I wanted to start this thread to bring awareness to postnatal anxiety.
I think its important for people to be aware that sometimes after giving birth and during pregnancy postnatal anxiety can be experienced by the mother or father.
I have a lived experience of postnatal anxiety, in my experience I experienced this condition after both of my pregnancies, the second pregnancy was more sever than the first.
Below I've listed some of the things I experienced while going through this condition :
I always felt on edge.
I didn't feel comfortable allowing the baby to be out of my sight.
I found it hard to allow others to hold my baby.
I was highly anxious when we were both out of the house in public.
I had a fear of going out with my babies or leaving them with anyone else.
I was highly anxious about people coming into the house while baby was sleeping ( incase they woke up the baby).
This condition was extremely difficult to go through with a new born who I loved and cared for very much, because I felt I just couldn't relax and enjoy the time we had together because I was constantly in fear and flight mode, it was an exhausting stressful condition to have especially while caring for a baby.
This anxiety is intense and it can creep up on you, the first step towards recovery is seeking help from a professional.. a good place to start is at your gp you can do a mental health plan together this will allow you to see a psychologist.
In some areas there are perinatal clinics that specialise in these types of conditions a clinical psychologist and a phyciatrist sometimes run out of the same clinic.
I seeked professional help for what I experienced and recovered.
If you are reading this and feel that you may be suffering with this condition or know someone who may be I encourage you to seek professional help and if you know some one who may be experiencing this condition encourage them to seek professional help.
Life really can get a lot better once professional help is received.
Your not alone, please ask me anything if you have any questions .
