Feel anxiety coming back with pregnancy

[Twoplusboys]

Backstory: had very bad anxiety after having my ds2, feared i was going to die, was having panic attacks, couldnt leave house yada yada yada. I 'cured' it by taking up exercise, diet changes, took more time for myself. took me about 1.5 years but i finally kicked it and life went back to normal.

Now fast forward 2+ years and im pregnant again with our third child. about two weeks ago, i had a sudden panic attack out of the blue. I was shaken after it as i kind of thought once i kicked the first time it wouldnt come back especially not so suddenly and severely. a friend of mines son has been diagnosed with cancer and i think this has really shook me plus im doing exams at the minute so i am under a bit of stress.

Ive been having morbid thoughts around childbirth, thinking what if something goes wrong and i die..I keep thinking my two boys are so attached to me, they would be devastated! Its totally irrational, im a young healthy woman who has had two healthy deliveries. i work with pregnant women every day, its totally irrational!!

Anyway, has anyone any tips for me? it is very mild at the minute but i suppose im just terrified of it coming back again like last time. It was totally debilitating for the whole family. i cant go through it again...

Do you feel you can exercise at the moment or are you quite heavily pregnant? I felt unable to exercise from really early on in my pregnancy but I know others who managed it fine, and I do think it's best to keep as active as possible if this helps. You can also continue to follow your diet changes and make sure you get the time for yourself that you need.

The thing I find most helpful once the anxiety actually starts, is not to try to fight it, if that makes sense. I try to talk myself through it and rationalise it and realise that it will end. If there is something particular that is setting it off, that obviously needs to be addressed.

I think the best thing would be to have a chat to your midwife. She may be able to talk you rationally through the childbirth scenarios - even though you may know your thoughts are irrational - it somehow may help to hear the facts spoken out loud by someone with medical experience. Also, she should be able to offer support. Is your partner supportive?

Can you tell when an attack is coming? Sometimes even just spotting the signs and then changing your environment or what you're doing can help keep it at bay. If I start to feel anxious, I sometimes go to talk to my partner about it - trying to ignore it always seems to make it worse.