Work anxiety is making me miserable

[aurevoirsailor]

Hey everyone,

I'm back to work today after having two weeks off (1wk sickness, 1 holiday) and feel absolutely sick to my stomach. Being pregnant has made my already existing anxiety about 100% worse and the stress is really getting to me. :/ The reason I took time off is because I kept having panic attacks in front of customers and nearly fainted on our ordering points.

Chatted to midwife at my booking about it, she's referring me on to mental health services but I don't know if I'm going to be able to stick it out, baby is fine and healthy but I'm sure this stress can't be good for them. I'm only 15wks (EDD 31st July) so early leave isn't an option I don't think, anyone else been in similar situations and what did you do or found to be helpful? Sorry for rambling, just really needed to vent, thank you if you read this! xx

Hi Aurevior, not sure I can offer much in the way of useful advice but I am in a similar situation. I'm only 11 weeks and have called in sick to work today and Friday partly due to sickness and partly because I just couldn't face being there. I'm generally an anxious person and pregnancy seems to have amplified this. I've been referred to mental health service too, but there is a whole process to go through including a telephone discussion before they will start seeing me. Hoping my scan at 12 weeks will help.

Just being in work has been overwhelming, especially as none of my colleagues (other than my boss) know yet. I've had 2 of our patrons faint/fiton my shift (one of whom I was serving at the time!) since I found out a was pregnant which puts me even more on edge. I just don't want to be around anyone other than my DH at the moment as my attention span is non-existent, all I can think about is if the baby is okay and I constantly feel like I might cry or just totally lose it.

I'd say do call your midwife about anything specific that's worrying you. Mine has been very patient with me. Sometimes just talking to her has been enough to calm me a little. This doesn't do much to help with the free floating anxiety though. :/

I know it depends on the job but workplaces are required to make reasonable adjustments for pregnant ladies including altering the nature of the work that you do if you are struggling. Will the Doc issue you another line? Don't force yourself to be there if you don't have to be.

Hope you feel better soon x

When I was pregnant with my first son I was promoted to a managerial role for the first time, and on top of that our company merged with another one and I had to decide who in each "pair" of jobs would be made redundant, and tell them. Also there was a project I inherited that a completely incompetent person had been hired to do, and he made numerous cock-ups, which impacted on many other people and I had to try to untangle, and I was staying until 10pm sometimes to do this.

Anyway, basically I was very stressed and I just wanted to reassure you that my son was absolutely fine. He is as bright as a button. I can't really say how I managed my stress because I didn't really, apart from I had a hypno relaxation CD and a lot of support from DH but I wanted to reassure you on the baby front!

Are you getting support at work that you need?

Hi lovelies, thanks so much for your replies and I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to get back to you. I've been having a bit of a social media/internet detox to try and quieten my head a little. :)

Denna81 how are you feeling at work now and have you managed to tell anyone you work with? See if having your risk assessment helps. I think, if you can face it, as much communication as possible with your employer and colleagues will make things easier. I think for me, because the anxiety is solely work related, I'm not gonna find relief from this until I can go on my maternity leave, or end up quitting entirely :/ What is it that you work as if you don't mind me asking? x

TheLivingAsheth I'm so glad to hear that your son is a healthy and happy little one and I'm so sorry you had to go through all that stress, being pregnant is tough enough without a massive promotion but hats off to you for sticking it through, I'll try and find some courage in your story, thank you. :) x

I finally had my risk assessment (not exactly great considering I told them at 6wks and I'm now 16+2 lol) and although I can't go as far as to say it's worked miracles and changed my situation, it definitely helped a lot. I had a chat with my manager last week and oa telephone call Monday evening, she was so understanding and patient w/ me and gave me the option of leaving and having my job back after baba gets here.... which is fantastic and probably why I feel even more guilty. I thought I'd got clearance for time off for my quad screening yesterday but when I got home from the midwives there were two voicemails from my work and as a result, I'm now tidying the house like a madwoman trying to quell my 16th anxiety attack of the day. I'm supposed to be at work.

My midwives have made a referral for me to see a maternity mental health consultant and I'm being urged to consider taking anti-depressants, I'm due in again at some point this week to chat through the pros and cons and risk factors, has anyone else taken them during pregnancy? I've never been on them before and I'm so worried it'll harm the baby or stop me and my fiance from having our baba at the midwife lead birth centre we've fallen in love with because of how closely I'll be monitored (I know that sounds really selfish lol sorry)