To ask if you've ever, ever felt like this

[strongandsturdy]

Where strange things happen, am I going round the twist

Sorry couldn't resist a 90s reference!

However the way I'm feeling is a bit less funny. I don't know if it's depression, hormones (undoubtedly - am 8mos pregnant!) or what, but I've never felt this way before and it's making me worried where it could go

I'm not depressed as such, I have moments of real joy and excitement and gratefulness for my life and am a happy person. But several times a day, i'll suddenly freeze and out of nowhere, i'll feel like I'm floating underwater in a pool of extreme sadness. I suddenly feel horribly vulnerable, exposed and uncomfortable in my own skin.

It doesn't feel like despair or depression, just a still sense of utter sadness and fragility. It's like time stops.

Then I breathe again and all is well, in less than a minute or so. The thing is these feelings are becoming more frequent, once an hour or so, and I'm wondering if this is the start of depression, when they start to fuse together.

There are no triggers, sad things on TV, in the news etc affect me just as they normally would. It's all very random and hits me when I least expect eg when taking in the shopping!

Is this something anyone else has experienced and is there anything I can do to stop these feelings taking over?

Is it only recently OP? Since you have been pregnant? If so then i think it's part of the rich cycle of pregnancy symptoms I am 34 weeks and have been having a similar thing. Up one minute, down the next, but with an awareness of panic about how down i feel.

Could you have a word with your MW? GP?

I'm 8 months pregnant too with second. I did have PND with DD1 but what you're describing so far just sounds like normal pregnancy - if you're worried see a GP though :)

I'm very up and down too having funny dreams/not sleeping properly etc... Feeling weepy at odd things.

Bodies are funny :)

I experienced this when I was pregnant, I felt horribly vulnerable and alone at times. Sometimes I just sat and bawled. It was hormones, and also it was reality. You can feel really vulnerable and weird being this big heavy human carrier. Your own sense of self has gone out the window, nobody has asked you about you for months, even though you're still in there. I remember my DH taking a picture of me with my gigantic bump and I asked if I looked alright in the picture and he said, 'no one will be looking at you'. It was as if the fact that our baby was inside me had been lost. I was temporarily not an entire person, I was a bit me but mainly a vessel.

It's a confusing and wonderful and emotional thing.

purr

Your husband was supposed to say "of course you look beautiful!" - silly man!

Thank you, it's certainly a weird feeling but reassuring to think it might just be a pregnancy thing. Maybe it's a surge in hormones or a drop?

I had this in pregnancy both times. Just a caution it magnified for a few weeks after the birth of both babies. I can only describe it as a moment of panic, desperation, worry, being alone all rolled into 20 seconds!! I always looked at it as that it was natures way of ensuring you took care of yourself and baby...making you worried and frightened of things you would normally take in your stride.

That's exactly it, and it comes out of nowhere! Good to know I am not the only one

I would say it is pregnancy linked. I had something similar. A whole bundle of emotions which made me feel like I was standing outside of my skin IYSWIM. . Or in a dream. I thought it was my subconscious trying to deal with all the change, worry, upheaval etc. That said, think about mentioning it to your GP or midwife if you think they might be supportive.

And congratulations.