antenatal anxiety-insomnia

[17Madeleine]

Hi, just feeling so lonely and struggling with a viscious circle or anxiety, insomnia and stress leading to extreme sleep deprivation which in turn is making it hard to cope with the day to day. For various reasons I cant talk to the midwife or GP about it, I don't feel there is anywhere I can go for help. I had extreme anxiety in my first pregnancy and it just got worse and worse but luckily I escaped PND. I was diagnosed with PTSD in 2013 but have since made huge life changes to enable me to heal from that but I think it maybe why I am susceptible to this awful cycle of stress. I'm doing all the obvious healthy diet/exercise stuff but I just cant get a handle on it & I havent got anyone to talk to about it so I just wanted to voice my feelings, maybe it will help me to put them down in words and maybe I am not alone in this experience?

I've found sleep deprivation to be the hardest part of pregnancy. What your of things trigger your anxiety? How far along are you?

I'm only 11 weeks and I sometimes convince myself that I'm not pregnant or that something horrible has happened to the baby. But eventually the more rational side of my brain kicks in and I'm okay.

This is me too. I was diagnosed with PTSD when I was a teenager and have struggled with anxiety ever since. I more or less have a handle on it most of the time but it spirals out of control when I am pregnant. It was bad last time and I did get PND but I am managing it a little bit better - most of the time - during this pregnancy.

Do you mind my asking why you can't talk to your GP or midwife about it? They can be helpful...

I find that my anxiety gets so, so much worse when I'm tired, so I started off with ways to manage tiredness. Napping during the day has really helped me. Obviously I can't do it all the time as I work and have a toddler but I do when I can. Also, if I wake up in the night I do not lie there and wait for the anxiety to get me - I get up and immediately do something to keep the anxiety at bay. I also go to bed quite early and have a long wind down time - hot bath, reading, watching tv in bed - anything to make sleep a nice happy thing and not just the time I lie sweating and panicking at 4am. I am also avoiding caffeine after mid-afternoon as this seems to make the anxiety worse. I wish I had time to do more exercise. I am also looking into hypnosis for anxiety as hypnotherapy for PTSD really helped me.

You are very much not alone OP. One of the most helpful things the mental health midwife said to me is that pregnancy makes even people with 'normal' brains anxious - so it's no wonder that my brain is going into over-drive!

I am so sorry you are going through this. I have suffered from anxiety since I was 16 and I am also finding it really hard - am halfway through my first pregnancy and it is definitely triggering my anxiety. It is also making me so much more tired as my brain power gets used up with the worrying. But as Lorelei says, I try to manage it by doing relaxing things - at the moment I've taken up cross stitching an animal canvas for the baby, which I find gives me an hour or so of respite from my relentless carousel of worries as I have to concentrate on it totally. The anxiety is getting me down as a result but I'm just trying to focus on the fact I'm halfway there. As someone else says, is there really no way you can speak to your midwife? They might be able to access you some therapy whilst you feel this way. My midwife said that I could sign up for counselling at the hospital if my anxiety was bad. There may be support for you that would help if you reach out and ask for it. Don't be ashamed. Asking for help is the first step to gaining some control - and it's really important you have someone to talk to so you don't feel lonely with it/overwhelmed. I have a great therapist who I see weekly and I don't know how I'd cope without seeing her.