Anxiety

[2weeksleft]

I can’t sleep my anxiety is just sky high tonight, I’ve been struggling since my DS was born 6 months ago but every time I seek help everything seems okay again. I’m just fed up of always being anxious and then worry about the impact it’s going to be having on my DS. Don’t know what I’m trying to achieve by posting this but I just wanted an outlet

Hi @2weeksleft
Hand hold here xx
Have you got any support from family or friends?

Have you let your health visitor know?

Morning,
I feel like I can’t really turn to anyone, everyone knows I’ve got anxious tendencies and afterbirth I was in a really bad way due to a bit of a traumatic experience. My sister and partner and friends were really supportive and I did speak to my HV and had a birth debrief and then felt tonnes better. But I am just always anxious so although I have my good days I am never far away from feeling anxious. I have spoke to my GP today and they’re gonna ring me later, I’m thinking of trying propanolol but I really don’t want to be on medication

What are you anxious about?

It’s mainly health anxiety, I really catastrophize and think the worst. But I just generally feel anxious all the time, I went to a festival at the weekend and I just couldn’t enjoy myself because my heart was constantly racing and I kept feeling like I would pass out.

The racing heart is because your body thinks it's under threat and it's firing up the fight or flight response and releasing adrenaline; not because there's an actual danger but because your mind has told it that there is (the body can't differentiate between real or imagined danger).

Anxiety is the emotion that triggers when there's something too important for us to overlook; revising for an exam, for example, or making sure we lock the car. So in that regard it's essential, but when it goes into overdrive it can feel as if our mind is trying to punish or torment us.

I would guess that the traumatic experience, coupled with being a new mum and having "anxious tendencies" (was your mother a worrier?) has sent your anxiety into high alert, constantly scanning for possible threats. The first thing you can do is to try and pinpoint exactly what the anxiety is drawing your attention to and using your logical, rational mind to decide if what it's telling you is real or imaginary. Remember that thoughts are not truths, they are just ideas that flit in and out of your mind. You can't stop them but you CAN control what you do with them, rather than blindly accepting them. Writing them down can take away a lot of the power - this sheet is really good for analysing and reforming your thoughts;

https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/docs/ThoughtRecordSheet7.pdf

If you feel you need external help you could try CBT, talking therapy or remedial hypnosis.

You have really hit the nail on the head, my body just feels like it’s on overdrive with adrenaline and even though I know I’ve come on leaps and bounds since the first few days post birth, it’s still a million miles away from how I used to feel and I know I need to face it head on.

My mum developed bipolar shortly after she had me so that probably had an impact on me and then I’ve spent my whole pregnancy convinced I will have the same fate, I then lost my mum a few years ago very unexpectedly so I have had a massive fear of death/health related anxiety since then.

I am looking into getting hypnotherapy and/or EMDR to hopefully get to the root of all this.

Thanks so much for the advice

Thanks so much for your message.

I’m so sorry you experienced this too and I’m glad you found joy again. I feel really ashamed to admit that I’m struggling but I have just recently found the mental health topics on here and I have had a read through the breakdown thread and it has given me some comfort to hear others experiences and a kick up the ass to do something about it!

I’ve got the doctors ringing me later so hopefully that will be the first step to tackling this.

I had terrible health anxiety after my first baby was born, I had no idea it was a thing and nobody prepared me for it as everybody talks about PND. Do you get a break at all? Is there anything you like doing? I started going out for a walk everyday with the pushchair and that cleared my head so much and also trying to meet up with friends and family to communicate what was going on in my head. Talking is so important and do try and see your GP if you can. Also I found the Health Visitor is also great to talk to. It's not completely gone away for me but since creating healthy habits for myself it's helped so much. Hang in there you will get through this xx

That is so true!! Wish there wasn’t a stigma around it all.

I will try and get in touch with my HV and I absolutely loved filling my days with baby groups but they’ve not been on over the summer so think that’s playing a part in my mood, I’m a sucker for routine!
Although I am wondering how I will find time now he’s eating my life seems to just be feeding and cleaning now 😂

No it really isn’t talked about enough is it! It’s crazy that we are expected to go through such a medical experience and like get no support with it. Have you had more children did you get health anxiety again?
I love walks and the gym but then when Im
feeling rubbish they are the first habits to slip so I am going to make sure I focus on them, I’ve just done a yoga session at home whilst DS is napping and it was lovely.
Thanks so much I really appreciate it 💛

I saw a video about this today that really helped me. www.instagram.com/reel/CwnVarwoh76/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Thanks for that 💛