Anxiety over health

[Tasha2106]

I have a 20 week old baby and have been on Sertaline since he was two weeks old after suffering panic attacks and possible postnatal depression. During my pregnancy I had gestational diabetes, cholestatsis, high blood platelets and also suffered the death of my grandmother a month before due date. After having him I was also in a &e over night with a suspected blood clot. I can’t get the thought that I am really ill out of my head. I’m forever checking my blood pressure and heart rate in fear that something is wrong with me - I just can’t seem to shift the fear. Has anyone else dealt with this and how to you overcome it? I’m fed up of it ruining my life I want to enjoy my baby and life.

Oh, wow, you really have been through the mill!

I've found that our brains generalise from the things that have happened to us. What's happened to you recently is a LOT of really full-on health stuff, so your brain has decided that bad health things happen, and if it's not aware of one currently, it must have missed something, hence the constant feeling of needing to check things. The thing is, your brain isn't looking at the whole picture, which is that you've had a bad time of it recently, BUT that was an abnormal run of bad luck. So the first thing to do is keep repeating to yourself is that what you've been through is not standard, it's a really bad run of things, but it's not how things are now. Now you are healthy and well. Keep reminding yourself. I would also discuss with your GP in case adjusting the sertraline dose might help you. Hugs

A few things that help me. Not sure if they'll help you too but fingers crossed 🤞

Mindfulness, breathing deeply and slowing everything down in my head. Really helpful when you're getting panicky and the anxiety is coming on.

Talking to DH or DM because saying half the imaginary problems out loud makes you realise how daft they sound. (I could tell you some funny stories of things that I've convinced myself I have!!)

Lying down and focussing on different areas of my body and tensing/relaxing muscles (to relax).

Never EVER Googling symptoms. If it's bad, ring 111 or 999. If it's mild, go see your dr or a pharmacist. Never google! You'll convince yourself you have every disease going.

If something is worrying me, I'll choose a date to get it checked out . Like, if this hasn't gone in three days, I'll phone the Dr. Then, i force myself to not think about it for those three days til the deadline is up. Every time an intrusive thought enters my head, I'll say NO, I'm not going to worry until xxxx.

Ultimately, remembering that worrying does NOTHING (has no benefit) is a big help too. Worrying and being anxious isn't going to make me better, all it does it cloud judgement and make things worse. So when anxiety starts, I'll try and talk to it like a child and say no. Go away. Stop. You're not going to help me. I'm not going to worry about this, it's in my head.

Remembering that anxiety itself causes a lot of the symptoms you're probably worried about. Especially if you're so stressed and tired that you become run down. Once, I convinced myself I was ill with a certain disease and got tested, but as soon as the doctor told me I was ok, magically I started sleeping again and I felt better within days!

Waking is always a big help for me. Exercise really can help.

I find stress will exacerbate my anxiety. When something is stressing my out in one area of my life, I'll always fixate on something to do with my health. Now it's so regular as clockwork, I can almost laugh it off as a joke and roll my eyes at myself.

I can't go to sleep in silence (or I sit there thinking and worrying) so I listen to podcasts while drifting off with the timer on.

I think that's all I can think of right now... I hope there's at least one tip in there from my experience that will help you. Xx

Thank you for your replies. I really appreciate your advice. I must learn to stay off google - it is my worst enemy. I find if I’m busy with family or friends I’m not bothered by the thoughts it’s the alone time when it’s just me and the baby in the day whilst my partner is at work. Before being pregnant I’d never suffered anxiety or over thinking so hopefully it is something I can learn to cope with the help of your advice. I am considering CBT talking therapy but I don’t know if it’s worth it.

Definitely get therapy.

Also read Why Love Matters. It’s anout the mother and the baby in the 9 months pre and year post birth. It’s written by a psychologist and really helped me

Mindfulness is excellent.

Exposure therapy is worth looking up - start small and work your way up.

E.g. next time you want to check your heart rate, resist the urge (doing some mindfulness would come in handy here). Eventually you'll see that nothing bad happens from not following through on the compulsion.

But don't take my word for it, research it on google and see if it's something you think you could do - slowly but surely, and with some support and guidance, of course.