Something torn or burst or unbearable: a psychoanalytically-informed exploration of the experience of somatic symptoms

Byrne, Ashley; O’Connor, John J.; O’Raghallaigh, Jennifer Wilson; MacHale, Siobhan

doi:10.1080/02668734.2019.1582085

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…This is an inductive research approach informed by a psycho‐analytic method. The psychoanalytically informed method has been used with mothers who presented with post‐natal depression (Hesse Tyson et al., 2020), individuals with OCD (Mulhall et al., 2019), people who hoard objects (Byrne et al., 2019), and people experiencing somatic symptom disorder (Byrne et al., 2019). The aim of this study was to provide sufficient space for mothers to explore what was meaningful to them in their journey with POCD, with a view to expanding our understanding of the nature of mothers' lived experience.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beauty and the beast: A psychoanalytically oriented qualitative study detailing mothers' experience of perinatal obsessive‐compulsive disorder

Meehan

O’Connor

Keogh

2021

Appl Psychoanal Studies

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Our understanding of mothers' experience of perinatal obsessive‐compulsive disorder (POCD) is limited. While symptoms of POCD have been documented in the literature, the wider lived experience of people with this condition has received less attention. This study used a psychoanalytically informed research method to explore mothers' experiences of POCD. Five participants each engaged in three unstructured interviews, where participants were given time and space to discuss their personal experience. Three major themes emerged from the interviews conducted: a difficult road to motherhood, which related to the challenges participants faced becoming mothers; protector/aggressor, which described the tension between participants' intrusive thoughts and their desire to protect their baby; and mothers' loss, which described participants' sense of sadness having experienced POCD at this special time in their lives. These themes are discussed in relation to their significance for our thinking about mothers' experience of POCD during pregnancy, postnatally and beyond.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beauty and the beast: A psychoanalytically oriented qualitative study detailing mothers' experience of perinatal obsessive‐compulsive disorder

Meehan

O’Connor

Keogh

2021

Appl Psychoanal Studies

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“…This article presents the findings of a qualitative study using multiple interviews to explore the experiences of women diagnosed with PND. This psychoanalytically informed method was also used recently with people who hoard objects (Brien, O'Connor, & Russell‐Carroll, 2018) and for people experiencing Somatic Symptom Disorder (Byrne, O'Connor, Wilson O'Raghallaigh, & McHale, 2019). Much of what has been written about PND in the psychoanalytic literature comes from the perspective of the analyst, reflecting on work with their patients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No space for mother's mind: A psychoanalytically oriented qualitative study of the experiences of women with a diagnosis of postnatal depression

Tyson

O’Connor

Sheehan

2020

Appl Psychoanal Studies

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Our understanding of postnatal depression (PND), and in particular the emotional world of mothers who experience this, and the relational processes involved remain today quite limited. Indeed, what has been called “PND,” likely as explored here a catch‐all term for a variety of composite states of mind, seems quite prevalent and likely too has a significant impact on both mother and baby, as well as on the wider figures and systems that are involved. This study used a psychoanalytically informed research method to access material that emerged around women's postnatal depressive experiences. Each of the six participants engaged in three interviews. The main themes that emerged were the following: (a) Starting on a bad note: difficult experiences in birth and breast‐feeding; (b) Support falling away: the absence of mother's support at key times in pregnancy and birth; (c) No space for mother's mind: the absence of space for processing experience in systems around women; and (d) Unwelcome familiar feelings: the contradictory responses evoked in motherhood. These themes are discussed in relation to their significance for our thinking about supports for mothers in the period prior to and following birth. Also discussed here is whether the technology of birth, important in safeguarding baby, may have reduced the space for mother's emotional well‐being in our systems of care.

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Something torn or burst or unbearable: a psychoanalytically-informed exploration of the experience of somatic symptoms

Cited by 2 publications

References 20 publications

Beauty and the beast: A psychoanalytically oriented qualitative study detailing mothers' experience of perinatal obsessive‐compulsive disorder

Beauty and the beast: A psychoanalytically oriented qualitative study detailing mothers' experience of perinatal obsessive‐compulsive disorder

No space for mother's mind: A psychoanalytically oriented qualitative study of the experiences of women with a diagnosis of postnatal depression

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