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Abstract Background: Women usually suffer from physical and psychological problems such as recurrent pain, loneliness feelings, depression, anxiety and tension during the premenstrual period, and many evidences have shown that various relaxation exercises have an effective role in reducing these disorders. Purpose: This study aimed to investigate and compare the effect of different relaxation techniques on premenstrual depression. Subjects: Thirty females with mild to moderate premenstrual depression, their age ranged from 18-25 years and their Body mass index (BMI) was less than 30 kg/m², were randomly distributed into two groups equal in number. group (A) performed deep breathing exercises for 15 minutes/session, 3 sessions/week, for 4 weeks; while group (B) performed autogenic relaxation techniques for 15 minutes/session, 3 sessions/week, for 4 weeks. Material and Methods: The outcome measures were serum cortisol levels, as well as depression anxiety stress scale (DASS-21) to evaluate the severity of premenstrual depression. They were evaluated pre-treatment and after 4 weeks of treatment. Results: Comparing both groups post-treatment revealed a statistically nonsignificant difference in serum cortisol level (p=0.36), while there was a statistically significant reduction in DASS-21 score (p=0.001) in favour of group (A). The percentages of improvement post-treatment in serum cortisol levels, DASS-21 were 17.2%, 30.7%, respectively in group (A), while they were 13.3%, 13.2%, respectively in group (B). Conclusion: Deep breathing is more beneficial than autogenic relaxation in reducing the severity of premenstrual depression |