Anxiety in second trimester

[everysunrise]

Hi everyone,
I'm 21 weeks pregnant and for the last 2-3 weeks I've been struggling with severe anxiety.
I already suffer with anxiety/depression but seemed to have it more under control in the first trimester.
Now I feel like it's peaked and i'm not in a good place. It's generally revolved around other people and worrying about how family members will be around my baby. I don't have a large family and I feel alone alot of the time. My DHs family live away.

Does anyone have any advice or can anyone relate? Even if someone has been in a similar place and has come out the other side with a healthy happy baby, it would bring me alot of relief. I'm worried about what this stress is doing to my baby.

Thank you.

Please speak to your midwife about this, she can refer you to people who can help.

If you haven't already then look into local antenatal classes or maybe try the Peanut app to find friends in your area as that might help you feel less alone.

It feels like forever but soon you'll have your baby - you'll get through this xx

Hi there

For what it's worth, I don't suffer from anxiety or depression in my day to day life. But during my second pregnancy, around 16 weeks, I became very unwell with anxiety. I was in a really horrible place. I spoke to my midwife which helped a lot, I had to take some time off work, and I had to speak to a mental health nurse on a couple of occasions. I have no idea if the hormone overload was just too much for me, I also suffered with extreme sickness and I was genuinely unwell at this point.

It lifted a little bit in my third trimester and when my baby was born, it was a massive relief. I did not suffer from PND thankfully and I just wholeheartedly loved my healthy, beautiful little girl. She's now 4 and I've been fine ever since.

The midwife had told me that this is more common than people think, women just don't talk about it enough. I was very open with my problems but they were completely all consuming.

Hopefully a positive story may help you.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.

You can be fast tracked for talking therapy in pregnancy. Tell your midwife how you’re feeling. Hope you get the support you need.