Psychological pregnancy is rare today. However, it is living proof of the spirit’s ability to create and consolidate parallel realities. The technical name for this phenomenon is pseudocisis, although it is also known as Rapunzel syndrome, imaginary pregnancy or utopian pregnancy.
Another case considered psychological pregnancy is Couvade syndrome, a condition that some men experience when their partner is really pregnant, some people experience the symptoms of pregnancy: morning sickness, craving for certain foods, hypersensitivity, etc.
“Motherhood has a humanizing effect, does it all come down to the essentials?. – Meryl Streep-
In fact, there is evidence that some animals also experience psychological pregnancies, especially dogs, in this case what happens is that they increase levels of a substance called prolactin, which is responsible for breastfeeding.
This leads to breast growth and leads them to adopt toys or other objects as if they were their puppies.
Cases of psychological pregnancy have been known for centuries. Available data indicate that, perhaps, in the past, this phenomenon has appeared more frequently than at present. Today, there is only one psychological case for every 22,000 real pregnancies.
The causes of psychological pregnancy in men are totally psychological, in almost all cases there is a pressure factor on women, the most common are:
Psychological pregnancy is not an isolated problem. In reality, this is not a problem in itself, but the manifestation of a deeper picture. The outlook is likely to be complex.
Schizophrenia is a delusional condition in which schizophrenia may or may not occur; the most common thing is that he’s not present.
Women who have a psychological pregnancy have the same symptoms as those who have a real pregnancy. There are cases where anxiety causes changes in the neuroendocrine system, and therefore pregnancy tests have a positive result without pregnancy. The only 100% reliable evidence is ultrasound.
Women with this phenomenon have symptoms such as lack of menstruation, morning sickness and a feeling of fetal movement, the most disconcerting thing is that they also gain weight, the belly enlarges, the breasts enlarge and everything corresponds to normal. pregnancy.
There are even cases where a psychological pregnancy is not detected until the time of delivery, many women with this problem do not fully understand the experience, at the time of delivery they believe that they have actually had an abortion or that the baby is dead and that everyone wants to hide that fact.
Sometimes this image is a prelude or part of other types of psychological or mental disorders.
A woman who has a psychological pregnancy needs understanding and support, not disqualification to “go wrong. “The problem itself is not pregnancy, but what’s behind it. In general, it is a hysterical phenomenon, through which the woman intends to reaffirm her female identity or rebel in the face of any circumstance of her life.
As in other delusional phenomena, there is no need to insist that the woman regain her reason, showing proof of her mistake. One way or another, psychological pregnancy is a form of unconscious defense and not a thought error.
The woman needs this pregnancy to protect herself from another reality which, for her, is extremely painful and, at the same time, inaccessible.
These cases should be treated by a mental health professional. What is sought is that the affected person, step by step, can recognize the conflict that triggers this condition.
You also need to be able to develop and address it, recovering the psychological tools you have to overcome it.
This can only be achieved through an appropriate therapeutic process that provides understanding, support and follow-up.