Harry K-P | Shes Not Crazy :
Sources
🧬 Luteal negativity bias in body image, with eye-tracking showing increased attention to least-preferred body areas: Derntl & Kimmig, University of Tübingen
🧬 Misreading of neutral faces as negative during the luteal phase: Derntl et al., 2008 and 2013
🧬 Elevated recognition of anger and disgust across the cycle: Derntl et al., Psychoneuroendocrinology
🧬 Luteal phase as a protective circuit rather than dysfunction: Sundström Poromaa & Gingnell, 2014, Frontiers in Neuroscience
🧬 Second progesterone crash 3-5 days before menstruation: Bäckström et al., 2011, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
Two honest notes:
🧬 “Protection mode” is my plain-English version of the Sundström Poromaa reading. The perceptual findings are solid. The evolutionary interpretation is an interpretation, and I’d rather say that than dress it up.
🧬 Some things do physically change in that week. Progesterone drives fluid retention, so bloating is real, and falling estrogen reduces skin hydration and barrier function (Raghunath et al., 2015, International Journal of Women’s Dermatology). The change is real. The perceptual amplification is much larger than the change. She’s seeing a ten as a hundred.
2026-08-20 16:43:40