One of my daughter’s friends, in her early twenties, often hyperventilates when she is overexcited and laughs too much She becomes so badly affected that she cannot speak or move. Fortunately, her friends now recognise the situation and put a paper bag over her nose and mouth until she begins to breathe normally again. The imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide upsets the delicate acid/alkaline balance in the blood, which in turn affects all body tissues, particularly the brain and nervous system – hence the wide variety of physical and mental symptoms that may occur.Apart from those I experienced, hyperventilation can cause headaches, poor memory, ringing sounds in the ears, dizziness, panic attacks, chest pains, yawning, tingling and numbness. A heightened sensitivity to loud noises and bright lights is also common.Stress and excitement can bring it on. They do not use the extra oxygen, but they do lose an excessive amount of carbon dioxide when they breathe out, and blood levels of the gas fall. Yet I learnt that sufferers can be completely cured by correcting faulty breathing patternsHyperventilation is essentially the habit of breathing in, and out, too much. As everyone knows, we breathe in to obtain oxygen and out to expel the waste gas, carbon dioxide.

When we run for a bus or climb mountains, the body responds by taking in more oxygen and expelling more carbon dioxide.People who hyperventilate take in excess air. Specialists believe the incidence of this debilitating and frightening condition is on the increase, because of the more stressful lifestyles of the Nineties. I was suffering from hyperventilation, or over-breathing.It is estimated that a tenth of the population suffers from hyperventilation. He did, however, notice that the top part of my chest moved very rapidly when I breathed and he referred me, privately, to Dr Claude Lum, an authority on respiratory disorders.Dr Lum told me my problem was caused by a common condition that doctors had been treating for over 25 years. The more anxious I became, the worse I felt.
I was referred to a hospital physician who carried out blood tests and X-rays, but who could find nothing wrong. On that occasion I was reassured, but I still thought there must be something wrong. Over the next few months, staff at the surgery became used to me in the waiting room, often with my head on my knees.

Apart from the faintness, it was the mental symptoms that really frightened me: confusion and feelings of unreality – as if I were watching myself from a distance I thought I must be going mad. He took my pulse and blood pressure, listened to my heart and then told me that he could find nothing amiss. “The time has finally come,” say Jane and Sara, “to take menstruation out of the closet. So instead of trying to suppress the symptoms, we should go with the flow.”PMX 94c Forest Road, London E8 3BH (0171 249 2620). A couple of years ago, I had to call my GP in the middle of the night I felt so weak and faint that I thought I might be dying. If we are more aware of what matters to us, it becomes a good time to take stock, to assess whether we are doing what we really want to do.”Evidence so far suggests that the theory works.

Course participants report progress, from reduced pain to renewed creativity.Jane and Sara believe the workshops are just the first step on the road to a total rethink of attitudes towards menstruation. By giving yourself a 10-minute break at the right time, you may avoid passing out or having to take a week off. When you introduce this choice and self- control you can move to the point where the premenstrual phase becomes a useful resource in decision-making. Jane says: “By being aware of what is going on for you, you can take note of the early-warning signals. “That can be difficult when your husband is demanding his meal on the table, but I tell them to take long baths and, if they have childminding arrangements, to use them that week.”They are not advocating that premenstrual and menstruating women withdraw from life Quite the reverse. It is a year since I felt any pain.”Susi Strang, a general practitioner in Cleveland, says PMX has given her back a quarter of her life by banishing her mood swings She imparts the gospel to her female patients “I encourage them to find ways of withdrawing,” she says. Once I had worked out which muscles were causing the pain, I was able to relax them, just as you might unclench a fist Now I do it unconsciously.

“For the previous two years I had been in pain every month, so that all I wanted to do was to retire to bed with a hot water bottle,” she says “I had been prescribed various things but none helped. Laura describes the embarrassment of staining her skirt in school. Linda, who thought she was bleeding to death when her period started, allows her small daughter to handle her (unused) tampons, much to Grandma’s horror.Constructing a “menstrual map”, participants plot their cycle, recalling its high and low points in order to understand what occurs and how to recognise different needs at different times of the month.Caroline Flexman, a City accountant,took part in a workshop and was able to identify the muscles that were causing her agonising periods. Ann recalls struggling to make the packet of 12 tampons that her mother gave her each month cope with her prodigious blood loss. You may need more personal space, even if it’s just five minutes’ solitude or an hour’s extra sleep.”At a PMX workshop, participants investigate their experiences of menstruation, past and present. You can make changes.’ If a woman screams abuse at her husband, perhaps she is being honest, but it is easier to blame PMS than to hear the underlying message.”Sara says: “For many women the premenstrual phase is a time of heightened sensitivity. Their needs and preferences may change and it is important to acknowledge these changes Women do not always make allowances They put themselves in inappropriate situations.