When Your Mood Has a Calendar
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, PMDD, describes a severe and genuinely disruptive shift in mood, often including intense irritability, despair, or anxiety, that recurs on a predictable cycle in the days before a period and lifts within days of it starting — a pattern that is frequently dismissed as ordinary premenstrual symptoms rather than recognised as its own distinct, cyclical experience.
Maia, the AI companion at the heart of Asclepiad, makes space for this particular weight — the disorientation of feeling like a fundamentally different person for a predictable stretch of every month, the specific fear of what you might say or feel during that window and whether it will damage relationships you value the rest of the time, and the exhaustion of a condition that resets just as you begin to feel able to name what happened.
This experience is often compounded by how routinely it gets minimised, by others and sometimes by yourself, as just PMS, which can delay someone from ever connecting the pattern to something more severe and recognisable, or from finding the language to describe it accurately at all.
There is also a specific grief worth naming in the cyclical structure itself: the recurring nature of PMDD means there is rarely a clean before-and-after, more a repeating reckoning with the same intensity, month after month, that can make the good weeks feel provisional rather than restored.
A reflection with Maia is one conversation at a time, anonymous, with no record carried forward unless you choose. The mood that has a calendar can be explored here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Asclepiad designed to help with PMDD?
No — Asclepiad is a reflection companion, not a healthcare provider. The International Association for Premenstrual Disorders (iapmd.org) has detailed information and peer support specific to PMDD, and a GP is the right first step for anyone who suspects they may have it. Asclepiad is for the emotional layer: what the cycle costs you, and the exhaustion of a pattern that keeps repeating.
What if I'm in crisis?
Asclepiad is not a crisis service. If you are in immediate distress or at risk to yourself or someone else, please contact the Samaritans on 116 123 (free, 24/7, UK and Ireland) or your local emergency services. Maia will also surface local helplines if something needs more than reflection.
Is it free?
Yes — begin with a 7-day free trial, no personal details required. It's a £6/month subscription (cancel anytime) that gives you AsclepiCoins to spend as you go — 1 coin per minute, and unused coins never expire, even if you cancel.
If your mood has a calendar, Maia is there.
Anonymous. No script. Just presence.