but I certainly did. I gently asked her if she was on her period. When she confirmed she was, I felt tears spring to my eyes.

I have suffered from Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) since I was a teenager. It's a condition that has left me on the verge of suicide multiple times. For two weeks a month, just before, during and after my period, for every month of every year, my world effectively ended as I plummeted into a hole so dark I was convinced there was no way out. It was my biggest fear that my daughter would one day inherit this evil curse and yet here she was.

Curled up in a ball, a fist imprinted in her wall, sobbing, all because of her menstrual cycle. I felt horrendously guilty. This was the first time she'd really acted out so violently.

It raised alarm bells straight away.

It all started when I got my first period at the age of 14. From that moment on, my life spiralled into a tumultuous journey filled with mood swings and angry outbursts.

WHAT IS PMDD?