Scared of pregnancy hormones

[CChristo]

Hello,

I've always imaged myself having children and looked forward to finally becoming pregnant, but now that it's close to becoming a reality I find myself getting really scared about things I hadn't considered before and one of them is my mental health during pregnancy. I have PTSD and get really bad anxiety at times, but I manage it with various techniques. I'm worried about how pregnancy will affect my mental health and whether my normal coping techniques will still work or if I'll feel completely out of my mind and out of control. I know it's an incredibly intense and overwhelming experience and now I'm scared I'm not going to be able to do what I'd always planned and dreamed of because of my health.

I'd really appreciate any thoughts, advice, experience.

Thank you

Hello

I am 26 weeks and my mental health was a major concern for me when deciding to try.
I have severe anxiety and OCD and I can't take the pill because it makes me suicidal so I was very worried that pregnancy would have the same result, if not worse.

My experience has been so much better than I expected to be! I have shocked myself and although I've had the usual pregnancy wobble days, I've coped. I was completely up front with my midwife at my booking appointment and was referred for weekly CBT which has been amazing, especially for those weeks I feel I've needed that extra but of support.

I have taken my pregnancy one day, appointment and experience at a time and have found it much less overwhelming that way. I really didn't think I would cope to start with but we sometimes surprise ourselves!

Thank you so much for this! I find it so valuable and comforting to hear your experience. You’re absolutely right about taking things one day at a time, I definitely tend to over think and over plan.

Thank you for taking the time to share this with me