Stress and menstrual distress.

The relationship between stress and menstrual distress is considered in response to three questions: (1) How stressful are menstruation and its associated events? (2) What factors serve to make menstruation stressful? (3) What are the effects of stress upon the menstrual cycle? Included in the analysis are estimates of the incidence of negative symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle, other indicators of the stressfulness of the premenstrual and menstrual phases, adrenal factors, animal studies, and suggested directions for research and practice.