Or should I get help...

[maisierose11]

My daughter was born back in February, a few weeks before lockdown.

I suffered with postnatal anxiety very soon after birth and the pandemic made it so much worse.

Back in March I really struggled to believe that it wasn't the end of the world.

I couldn't leave my house because of the fear of catching Covid and it being fatal.

I started CBT and it's literally taken me months to put things into perspective and be able to try and adjust to things as they are now.

In the last few months I've been able to meet friends indoors and outdoors, I've been for coffee, to restaurants and even taken my baby to a class.

It may not seem much to most people who have been doing it for months, but considering I couldn't even leave my house, I feel like I've come far!!

The issue is, the cases are now increasing, my area is facing a local lockdown, after the news with the vaccine being paused and people saying we will never have one, my anxiety is taking a hit.

For the last week I've struggled to sleep, I feel gloomy every day and I honestly feel the same anxiety I felt back in March, infact it probably feels worse as I feel like the second wave is going to be much worse.

I can't stop thinking about hospitals being over run, lots of people losing their lives, me included, and the awful thought of me being confined to my house again.

My husband has been back at work since May and I've felt fine with it, but now all of a sudden I feel really panicky and I want him at home where it's safe.

I don't know if I'm just having a bad week or if I need to get some help again.
I won't be entitled to anymore therapy so I know I will have to pay to go private.

Am I being reasonable to be scared? Or am I catastrophising?

It sounds like you did an incredible job of overcoming your anxiety and accepting your situation the first time around. What would happen if you took yourself (mentally) back to when you did your CBT and started the building blocks that you found helpful again?

Honestly I think it is ok to feel worried but you do have to be careful it doesn't take over. I try to stop this by focusing on what I know and what is now - not what might be later x

It sounds like you did a good job of getting past the initial anxiety, and that was the hardest part.

It is scary that the cases are on the rise, we don't know the outcome will be.

But do try to remember that we know more about the virus now than we did in March.

We know how to treat patients better than we did at the start.

I personally don't think there will be another national lockdown.
I think we will focus more on hotspots and making adjustments, like the "rule of six".

Try to have a think for the techniques you learned from your recent therapy, and put them into place now.

Anxiety can be a bully so the more you feed Into it, the worse it will become.

Sounds like maybe you should think about starting some cbt, or maybe finding a online support group that can help guide you through a tough time.

Feeling scared and anxious about the unknown is completely normal, just try not to let that fear control you, avoid news about covid, concentrate on your little one, focus on what is good in your life.

We are living in difficult times, be kind to yourself

What will help do? It won't make the pandemic disappear.
You've had help once, it's up to you now to put that into place.

There is a second wave coming, and you're quite right, it will be much worse that what we've already seen.

All we did was suppress the spread back in March. The virus is rife again now, people need to brace themselves, we've seen nothing yet.

You have had to deal with more than most for these last six months and should be proud of yourself for that.

When you look at that number of cases graph yes it does look like we are heading back to March but remember the numbers recorded in March were probably a fraction of the true number. The numbers requiring hospitalisation and number of deaths is nothing like back then. We are better prepared, have drugs, I don’t think we have given up on a vaccine and it looks like this wave is mainly going to run through the younger population who will be better able to deal with it.

I didn’t go out for months either at the beginning of this, not completely to do with covid but it didn’t help. Since July I have been doing more and in doing so I realised it is not as scary out there as I thought. Maybe think back to how you worked through it last time, set yourself mini challenges each day, even if just going for a short walk (obviously subject to any local restrictions). Talk to your close ones about it.

You are catastrophising but that is the nature of anxiety! In CBT you would have learned coping techniques, have you tried to work through these now?

You might not be entitled to further CBT, but there are other resources you might be able to access. In some areas you can access online CBT, Google for IAPT in your location and see what options come up. Also, if the coping mechanisms aren't enough, there's no harm in trying medication to help you through this difficult period.

Hahoo are you serious do you really think that comment is going to help?????

I had a baby in feb and had pnd which was made much worse by the pandemic. I was feeling pretty much ok over the summer but in the last week I’ve had some hard days and begin to worry a bit more. I had cbt in March and I’m now having to draw on some of strategies that helped me then (not looking at the news more than once a day, limiting how much I talked about the pandemic, limiting time on social media, not looking at the Covid posts on here, finding time to do things I enjoy even reading for 20 minutes before bed, cutting down on sugar as the sugar high and lows weren’t good for my anxiety, getting out for walks every day). I was told that I could re-refer for more cbt so what makes you think that you can’t? There’s also the perinatal mental health team that will work with mums for a year after birth. Don’t assume there isn’t more help out there as I know both professionally and personally that there is. Organisations are much more set up to help in a Covid safe way now too.

@hahoohayou how is that a helpful comment? We don’t know that and actually OP that’s kind of comment is why I avoid the Covid boards.

@jellybeans44

Hahoo are you serious do you really think that comment is going to help?????

We can all sit here and talk rubbish how it's all going to be okay, and reassure the OP the they are just catastrophizing.

How is that going to help!

Rip the plaster off!!! Honesty is the best policy.

Likely that things are going to get a lot worse. No therapy is going to make that change.

[quote user1493413286]@hahoohayou how is that a helpful comment? We don’t know that and actually OP that’s kind of comment is why I avoid the Covid boards.[/quote]
@user1493413286

Okay dear, but you don't know that it won't be like that, considering we locked ourselves away for months, that's the reason the numbers dropped, that's the reason our hospitals weren't over run.
It isn't because the virus wasn't/isn't as bad as we feared! The virus is as bad as we feared, we just haven't seen it in full force yet.

Try not to over think things.

I know it's hard but try and focus on other things.

Take your daughter for walks, safely meet with family or friends.
Keep doing little bits each day.

We likely are going to see an increase, as have other countries in Europe, but we will be able to deal with this.
Keep positive.

Hugs OP.

Ignore the likes of @hahoohayou who revel in other peoples anguish.

@user1493413286

I had a baby in feb and had pnd which was made much worse by the pandemic. I was feeling pretty much ok over the summer but in the last week I’ve had some hard days and begin to worry a bit more. I had cbt in March and I’m now having to draw on some of strategies that helped me then (not looking at the news more than once a day, limiting how much I talked about the pandemic, limiting time on social media, not looking at the Covid posts on here, finding time to do things I enjoy even reading for 20 minutes before bed, cutting down on sugar as the sugar high and lows weren’t good for my anxiety, getting out for walks every day). I was told that I could re-refer for more cbt so what makes you think that you can’t? There’s also the perinatal mental health team that will work with mums for a year after birth. Don’t assume there isn’t more help out there as I know both professionally and personally that there is. Organisations are much more set up to help in a Covid safe way now too.

I will look for more support. Thank you x