Anxiety with new born baby

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I am new to netmums and looking for some advice. I have a 10 day old baby and I’m struggling. I’ve suffered with anxiety before and have been on medication in the past. I have however managed the whole pregnancy without medication. However now he’s been born I seem to have gone into overdrive. My anxiety is through the roof and seriously effecting me. I am constantly in panic mode and so tense my jaw is hurting. My obsessive thoughts seem to be rearing their ugly head as well. I keep imagining I will drop my baby when I am carrying him. And it’s making me nervous to be around him. I have spoken to my GP and he’s put me back on medication but I know these take a few weeks to kick in. In the meantime has anyone got any advice or experience in this that they can share? I am feeling pretty scared at the moment

No advice, but bumping for you - and welcome to Mumsnet .

Hi, im new to mumsnet too, I've got no experiance with anxiety but I can say that being a 1st time parent is scary! I have a 6 week old & have worried a lot as it's all new. It does get better & you start to have more confidence in what your doing.

Good luck & hope the medication helps you x

Hi there, I have suffered anxiety for the past 7 years and so badly with both my babies.... the one thing that got me through all of the panic and the worries waswearing my girls. A wrap sling was perfect for me because it meant I had tied it; I knew it was safe because I had done it, no clips that might (read definitely won't but still!) come off, baby is snuggled in close but no tired arms, I can see her breathing, feel her little wriggles, and her sleeping so peacefully on me helped me to calm down as well. Forced me to concentrate on being relaxed and quiet for their sakes. Worth a try. And also, you got this mama! Your baby is lucky to have a mama that loves them so much and wants the best for them right from day 1 xxx

Although it’s not as widely know as pnd, post natal anxiety is a common illness. I suffered badly but was given excellent help from my HV and gp.

Dropping my baby was a huge fear for me. I had waking dreams about it with hugely upset images in my head. I found cbt really helped but in the early days I had some extra hv visits. She just came made tea and listened to me. Someone who understood, could see I was doing a good job as new Mum ( and told me so) but had professional detachment really really helped.

I tried a few baby classes which weren’t great for me. But walks with the baby in the pram where good for me. I also found doing lots of skin to skin with my new baby helped me. We lied down on the bed and just cuddled. It help me establish a better bond and that helped me.

Hi

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I know how horrible anxiety can be. I hope you find a way to manage your anxieties and the obsessive thoughts. I think that I would start by every time answering your obsessive thoughts with a rational reply. You are not going to drop your baby. You will be slow and careful and mindful. Deep, slow breaths from about an inch under your navel, focus on that whenever you can, and especially when you start to feel anxious.

Anxiety has something that has come into my life in the past 2 years. I am lucky enough to have managed my anxiety and panic attacks and now currently live nearly anxiety free though i do still have the odd moments that catch me out.

I went through a bad patch and i seeked advice from a counsellor who helped me understand where my anxiety comes from and explained that anxiety is a natural way of your body saying that it has reached boiling point and needs to release. The release comes in the form of panic attacks and anxiety. She suggested that being open and talking about having anxiety and the things that i have been worried about in life will help from that 'bottle filling up again and needing to burst'. I have found that from this advice openly talking about what you are worried about people are very understanding and will be there to support you and help reduce your anxiety. I was also surprised by the amount of people who around me have also suffered from anxiety and never spoke to me about their experiences until i opened up about my own.

I can also recommend the headspace app and also the panic attacks? app both of which really helped on the days that i was struggling. Take a small amount of time each day to have a listen.

I hope you are doing better now and just remember that you have done something amazing in creating a life and you are going to do a fantastic job :)

Have you tried Ashwagandha capsules? It really worked well for my anxiety and it's a totally natural product. They say KSM-66 are the best ones to take.