How to cope with neurosis during pregnancy and after childbirth?

During pregnancy, a woman’s psyche, already quite labile, often cannot withstand hormonal changes. A woman’s well-being, mood, and behavior change.

It is important to draw the line between a healthy reaction and neurosis. Unlike short-term, unstable reactions of a healthy person, neuroses significantly affect a woman’s life - they limit her ability to work, interfere with her daily activities, and create problems in communicating with her family.

Pregnancy is a strong emotional and physical stress, it may well cause neurosis.

Neuroses during pregnancy can be divided into two subtypes: neuroses during pregnancy and neuroses that arise after childbirth.

Neurosis during pregnancy

Neuroses during pregnancy are caused by a combination of physiological (hormonal changes in the body, toxicosis) and psychological (fear of the unknown, changes in everyday life) reasons. A woman, especially in the early stages, cannot get used to the fact that life is about to change. It is difficult for her to give up habits that can harm the child, to limit herself in everything, to live “by the hour.” This is layered with strong hormonal changes in the body, and neurosis occurs.

With neuroses during pregnancy, the most common symptoms are:

• excessive irritability;
• sleep disorders - insomnia, constant daytime sleepiness;
• tearfulness;
• excessive fatigue, severe fatigue even after minor physical exertion;
• fear of childbirth;
• a feeling of dissatisfaction with oneself and one's life.

Neurosis during pregnancy is often perceived as a normal change in character for such a period. But this disorder can harm mother and baby. Women who experience severe stress during pregnancy may have children with nervous system disorders: hyperactivity, a reduced threshold for adaptability. Such children are also characterized by severe allergic reactions, including bronchial asthma. Therefore, it is better to contact a qualified specialist. An experienced and competent doctor will make the correct diagnosis and help the pregnant woman cope with neurosis.

Pregnancy is an absolute contraindication to the use of many medications, so the doctor assigns the main role in case of neurosis in pregnant women to individual psychotherapy and non-drug methods. A psychotherapist will help the woman understand that the condition is temporary and that pregnancy is not a reason to forget about yourself.

Important

For neuroses, it is not necessary to take medications that can harm the child. There are effective non-drug methods of dealing with disorders - psychotherapy, biofeedback therapy.

For neuroses in pregnant women, biofeedback therapy is used - a biofeedback method. The essence of the method is monitoring the main systems of the body, during which the body is affected by sounds and images. A woman monitors changes in indicators (respiration rate, heartbeat, blood pressure) and learns to control her reaction to stress factors. The woman can then use the acquired relaxation skills independently.

Cost of services

Psychological health can be affected by many factors, which at first glance are quite insignificant. The development of neurosis is provoked by:

• increased anxiety, excitability;
• high psycho-emotional and mental stress without proper rest;
• hereditary predisposition;
• hormonal changes (for example, during pregnancy, menopause);
• diseases of the endocrine system;
• experienced head injuries.

What's happening

In a systematic review, researchers report that 20-40% of coronavirus patients experience psychiatric disorders:

• insomnia - in 42% of patients
• impaired attention and concentration - in 38%
• anxiety - 36%
• memory impairment - 34%
• depression - 33%
• impaired consciousness - in 21%
• post-traumatic stress disorder - in 4-7%

Every fourth patient experiences severe headache and dizziness, 69% have psychomotor agitation, and 0.7% have seizures and movement disorders. Elderly people may develop delirium, a disorder of consciousness in which thinking, attention, and perception of the world around them are impaired. However, delirium most often occurs in older patients with dementia, a syndrome of cognitive decline. Sometimes this is their only symptom of coronavirus without any disturbances in the respiratory system.

“People with coronavirus infection often experience negative psychological reactions: an acute reaction to stress, depression, emotional disturbances, obsessions and dysphoria - a combination of gloomy mood and irritability,” says Olga Markina, candidate of psychological sciences, SberHealth consultant.”

A large-scale outbreak of coronavirus is not the first time in history. During previous epidemics, doctors observed depressed mood and anxiety in patients - the most common symptoms in the acute phase of intoxication that accompanies the disease. A small proportion of patients experience psychosis - an acute disorder of mental activity in which mental processes are desynchronized, the perception of the real world is disrupted, and behavior and emotional reactions do not correspond to the real situation.

“During illness, patients experience fear and anxiety,” neurologist and rehabilitation specialist at GMS Clinic Tigran Makichyan shares his experience. “This is due to many factors: media pressure, stories that someone you know has died, a rapid heartbeat that makes a person restless and anxious.”

Some patients also experience catatonia, a movement disorder accompanied by either complete stupor or increased agitation.

“Work experience shows that coronavirus infection, associated with intoxication and oxygen deprivation of the brain, can cause exacerbation of diseases of the neurological and psychiatric spectrum,” warns Olga Markina. — In older patients, emotional and intellectual impairment may worsen. COVID-19 can also cause a psychotic state: confusion, hallucinations and delusions. Episodes of anxiety-depressive disorder, panic attacks and obsessive-compulsive disorder occur quite often.”

If a person with a mental disorder is sick with coronavirus, then the infection and its treatment can trigger a relapse and worsen the course of the disorder. For example, medications for the treatment of COVID-19 can provoke psychosis in a patient with schizophrenia - delusions, hallucinations and inappropriate behavior, for example, the patient will think that medical staff are trying to infect him.

“Coronavirus leads to decompensation of all chronic diseases, including schizophrenia,” says Tigran Makichyan. “Against the background of hypoxia, when the brain does not have enough oxygen, patients become disoriented, but after recovery, as a rule, this goes away.”

Mental disorders are caused not only by the direct impact of infection on the brain, but by socio-psychological and economic factors associated with coronavirus. People associate a pandemic with instability and unpredictability. Quarantine, social restrictions, uninterrupted news flow about morbidity and mortality from COVID - all this affects the emotional state and mood of people. Thus, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, feelings of loneliness, depression and apathy can be caused by:

• high frequency of contact with infected people
• fear of infecting loved ones
• the need for physical distancing and wearing masks
• feeling of medical and social insecurity
• regular media reports about coronavirus
• lack of information about when the pandemic will end

A Chinese study demonstrates that the very fact of an outbreak of a virus pandemic is already affecting the mental state of people who have not contracted the coronavirus. Thus, approximately one in six, under the influence of the epidemic, developed symptoms of moderate and severe depression, and one in three developed signs of an anxiety disorder of moderate or severe severity.

In addition, some respondents reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and psychological distress. There are also reports that the pandemic is worsening mental health disorders in people who do not have coronavirus.

Covid affects not only the patient himself. It is reported that 50% of family members with a coronavirus patient experience symptoms of depression.

Child: goal or means?

“The problem of infertility is multidisciplinary,” says Natalya Kalinina, a reproductive specialist of the highest category, obstetrician-gynecologist, Doctor of Medical Sciences. – In most cases, couples facing difficulties in conceiving have serious psychosomatic problems, and, accordingly, treating infertility only with traditional methods (without the involvement of a psychologist) may be ineffective. First of all, you need to work on finding the root causes of fertility problems. The test results help to lift the veil of hidden motives why people passionately want to become parents, but cannot.”

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“Often, for example, pregnancy does not occur because one of the couple has destructive motives for becoming pregnant. After all, the normal goal of childbearing is to give life to a new person, to prolong one’s lineage. But often people in their desire to become parents are driven by completely different motives. For example, with the help of a child, a woman can expect to make up for the lack of self-love. Often, a child is seen as an escape from loneliness, as a way to keep a spouse, or as a chance to separate from the parental family,” says Natalya Kalinina.

Diagnosis and treatment

Since neurosis has similar manifestations to a large number of somatic pathologies, it is important to accurately diagnose. The neurologist talks in detail with the patient about his condition. The following can be prescribed as diagnostics:

• MRI of the brain;
• rheoencephalography;
• electroencephalography.

After the disease and the degree of its development are established, treatment is prescribed. Therapy for neurosis involves taking medications, psychotherapeutic assistance, as well as adjusting the patient’s lifestyle: strict adherence to a work and rest schedule (in some cases, the doctor may recommend taking a break from professional activity until complete recovery), elimination of negative stress factors, a nutritious varied diet, moderate physical exercise. Imaginary fears about seeing a doctor and self-medication (especially in severe cases) can provoke the emergence of serious health problems. Neurosis is completely curable.

You can make an appointment with a medical neurologist by phone or by filling out an application on the website.

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Psychological assistance during and after coronavirus

COVID-19 is a viral disease with dangerous rapid spread and health consequences. The epidemic has greatly changed people's behavior patterns and aggravated problems in families, business, and everyday life. Going online, restrictions on movement and other “delights” of quarantine affect physical and mental health. When a person does not control the situation, he loses self-control and ceases to adequately express his feelings. Fear, anxiety, and excitement are natural reactions to uncertain and difficult life circumstances. It is no coincidence that during the coronavirus pandemic, doctors have noted an increase in the number of calls for panic, depression, psychosis and other disorders that cause much more damage to society than the viral infection itself.