Anxious

[KJW9716]

I'm 10 weeks pregnant, with my first in a planned pregnancy. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed this evening. I live 4 hours away from close family, the city I live in I've lived in for nearly 2 years now. I don't have any friends, I have a few work people I get on well with, aside from work organised night outs, haven't been out socially with anyone. I have a husband and love him very much, we have a happy and loving relationship, he is always super supportive. I just worry once baby is here and he goes to work I have no one to lean on.
I find new social situations a bit awkward and can get a bit worried about the prospect, or try and avoid them. Which isn't helpful, because I would like to have some friends. Is this the beginnings of prenatal depression?

[Imnotmyself]

I've no idea whether this is the beginning of prenatal depression, have you told your midwife / GP how you are feeling? For what it's worth I am currently being 'looked after' by a mental health OT because I can't cope mentally with my pregnancy - but it's my third and my situation seems very different from yours. I had no issues with the first two, and when I had my first I was living in a city 7 hours drive from both sets of grandparents (in different directions) and although my husband had a wide circle of friends and had lived here for over a decade, I had only lived here for 3 years at the time and all of my friends lived elsewhere. I had no true friends to speak of at work and had a handful of acquaintances that I met up with once a week. I was a bit worried in my first pregnancy about friendships but actually it was fine. I plucked up the courage to invite someone from antenatal classes round for coffee and she is still a friend to this day. I also made it my aim to go to one group a day just to get out of the house. I am also not good in social situations - I am very quiet and shy and was always the kid who didn't have a partner for PE - that kind of thing, so I am no social butterfly. BUt I found with my first that it was not that difficult to get chatting to people at groups - you have something in common at least - and I tried to get involved in things like writing for the local NCT newsletter - to get to know others who were interested in doing similar things A friend of mine had a health visitor who came with her to baby groups to begin with so that she would have more confidence. You could ask what the local children;s centre offers in terms of postnatal support groups? I hope that helps.