1ST CITY CLINICAL HOSPITAL

Author of the article: psychologist of the health care institution “1st City Clinical Hospital” 4th Women’s Consultation Margarita Olegovna Yurkova.

“Good afternoon! My gynecologist sent me to you, but I don’t know why, everything is fine with me...”

This is the first phrase I hear from 80% of women who enter my office. Next, I usually explain that I am not a psychiatrist, but a psychologist, that these are completely different specializations. And it is precisely at this moment that women seem to exhale at the body level, the fear goes away a little, they calm down, often immediately begin to smile, sit down, and we begin a conversation.

So why is there a psychologist in the antenatal clinic? In my opinion, there should be a psychologist in every government agency, in every company. This has long been a normal practice throughout the world.

Unfortunately, we are only now coming to understand that we need to take care of our psychological and mental health. That it’s normal to go to a psychologist when things get bad, when problems arise that are difficult to solve on your own. After all, when something hurts us, we break a leg or we need surgery, we do not self-medicate, we go to the right specialist for help. But, given that our psyche is something ephemeral that cannot be touched, it seems to us that we don’t need help here.

And for years we have been storing up our internal questions, difficulties

and experiences. We keep it all inside ourselves. And then we wonder why we have no strength, why there is complete apathy towards everything, why when we wake up in the morning, we feel like we haven’t slept at all, we have no desire to go to work, I don’t want to look after the children, and I just don’t want anything.

And the answer lies right on the surface: we do not give vent to our own emotions, we do not allow ourselves to experience negative emotions, we do not allow ourselves to suffer through difficult events in life, we do not give them space, we do not allow ourselves to slow down, and even admit the thought that I’m tired, I need a break.

Our generation strives to be better all the time, more productive, the slogan immediately comes to mind: “Higher, faster, further!” But no one thinks about how good it is for ordinary life.

So, in answer to the question posed above, a psychologist is needed so that you have the opportunity to express your emotions, any feelings you have, your fears and experiences, and so that they are accepted, understood and heard. And unlike simple conversations with friends and relatives, a specialist will be able to help you with this, guide you and support you along this path.

If you have increased anxiety during pregnancy, or an unplanned pregnancy and you don’t know what to do about it, or you are worried about whether you will be a good parent, whether you will be able to carry a baby, or you have not been able to get pregnant for a very long time, and you feel a sense of hopelessness, then you need to seek advice from a psychologist. This is a small list of questions you may come with.

This is our concern for you! After all, not all people have the opportunity to see a psychologist in private practice, so now you have the opportunity to visit a specialist in a public institution.

And it doesn’t matter whether this will be a one-time planned psychological diagnosis before pregnancy or whether it will lead to longer-term therapy. The main thing is that you have the opportunity to get support and help, and we can help you with this!