Prenatal anxiety: Generations in the shadow of crisis

The other day I met Francesco, whom I know from my student days in Zurich. It had been a while since we had seen each other, so I wanted to know how he was doing. I expected something like: "I'm fine" or "I have a lot to do". But instead he said: "I'm terrible, dear Izabel."

That made me sit up and take notice. "What's wrong?" I asked curiously. "I have prenatal stress disorder", he replied with a depressed look on his face. I was astonished and my first thought was whether I had heard this term before. But I couldn't quite imagine what he meant. 'Prenatal' refers to the time before birth, so I thought to myself, this can't be right.

"Haven't you made a mistake?" I asked him cautiously, my brow furrowed. He nodded and continued: "You know, the world situation is really bothering me at the moment. The climate change, the wars, all the uncertainty. It all feels like we're already living in the end times."

I looked at him, trying to understand his thoughts. "And what does that have to do with prenatal stress disorder?" I asked.

"That's the point", he said. "The constant fear of the future. It's not just me. They say that children in the womb also experience a lot of the mother's emotions and stress. If mothers suffer from extreme stress, it can have a negative impact on the child's development." I realised then that Francesco was speaking metaphorically. He felt that he was part of this stressed generation facing the uncertainty of the world.

"So you feel like a child growing up in this tense world?" I asked to make sure I had understood him correctly. He nodded. "Yes, exactly. It's like the weight of the world is on me, like I'm responsible for what happens here. It worries me a lot."

Francesco went on to talk about his feelings, which he described as a 'post-traumatic apocalyptic phase'. "It's as if I've heard all the terrible news before, even if I haven't experienced it directly. My parents' stories of the Second World War, the fear and despair they experienced, come back to me. The current news also gives me a feeling of hopelessness."

I realised that Francesco was using these terms as metaphors for his inner experience. 'Post-traumatic' often refers to the psychological consequences of traumatic experiences. In his case, it meant that global problems such as war, poverty and the climate crisis left him with a heavy feeling, as if this 'doomsday mood' had already caused emotional damage.

"What do you think we can do to bring these issues more into the conversation?" I asked. Francesco thought for a moment and replied: "The first step is to talk about it. Many people around me feel the same way, but no one really talks about it. We need to make people aware that we are not alone."

He suggested getting together with friends to talk openly about our fears, or getting involved in a group that works for positive change. "This helps to reduce feelings of powerlessness", he added.

As we said goodbye, I went home thinking. Now I understood what Francesco had been talking about. The terms 'prenatal stress disorder' and 'post-traumatic apocalyptic phase' were unusual, but they contained an important insight: in these uncertain times, it is more important than ever to talk to each other and support each other.

© "Prenatal anxiety: Generations in the shadow of crisis. Powerful metaphors: Prenatal Stress Disorder & Post-Traumatic Apocalyptic Phase": A talk between Izabel Comati and Francesco R., 01/2025. Image credit: Sad lonely man, CC0 (Public Domain Licence).