Meghan Markle thought about suicide while pregnant: a psychiatrist analyzes what happened
We spoke to an expert psychiatric doctor to ask about the occurrence of suicidal ideas in pregnant women. The doctor assures that it is not as infrequent as we think, among other things
A collation of statements by Meghan Markle during the interview conducted by Oprah Winfrey comes to light an important issue: the appearance of suicide ideas during pregnancy.
On the show, the Duchess of Sussex revealed that while she was living in Buckingham Palace she suffered a real nightmare to the point of confessing that she thought about committing suicide: "She just didn't want to stay alive anymore." Furthermore, Prince Harry's wife (Henry) confessed that she during her pregnancy had self-destructive thoughts and that she never found any support from the royal family.
Meghan Markle thought about suicide while pregnant: a psychiatrist analyzes it
Although obviously you can never fall into generalizations with this topic, which we already addressed in depth in Vozpópuli, we can analyze what may be behind these women who think about stopping living just when they are carrying their child.
To do this, we spoke with the psychiatrist Pedro M. Paulino Matos, who shed some light on this topic that is still taboo today.
QUESTION. Is it normal for someone to think about suicide while pregnant?
ANSWER. Suicidal ideation is a relatively common thought among pregnant and postpartum women. We have the idealized concept that pregnancy is a beautiful moment and that everything is perfect, but reality breaks these schemes. Many women suffer depressive episodes during the gestation period and associated with this they have suicidal thoughts. Anxiety problems, depression, insomnia, among others, can occur during pregnancy. And we must bear in mind that together with gestational hypertension, serious bleeding, infections, delivery complications and abortions, suicide is among the causes of death.
"Suicidal ideation is a relatively common thought among pregnant and postpartum women"
P. So, it could be affirmed that pregnancy is a time in the life of the woman of greatest vulnerability ...
R. Indeed, pregnancy is a time that places women in a position of greater vulnerability, not weakness (which are different concepts). So much for the changes at the hormonal, physical and psychological level. Also social, family, work and economic factors can play an important role. Postpartum is a period of great vulnerability for the development of diseases
psychiatric. The evidence shows a higher frequency of suicide attempts and completed suicide in postpartum women [who have recently given birth] with psychiatric illness compared to pregnant women. The personal and family history of psychiatric illnesses are a fundamental factor to take into account at that time in the woman's life. It is essential to develop intervention and support programs in order to increase awareness and identify and support women at risk.
P. Meghan Markle confessed that she thought about suicide, is it normal for someone to reveal something as serious as this publicly?
R. As a result of the explosion of social networks, more and more people are telling it publicly, but it continues to be a delicate, taboo subject to this day that produces a certain shame. So it is not common.
Q. And how many of the people who want to commit suicide tell about it later?
R. I would not know how to answer this question with one piece of information, but something that is very clear is that the number of suicide attempts is vastly higher than the number of completed suicides. Significantly an attempt
Prior is the most important risk factor for suicide in the general population. However, due to the stigmatization of mental disorders and suicide, many people end up not asking for the necessary help.
Q. What happens in the mind of someone who thinks about committing suicide?
A. Many times there are several risk factors that act cumulatively, increasing a person's vulnerability to suicidal behavior. Each person is a world, so speaking in a generalized way, we can make the odd mistake or bias. In the mind of a person who thinks about committing suicide, a whirlwind of negative thoughts, ideas of death, significant feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, disability can occur that make them see and consider suicide as an alternative to end the suffering they are going through. Many times, conditioned by tunnel vision, it is seen as the only way out of the situation you are experiencing. Suicidal ideas can be one more symptom of an illness, as well as the anxiety they may feel, problems sleeping, loss of appetite, tiredness, reluctance, some psychotic symptom (such as hallucinations or delirium ...). They appear associated with other discomforts and symptoms.
Q. How does one feel like committing suicide or how does he decide not to?
A. As I have mentioned before, suicidal thoughts, ideas or wishes usually appear in the context of some mental health problem. An adequate clinical intervention, as well as approaches in other aspects (psychological, lifestyle, multidisciplinary ...) contribute to the functional recovery of the person and remission of the condition that motivated them. During the course of treatment, these ideas tend to lose potency, allowing the entry of new, more positive and productive stimuli for the person. The participation of specialized professionals in this type of situation is essential. My recommendation is that one has these types of ideas or a family member seeks help from a mental health professional such as a psychiatrist or psychologist.
"It is important to emphasize that the ideas of death, suicide and self-harm attempts are usually associated with some type of mental health problem, but this is not always the case"
Q. And is it normal not to want to live and that one does not like life or is it irremediably associated with depression?
R. Dissatisfaction, frustration at not having or not having achieved what one wants or desires are frequent thoughts and emotions. Not always our expectations or those they place on us are fulfilled and this can produce feelings of helplessness, sadness, hopelessness as well as desires of not wanting to live. It is important to emphasize that the ideas of death, suicide and attempts at self-harm are usually associated with some type of mental health problem (such as depression, psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, ...), but this is not always the case. We can find people who make some type of attempt or complete suicide who do not have any type of mental illness (but rather a conscious and voluntary decision).
