Stress/ emotional resilience

[delurked]

I am 32 weeks pregnant with my first baby and have been lucky enough to have a reasonably straightforward pregnancy so far - some morning sickness but no health scares - and I'm no more than a little apprehensive about labour/ having a newborn.
I am feeling physically ok but in the last couple of weeks I have found myself becoming increasingly rubbish at dealing with life in general! I have a moderately stressful job - not particularly long hours but it involves a lot of interaction with pretty senior people in my industry (I am not one of them!) and I seem to have totally lost my confidence in the workplace, to the extent that I have been dreading going in and have been feeling my heart thumping every time I get an email in case it is about something that has gone wrong. None of my usual strategies for coping with stress seem to be working. I'm also feeling really emotional and crying randomly about really insignificant things (not at work though!).
I only have 5 more weeks to go until maternity leave but have been thinking about bringing it forward by a couple of weeks as I feel that I am not enjoying what should be a really special time because I am so stressed about work. But then I feel stupid because there is no reason for me to be so stressed and it is all in my head.
I suppose I would just like some reassurance that what I'm feeling is normal and any tips on how to cope emotionally with the last few weeks of work would be gratefully received.

Hi delurked.
I'm afraid I've not been there myself during pregnancy but I have experienced major stress and anxiety like you describe during a difficult time at work when not pregnant. For me too, it was all in my head. I can only imagine pregnancy hormones make it even harder to cope with.

I did go on some resilience courses afterwards, and tried to use things like visualisations of calm, relaxing places, concentrating on my breathing, ad planting my feet firmly to try to feel grounded. They helped with sleeping (though not necessarily staying asleep) and I found it helpful to plan something fun before work in the mining - such as an early morning swim - so I could look forward to that rather than worry about work if I woke.

However, what sorted things out for me was some time off and a change of role. I know that's so much more difficult in your position, but might your manager be sympathetic to your situation if you discussed it with them and explained you believe it's a side effect of pregnancy hormones? Is there something else you could do that would be less stressful for the next few weeks?

Hopefully someone more expert or experienced will be along soon, but I didn't want to leave you unanswered!

delurked, I'm 32+6 and over the past couple of weeks, I've become very weepy and have also started to experience anxiety 'flashes', by which I mean I suddenly feel very uncomfortable, scared and worried, in a physiological sense (heart thumping, creeping sense of dread, hollow tummy). I'm also struggling to deal with day-to-day activities as my mood no longer seems stable - I suppose it wouldn't be, what with the random unexpected feeling really scared and panicky, interspersed with crying my face off... Everything seems to be getting difficult.

Would there be a significant problem in moving your maternity leave start date forward? I'm no longer at work and I really do not think I could manage this whilst at work.

Have you had bloods checked? I only ask as I felt like this at the start of the week...stressed, angry, tearful, tired etc. I work as a teacher and I walked out on my seniors and went home as I couldn't take it anymore. A trip to the doc and it turns out I have anaemia and that was the reason. Since I found out i've felt much more positive and better and hopefully the tablets are kicking in. hope you feel better soon x

delurked, I hope the ladies above have re assured you. I run courses in Pregnancy yoga and relaxation and I have found that quite a few of my ladies suffer similar worries and anxieties as you, espcially as everyone seems to work for as long as possible. Time for you and your baby is really important and there are simple relaxation techniques to help you. Perhaps there are classes such as mine in your area that you could attend.

Hi delurked. I'm in a similar situation and decided to bring my mat leave forward as i don't feel that the stress is worth it. If you feel that bringing your mat leave forward will help then I'd really recommend you do that. It's not a competition, do what will make you feel calmer and more able to enjoy this time.