Anyone else pregnant and have anxiety?

Question

How are you managing it? What has been the most helpful?
If you had anxiety in a previous pregnancy, how is your child(ren) now?

Answer

My child is perfect 100% outgoing and smart as can be and I’m pregnant again. I found my anxiety gets better throughout pregnancy but starts up again once they’re out in the real world and no longer protected inside my belly all safe and warm.

Answer

I have panic disorder outside of pregnancy and my pregnancies only make it 10x worse and this time around it’s been extremely challenging because i have had heart palpitations as well as random fast heart rates. I’m not currently medicating but have found essential oils to be extremely helpful, epsom salt baths, listening to music, and massages from my husband. I’ve also used the “tapping” technique which helps me as well (you can google that). I have also found that my anxiety seems to be really bad only during certain weeks so I believe it to be exacerbated by hormones so I just try to tell myself that it will pass.

Answer

I have a phobia of vomiting as well as just general anxiety but I'm not on any medication. Obviously when I was feeling nauseous I was pretty much on the edge of a panic attack constantly, I lost 6kg in 3 weeks with my first pregnancy and hardly ate until I was 20 weeks along. My gp actually wanted me admitted to the hospital if I dropped below 60kg (at my lowest I was 62kg). Funnily enough I never got anxious about labour/birth but was very obsessed with counting kicks. My daughter is fine now, but my anxiety went through the roof after she was born (diagnosed with severe postpartum anxiety and seperation anxiety, doctor didn't want to medicate me for it though). I'd literally cry if I thought I was going to fall asleep because I was scared she'd die while I was sleeping (baby was in a safe sleeping environment, I was convinced that SIDS would happen) even now I rarely let her nap alone and she sleeps in a cot in our room at 17 months old.
This pregnancy my anxiety is worse because 1. Still anxious about my daughter 2. Worried about breastfeeding because I was hospitalized with mastitis 3 times with my first (once because it'd become sepsis) 3. I know how bad I handled my anxiety the first time surrounding SIDS but no one has been able to give me any coping strategies, literally had a nurse shrug at me and say "sometimes that just happens", like yeah that's why it kept me up at night.
If I'm as bad with postpartum anxiety this time around I will definitely be seeing someone regularly and hope I'll be able to overcome it instead of sleeping in shifts with my husband for the first 3-4 months.

Anyone else pregnant and have anxiety?

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