In the meantime, I'll share with you a case that reveals why panic attacks so often plague new mothers. Permission to publish has been received.

Let's get started!

👩 🍼 A young woman came to me with a complex of anxious experiences. She suffered from panic attacks, loss of appetite and insomnia.

First of all, it is important for such clients to hear that everything is fine with them.

And of course everyone wants to know why this is happening to her.

Here's the catch: this happens much more often than is commonly talked about. And you can notice a certain dynamic:

Falling in love phase During childbirth and the first interaction with the baby, the mother and her child experience a huge release of the happiness hormone: oxytocin. It cements a new neural connection in both of their brains: being close is very pleasant.

Oxytocin helps a woman overcome labor pains, or rather forget about them. The release of this hormone is intended by nature to stimulate parental care of the child. The presence of oxytocin in the child's blood does not allow him to move too far away from his mother, that is, it ensures his survival in the hostile world in which our ancestors lived.

So, oxytocin smoothes out the experiences of the difficult period of caring for a baby. Sleepless nights, the pain of feeding, the difficulty of adapting to each other and dietary restrictions — all this seems like nothing compared to the happiness of nursing a baby. The oxytocin bond is one of the strongest in nature.

Exhaustion phase By six months, oxytocin production is significantly reduced. And if previously the volume of this hormone of happiness covered the stress from lack of sleep and difficulties, now there is much more of the anxiety hormone — cortisol — in the blood.

At the same time, there is a lack of other positive neurotransmitters: dopamine and serotonin. The role of the mother is no longer new and no longer receives the same respect from the environment. Social life is limited. The ability to manage oneself and achieve certain goals is determined by the size of the house and the financial resources of the family.

The Anxiety Phase Our brains continually produce cortisol to keep us grappling with problems of species survival and gene transmission. That is, thanks to it we scan the space, see the difficulty and overcome it. For this we receive a short-term reward in the form of dopamine and serotonin.

A young mother constantly receives huge doses of stress hormones and has little opportunity to solve difficulties that can cause a surge of joy hormones in the brain. Therefore, it is no longer situational problems with sleep that begin, but full-fledged insomnia against a background of increased anxiety. There is danger everywhere, and if there is none, then the main danger becomes itself.

This is how an irrational fear of being a bad mother appears. Moreover, anxiety itself is often declared to be a shortcoming that can interfere with coping with the role of a mother. And if it is supplemented by psychosomatic symptoms, panic attacks or real asthenia, then fears grow by leaps and bounds.

It is important to note that these fears are imaginary and based on anxiety due to anxiety.

Chronic Depression/Exit Phase

Further events develop naturally in two directions.

☑ Exit from provisions provides partial return To habitual image life And adaptation To new , in which are new sources joy .

✔ Depression occurs if new ways receiving positive experiences Not located , situation Not is changing or getting worse under influence external factors

✅ However , there is more one option : when Human decides hack system And contact behind professional with help To psychotherapist .