State of "mum": a psychiatric illness?
Before I go on, please know that this is a lighthearted piece. There are many women who struggle daily with mental health conditions every day and there are great services available to offer support (God bless the NHS). Please do not take any offence to what I write, and please if you think you might, stop reading.
After completing my undergraduate degree, I took a few years off from academia. I then returned to complete my MSc. During this course, I had to complete a piece of original research. I decided to study schizotypal traits in religious people (as you do). Which simply means that even in a undiagnosed population (your average Joe), there are traits or behaviours that could be considered a psychiatric illness. I was lucky enough to be supervised by Professor Richard Bentall during my MSc. His book, Madness Explained, is a very good read. Similarly to the book by Jon Ronson on Psychopaths, they make you question the psychological testing method and how exactly someone is decided to have a psychiatric illness. How do you prove you are sane?
Anyways, the Prof wrote an essay on how Happiness should be categorised as a psychiatric disorder. And it got me thinking about motherhood and that this could also be considered within the same domain.
For example, to be diagnosed as schizophrenic you need one or more of the following (alongside other criteria):
As a mum, I reckon I tick most of these points every day. I believe (deluded or not) that my child is the smartest person on the planet. I probably don’t really hallucinate, but I like to ignore the washing pile. There are times when I make no sense and am massively disorganised. I talk in teletubby language and only sing songs from Baby Jake (Obi gobbi gobbi). And as for point 5….well; need I say more.
So what are the symptoms of “Mum”:
What about the aetiology?
So what causes this condition? It is safe to say there is a definite biological component – well when 2 people love each other (you know the rest) mixed with growing a person for 9 months, followed by an influx of hormones. What about the environmental causes? A pub/shop/*insert wherever you met your partner here*, an endless supply of crappy nappies, night feeds, a child with its own thinking and stubbornness….
Diagnostic name?
So what do we call it? The maternal affect? I am leaning towards the “oxymoronic mum” – a condition that shouldn’t exist. When your emotions are constantly at polar opposites at the same time:
Again – you can add your own here.
and underneath it all, you know you wouldn’t change a thing.
Treatment?
Spa day, stat. Injection of triple distilled vodka stat.
My little human is 3 years old now. I have heard rumours that the condition of “Mum” lasts a life time and each milestone has its own worries and beautiful moments. I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to each and every one of them.
Mum, PhD.
After completing my undergraduate degree, I took a few years off from academia. I then returned to complete my MSc. During this course, I had to complete a piece of original research. I decided to study schizotypal traits in religious people (as you do). Which simply means that even in a undiagnosed population (your average Joe), there are traits or behaviours that could be considered a psychiatric illness. I was lucky enough to be supervised by Professor Richard Bentall during my MSc. His book, Madness Explained, is a very good read. Similarly to the book by Jon Ronson on Psychopaths, they make you question the psychological testing method and how exactly someone is decided to have a psychiatric illness. How do you prove you are sane?
Anyways, the Prof wrote an essay on how Happiness should be categorised as a psychiatric disorder. And it got me thinking about motherhood and that this could also be considered within the same domain.
For example, to be diagnosed as schizophrenic you need one or more of the following (alongside other criteria):
(1) Delusions
(2) Hallucinations
(3) Disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence)
(4) Grossly disorganized or catatonic behaviour
(5) Negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening (complete or nearly complete absence of affective expression), alogia (poverty of thinking evidenced either by poverty of speech or by poverty of content of speech.), or avolition (absence of initiative or motivation to begin and maintain behaviour in pursuit of a goal.)
As a mum, I reckon I tick most of these points every day. I believe (deluded or not) that my child is the smartest person on the planet. I probably don’t really hallucinate, but I like to ignore the washing pile. There are times when I make no sense and am massively disorganised. I talk in teletubby language and only sing songs from Baby Jake (Obi gobbi gobbi). And as for point 5….well; need I say more.
So what are the symptoms of “Mum”:
- Crippling anxiety
- Constant worry
- Irrational thinking
- “God” complex over a being we made
- Going from serene and happy to frustrated and crying in a matter of moments
- The delirium that accompanies any milestone that may have been reached
- The obsessive monitoring and note taking (feeding, pooing, growing)
- Becoming introverted when pre-baby you were extrovert (and by this I mean going out all the time).
What about the aetiology?
So what causes this condition? It is safe to say there is a definite biological component – well when 2 people love each other (you know the rest) mixed with growing a person for 9 months, followed by an influx of hormones. What about the environmental causes? A pub/shop/*insert wherever you met your partner here*, an endless supply of crappy nappies, night feeds, a child with its own thinking and stubbornness….
Diagnostic name?
So what do we call it? The maternal affect? I am leaning towards the “oxymoronic mum” – a condition that shouldn’t exist. When your emotions are constantly at polar opposites at the same time:
Frustratingly amazing
Exhaustingly exhilarating
Simple complexity
Feeling like you are making it all up yet somehow knowing what to do
and underneath it all, you know you wouldn’t change a thing.
Treatment?
Spa day, stat. Injection of triple distilled vodka stat.
My little human is 3 years old now. I have heard rumours that the condition of “Mum” lasts a life time and each milestone has its own worries and beautiful moments. I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to each and every one of them.
Mum, PhD.
Comments
Post a Comment