aibu to ignore the anxiety and hope for the best....??

[Jenmummy]

Long story short: Have been on and off anti-deressants for past 7 years (since becoming a mum) but more recently the diagnosis has been Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Came off anti-d's just over a year ago when i found out i was pg with my now 12 week old....
Was coping wonderfully in the initial six weeks or so... Now it's different.. I feel bleak about the future and am stressing out over small things (dd not having clean socks for school, tap leaking water, what we can affor for christmas on kids etc)
Thing is, i am DETERMINED (foolishly or otherwise) to blame all this on inital post-natal period, general fatigue and post c-s recovery, as well as the death of a grandparent whom i loved dearly..... I dont want to be slipping back to how it was before :(
I love love love my 3 kids and they're well looked after (apart from occasional benign neglect eg: WII on a school day...) Outwardly functioning fine eg washed, dressed and out/about every day, meals cooked etc
Am i being unreasonable/foolish to hope this will go away if i keep things going as they are??

Yes you are, you know that too don't you? You don't have to feel like shit and you don't deserve to feel like shit. Have you spoken to your dr? What don't you like about being on antidepressants ?

Sorry to hear about your GP :(

Yabu, get some help wether its medication or just having a chat with someone and making time for yourself. You deserve to be happy.

I also suffer with anxiety and have been on/off ad's since my daughter was born - the anxiety goes back a lot longer. After I had ds I was feeling really anxious/low again and I was determined to try and muddle through. As it happened I had to go back on ad's but was only on them for a short time compared to after dd. I would say YANBU you've been through a lot and the post-natal period is difficult BUT don't be ashamed to get help if you feel you are no longer coping.

I've been on/off prozac since I was 14, now I'm 30 and haven't taken it since a year DD1 was born, she's now 6. I had psychotherapy after she was born and it works extrememly well, these things rarely come from a chemical imbalance alone..

I do get very anxious and tend to alleviate it with wine in the evening (not good and prob making it worse!) but in the last month have taken up running. I know it sound silly but it really has made a difference, it uses up the excess adrenaline or something along those line the doctor told me. Obviously you can't do that as you're pregnant but how about upping your physical activity?

While it can be normal to have these feelings in such an early post natal stage, given your background, I think it would be good to be communicating these feelings with a doctor/hv.

Sorry about your grand parent. Best of luck x

thank you all crying here reading your lovely replies.... i suppose i wanted to cope better than perhaps i am...exercise v good idea.. mad thing is i used to self-medicate with wine and fags but have stopped that AND lost 2.5 stone dince got pg a yr ago!! Cam't seem to be pleased about that :(

I think anxiety is much more common than people think, it can be hidden very well and works from the inside in my experience.

I went on to have two more DC's, I found the pregnancies quite hard emotionally but as soon as they had been born (DH commented how it was literally the minute I had given birth) I felt A LOT better, I wonder if it was down to the hormones (progestorone, very calming!) from breastfeeding?

It's hard to effect change when you're feeling low and it's taking all your effort and energy to maintain the 'managing' front.

There can't be any harm in discussing your situation with a GP or therapist you like and trust.

You've got a 12 week old, you said you're washed, dressed and out and about most days you are coping fine!

Anxiety is really horrid, I suffer myself. I stopped taking Sertraline a couple pf months ago an feel fine but without a shadow of a doubt if i start obsessing about things about i'll start taking them again, there is no shame in wanting to feel NORMAL!

2.5 stone is an awesome loss if you've had a baby in that time too, well done!

Been off AD's for a while now, but if I started feeling 'wrong' again, I wouldn't hesitate to go back on them.

I've started looking at it as a "proper" illness IYSWIM. For example, if you had a chest infection, you'd take antibiotics to sort it out. If you developed it again, you wouldn't say "I'm not taking any more drugs as I should be better".

If you feel like you need help with anxiety, then take the tablets BUT I'd also recommend CBT or similar if you haven't tried it. Made a huge difference to me.

Good luck.

I get badly anxious and sleepless, comes and goes, but I find running has been the one thing that really really helps. It's been like a magic bullet, 3 runs a week and everything becomes easier to cope with, and I can usually sleep pretty well. If I'm ill, or dh away and I can't run then the problems start....
Don't think you can't run because you're not the fitness type - I was a 30 a day smoker before I had dss and literally couldn't run for a bus. I started off with very short run/walks and gradually built up. The best runs are with a friend so you get to have a chat too (therapy).
Good luck. Hope you feel better soon xxx