339: Perinatal Health Anxiety with Michelle Flynn, MA, MIACP

Health anxiety during pregnancy and the postpartum is a very real struggle for many people. My guest today joins us to share her experience and what she’s seeing from clients in her practice. You’ll learn how to notice perinatal health anxiety and what to do about it. Join us to learn more! Michelle Flynn is a fully accredited perinatal psychotherapist and certified infant massage instructor based in Dublin, Ireland. She specializes in supporting parents at all stages of their parenting journey from conception through birth and postpartum. She works with a national organization providing psychotherapy to survivors of childhood sexual abuse and also teaches in a master’s program. Following her experience of perinatal anxiety and her struggle to access appropriate mental health support, Michelle turned her focus to perinatal mental health and set up her private practice, An Croi Beag Psychotherapy (“Little Heart” in Irish). Through her private psychotherapy practice and her infant massage groups, Michelle hopes to further support parents in perinatal distress, raise awareness about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and improve access to mental health services for birthing people.  Show Highlights: Michelle’s journey into perinatal mental health and her overwhelming anxiety during her difficult first pregnancy Michelle’s experience with healthcare providers who dismissed her concerns and made her feel invalidated and unsafe Even mental health professionals feel shame and stigma about asking for help! Subsequent pregnancies brought Michelle two more babies for “three under three,” but those were different from her first pregnancy. The conversations we need to have with young people about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum so we can normalize it and remove the shame and stigma Understanding the mental health system in Ireland—and how things are beginning to improve What Michelle sees in her patients and their experiences The challenges in treating health anxiety The narrative around motherhood—and why we don’t open up when things go wrong Michelle’s advice about identifying health anxiety for yourself, and what to do next Resources: Connect with Michelle Flynn: Website, Email, and Instagram Please find resources in English and Spanish at Postpartum Support International, or by phone/text at 1-800-944-4773. There are many free resources, like online support groups, peer mentors, a specialist provider directory, and perinatal mental health training for therapists, physicians, nurses, doulas, and anyone who wants to better support people for whom they provide services.  You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.   Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!