Pregnant and Anxiety through the roof

[KittyCat17]

Hello all,

I havent been on here for a couple of years now. I suffered quite bad GAD for around 2 years and thankfully through different techniques- seeing a psychologist and getting into healthier lifestyle patterns I managed to get pretty on top of it for the last couple of years.

However, I recently found out I am pregnant and my anxiety has come back in FULL FORCE. This was a planned pregnancy but it happened a lot quicker than I thought it would. I am very grateful we have had no issues but I just cant believe how bad my anxiety has spiked since finding out.

I have Emetophobia (fear of vomit) and I always knew there would be the chance of morning sickness but in my naïve self thought "ah I will deal with it when it comes". Now I am pregnant its an ALL consuming thought day in day out. I am halfway through 6 weeks - which is meant to be the week morning sickness starts and, although I havent really felt nauseous, I cannot stop thinking about it. I have also been really tired, which I know is a normal symptom, but again can't help this making me feel anxious as well!

I am constantly on edge, my body is shaking every time I try to relax and my thoughts are all consuming. I keep googling numerous things online, which I know is bad, and that also has made things worse. I have been breaking down the last few nights thinking things like "maybe I shouldn't of done this" or "I am not ready for this but I can't get out of it now". This is all to do with control and its made me realize the way I dealt with my anxiety a couple of years ago was probably a form of taking control of my life and now its come back to bite me as I feel totally out of control now and its reared its ugly head again.

I just wondered if anyone else had these feelings during pregnancy and what you did to overcome them? I keep thinking oh hopefully this will pass when I get into the second trimester, but thats not for another 6 weeks and I do not know how I will cope day in day out when I can barely function and its only been a week! At work its the worst because no one knows and I just dont want to talk to anyone. Then on the weekend I just want to hide away at home and not leave the house but I also know this isnt healthy 😞 😞 😞

[Mumoflots]

Congratulations!

sorry I may not be much of help for you but I’m sure there are things you can take for morning sickness that’s safe in pregnancy, could you speak with your gp or midwifes/obs to get your hands on something that might help for just in case?

other than that I’m sorry I’m not much help

[sunnyl20]

Hey,

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I am sorry you are having so much anxiety around it though, it sounds exhausting and very overwhelming.

I should preface this by saying I have never been pregnant but have struggled with fears around vomiting. I know it is easier said than done, but try your best not to read too much online - it can overwhelm you even more. Are there things that you have found helpful in the past with anxiety and emetophobia? If you feel up to it and are open to it, maybe you could try some grounding techniques to try to reduce your anxiety e.g. breathing exercises (e.g. boxed breathing technique), gentle stretching, exercise, mindfulness exercises (smiling mind is a great app if you are open to this), using your senses (e.g. holding on to ice cubes, finding smells that you enjoy, baking, listening to music). Would it be an option to reconnect with the psychologist who you saw previously to get some help with your concerns?

I hope you are able to get some rest and relax. Take care.

[KittyCat17]

Hi Mumoflots, thanks for the reply!

Yes the GP has given me some anti-nausea tablets I can take that are safe during pregnancy. I should just take them I dont know why I havent yet.... although I guess because I Havent really had anti nausea as such. But definitely its good to know they are there!

Thank you for the suggestion though xx

[KittyCat17]

Hi Sunnyl20,

Thanks for the reply 🙂

Yes very exhausting..... I am actually struggling to get through the work day and sleeping a lot more than usual, although thats also apparently quite normal in the first trimester. Its all so unknown and I think because I had such a set routine in my life that was working so well for me, now its all been thrown up in the air its all spiralled me a bit. I am hoping that once I get use to the changes (its only been about two weeks now) and accept them a bit better than I will calm down a bit.

But yes thank you those suggestions are very helpful. I think I will re-download the smiling mind app again as that was very helpful last time and possibly will be a good idea to reconnect with my psychologist again!

I guess I was just so frustrated as I had been doing so well and did not think this moment in my life would cause so much stress and anguish. But we are all bound to have set backs from time to time and I need to remember that.

Thank you xx