Disseminating Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder Information on TikTok: A Content Analysis

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is characterized as an extreme form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) in which a combination of severe mood, somatic, and cognitive symptoms present one to two weeks prior to the onset of menstruation. As people increasingly turn to social media, specifically TikTok, to gain information about health-related topics and information, discourse about this taboo chronic condition has increased. Sensitized by concepts from the theory of communicative disenfranchisement (TCD), our two-pronged methodological approach includes a content analysis of TikTok videos (N = 97) that discuss PMDD symptomology, treatment, and a thematic analysis of disenfranchising talk associated with PMDD. We identify TikTok as a meaningful communicative mechanism for health information-exchange, particularly for communication about contested illness. Practical and theoretical implications for applying TCD in mediated contexts, as well as engaging with social media as a means for health communication are discussed.