Anxious people

This text was written as part of the prize ” Out Loud,” which is awarded to educators in the field of women’s health. The experts cited in this article are nominees and experts we trust.

There is an opinion that the need for procreation is our basic instinct. It’s wrong. From a biological point of view, the desire to reproduce is by no means the key task of the human body. Survival is its main goal, and the desire to leave offspring is just an additional addition. The reproductive function is carried out only when a woman has the internal reserves necessary to conceive, bear and nourish a child.

“The hypothalamus is responsible for assessing the state of the body; it is an area of ​​our brain that can be called a link between the nervous and endocrine systems,” explains Dinara Berezina. – If there are only enough resources to survive, this affects hormone production and the reproductive system. As a result, ovulation does not occur, the woman loses the ability to conceive, the cycle is disrupted or disappears altogether.​​​​​​​

You’ve probably heard stories of women who lost their periods during the war. Scientific articles were even devoted to “war amenorrhea”. But here the question arises: is it possible to compare the living conditions of a front-line nurse and a modern woman? And where is the stress line after which health begins to suffer? The body has a large reserve of strength, but it does not cope well with long-term and poorly understood experiences (the famous “grit your teeth and endure”). It can be both emotional suffering: fear for loved ones, unhealthy relationships within the family and at work, and physical, for example, lack of food or exhausting stress.​​​​​​​

In modern realities, models and athletes are the first candidates for such violations. Anxious perfectionists are also at risk.

And yet, why do some people, even in the most difficult times, not suffer from cycle disorders and become pregnant once or twice, while others face problems? Perinatal psychologist Anna Mamontova explains: “We are all different and the organization of the nervous system is different for everyone. Some women are more serene and resistant to stress, others are more anxious. Much depends on how active the limbic nervous system, the part of the brain responsible for emotions, is. It has been proven that women are more emotional than men; our brain responds more keenly to hormonal changes that occur regularly. Childhood attitudes also play a role: those who have been instilled with the confidence that one will succeed, that one can make an effort, that one can manage it, benefit from internal support more stable.

A region of the brain called the amygdala is responsible for recognizing physical and emotional stressors. This triggers the fight-flight stress response. The more active the amygdala, the lower the stress sensitivity threshold.

In the event of prolonged stress, the body has several levers of influence on the reproductive system.​​​​​​​

Answered by Olya Krumkach, women’s health specialist

Here are the indicative criteria:

If the drop in libido was a temporary phenomenon for several weeks or months, and after a stressful situation everything has recovered, there is no need to contact a specialist. And if it lasts for a long time, regardless of your well-being and the environment, then it is better to consult a specialist.

Stress can also indirectly affect women’s health.

Some would say psychosomatic, but it would be more correct to speak of the complex relationship between the mental and the physical. “Mental mood often affects fertility. Sometimes psychosomatics is linked to the background of the absence of pregnancy. It is not for nothing that a completely healthy couple has a year to try: getting pregnant not in the first cycle, but after six months or a year is the norm. But women often present an ideal image, and if this does not happen, the alarm goes off. There’s something wrong with me! – notes Anna Mamontova.

This can turn into a vicious circle: features of the brain cause increased anxiety, increased anxiety negatively affects the body, changes in the body negatively affect the psyche, etc. A good specialist will conduct a comprehensive examination, eliminate organ pathologies and will not “blindly treat the tests”.

These methods may not be enough, and then it is worth contacting a psychologist, preferably one who works on reproductive issues.

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