Page 99 - JCBP-3-2

Journal of Clinical and

Basic Psychosomatics

CASE REPORT
Menstrual psychosis and treatment: A case

report and brief review

John C. Garman * , Irem Yapar , and Vincent Kennedy
†
†
Department of Psychiatry, Penn State College of Medicine, 500 University Dr, Hershey, Pennsylvania,
United States of America

Abstract
Mental health disorders are a significant public health concern, and the dysregulation
of menstrual cycles plays a role in the development of such disorders. Menstrual
psychosis is a rare and generally self-limiting mental illness. The literature on
menstrual psychosis is sparse and based mainly on case reports, retrospective
studies, and reports from relatives, or prospective studies lacking adequate evidence
regarding the menstruation timeline. Many case reports have emerged, providing
additional information to clinicians about this disorder, since the phenomenon was
first described and classified as menstrual psychosis by Krafft-Ebing in his monograph
† These authors equally contributed
to this work “Psychosis Menstrualis.” This case report contributes to the current literature on
menstrual psychosis and highlights the potential of contraceptive medication for
*Corresponding author:
John C. Garman treatment.
(jgarman2@pennstatehealth.psu.
edu)
Keywords: Menstrual psychosis; Psychosis menstrualis; Mood; Premenstrual dysphoric
Citation: Garman JC, Yapar I,
Kennedy V. Menstrual psychosis disorder; Woman; Reproduction
and treatment: A case report
and brief review. J Clin Basic
Psychosom. 2025;3(2):93-97.
doi: 10.36922/jcbp.4721 1. Introduction
Received: August 31, 2024
The role of menstrual cycles in the development of such disorders has been a topic of
1st revised: October 23, 2024 interest since the 18 century. Menstrual psychosis is characterized by the acute onset
1
th
2nd revised: November 11, 2024 of psychotic symptoms during certain stages of the menstrual cycle. These symptoms
3rd revised: November 14, 2024 exhibit a relapsing-and-remitting pattern, coinciding with the menstrual cycle. While
menstrual psychosis is not considered a distinct disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical
Accepted: December 18, 2024 Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision, the close timing between the
Published Online: December 31, onset and remission of symptoms with specific menstrual phases has led some experts to
2024 view it as unique. Others, however, consider it related to bipolar disorder. 2
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article The menstrual cycle is divided into two phases: the follicular phase, which spans
distributed under the terms of the from menstruation to ovulation, and the luteal phase, which lasts from ovulation to
Creative Commons Attribution the next menstruation. During menstruation, estrogen and progesterone levels are low.
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, As the cycle progresses, estrogen levels rise, triggering the release of hormones such as
provided the original work is follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone that facilitate egg maturation. If
properly cited. the egg is not fertilized, hormone levels, including progesterone, fall, leading to the onset
3,4
Publisher’s Note: AccScience of menstruation. Research shows that psychiatric symptoms can fluctuate depending
Publishing remains neutral with on the menstrual cycle, and these fluctuations may be influenced by behavioral,
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional psychological, and neuroendocrine factors. A synthesis of the literature reveals that
affiliations. the premenstrual and menstrual phases are most consistently associated with an

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 93 doi: 10.36922/jcbp.4721