Hi, I didn’t want to read and run as I was exactly in the place you feel you are 6 months ago, however my anxiety spiralled and I ended up with severe depression. 6 months on with the help of my health visitor, GP, baby groups and Sertraline I am a whole new version of myself!
What I wanted to tell you, and what I wished I was told as an upcoming/new parent is that it is absolutely normal to feel overwhelmed right now. It is also quite common for mothers not to feel the “rush of love” and an overbearing pressure to “bond” immediately. Both of these things triggered my anxiety massively, and caused undue stress.
Do not feel any guilt in taking anti depressants, I believe they saved my life and allowed me to level out. It also took trial and error to find the right ones for me, if you feel they arnt working within the time frame then please let your GP know!
I spent around 15 hours a day searching the internet for positive recovery stories when I was at my lowest, and my brain always focussed on the negatives of each one. The best thing my partner ever did was make sure I stopped searching and placed my phone away during the night, all it ever did was feed in to the doubts I already had.
Believe me, you can and will feel better. You need time, support & empathy. Be kind to yourself, and focus on the positives throughout each day, even if that is going 10 minutes without feeling anxious!
As everyone else has said, focus on you and self care alongside parenting. Your body has been through an awful lot, let your mind catch up!
Feel free to ask me any questions I’m happy to support in any way I can and raise awareness!
I began improving around the 3 month mark, and whilst there are days I feel a little low in mood (I’d say it’s at the level of any parent) I am winning the battle with PND! X