Not coping

[Onlyinanemergency]

I've had anxiety for most of this pregnancy. I'm taking time off work and had managed to get the anxiety a bit more under control this last week, however I had to have an emergency scan yesterday and the whole spiral has started again. I'm waiting to hear from the community mental health team but have no idea how long this will take. I just feel all the time as though something is wrong with the pregnancy. I'm so exhausted and I'm only 18 weeks. Does anyone have any advice on surviving antenatal anxiety?

It really depends on how serious it is. For me CBT really helps, as does mindfulness, but I’m not suicidal or think of harming myself and so my mw was happy for me to try these. If it was more serious she would have referred me to see a specialist.

Thanks Teddy, I've been doing mindfulness and yoga and these have been helping. I think the scan yesterday just really knocked me back a bit and it'll take a bit of time to get back to where I was. I have to keep reminding myself nothing is actually wrong with the baby. I'm very tearful today so not my most positive self.

Maybe try doing something nice today to distract yourself - spa treatment or shopping. Sometimes being around other people can help too.

Thanks. It's a short day because DD1 finishes school at 3! I'm going to do some yoga and maybe try to book some pampering for tomorrow. I feel confident I will get back on track, it's just been a tough day. Thanks for taking the time to respond - it's been very helpful.

@Onlyinanemergency I’ve had anxiety for my whole pregnancy as well - 23 weeks now and it’s definitely exhausting being in a constant panic the whole time! Did the scan not give you any reassurance that things were looking normal? I’ve been to my local antenatal assessment unit twice now since my 20 wk scan as I’ve rung them up in a panic and it’s always reassured me to hear my baby’s heartbeat - unfortunately the anxiety starts to build up again after a while! I’ve tried mindfulness and yoga, my OH is always quite good as well at calming my fears - have you a close relative or friend who you can speak to? I’ve also found that keeping busy helps as I don’t have time to start thinking too much! Also I’ve been having a daily smoothie with lots of healthy fruit and spinach in it which makes me feel like I’m doing something proactive to help towards a healthy pregnancy - don’t think it’ll completely go away until the baby’s here though! Good luck - I hope you find something that helps

Thanks for the reply pudge. The scan yesterday was literally just to check there was still a heartbeat and I've still got 3 weeks until my anomaly scan. My anxiety doesn't seem to respond to reason so nothing much seems to reassure me. I think you're right about keeping distracted, although if I'm too busy I get exhausted which in turn makes me more anxious and tearful. I've started trying to eat better too, and do mindfulness because, like you say, it makes me feel like I'm doing something positive.

I've managed to get an appointment with a counsellor today so hopefully that will be of some help.