Anxiety

[Georgia2609]

Hi all, I was wondering how those of you with postpartum anxiety have been dealing with it, I didn't have it with my first but I've got it really bad with my second, he's only 9 weeks old and I've spoken to my doctor and been prescribed anxiety medication but I'm breastfeeding so I'm hesitant to take it but am willing to as I can't stand feeling like this. Just wondering if there's anything I can do to help on top of the medication in the hopes of keeping the dose low so there's minimal effect on my little boy. Any advice or encouragement is appreciated.

I'm sorry you're going through this. Same here. Have you thought about some sort of talking therapy, like counselling or CBT? CBT has helped me quite a lot with tools for managing anxiety and also unwinding the negative thought processes or challenging the thoughts and replacing with more positive ones. In my area if you have a young baby you are boosted to the front of the queue, too. My favourite tactic for stopping anxious spiralling thoughts is 54321 - concentrate on 5 things you can see, 4 you can hear, 3 you can feel, 2 you can smell and 1 you can taste. Or any variation of that - basically just tuning into your senses to bring you into the present, because anxiety is mainly about the future and depression is mainly about the past - or so I was advised! I find it helps. I wish you luck, and hope you find something that helps you. Be kind to yourself.

The BFN have produced this useful article on BFing and anxiety which includes information on which drugs are safe to take. I hope you find it useful

I am 7 months pp but still some days this anxiety comes back… I have major anxiety associated with my front teeth they become very heavy when I am anxious.Does this happens with anyone?

@Newmom2704 When I get stressed or anxious I grind or clench my teeth in my sleep or push my teeth with my tongue and wake up with sore gums/teeth! This is happening to me lately at 7 months pp too, wondering if related to weaning/less breastmilk production or just general stress etc. Not sure if this kind of thing is what you mean or whether you are talking about anxiety specifically re teeth?