Dealing with anxiety post baby.

[hrynkiws]

I've had anxiety for two years now, it kicked in after my first son. I was going through a rough time in my life and it hit me like a ton of bricks. ( not because of my first pregnancy/birth or postpartum) I've been on the generic brand of celexa since. I've had my ups and downs but its been okay. Well I'm now two months postpartum again and I'm assuming my anxiety is acting up because of my hormones. But it feels like a daily battle. I'm back to thinking about my anxiety all the time- then feeling anxious. All the time. I'm so tired of it and just want to move forward. I'm not interested in taking anymore Meds. I want to get better and get off of the ones I'm on.
I try to keep as busy as I can but it seems it always creeps up on me. Then in turn, ruining my day. I feel like a mess. I'm not depressed or anything. I'm so happy with both my kids. I'm extremely grateful that they are both healthy. It's just this anxiety. I over analyze everything I'm feeling. I've become almost obsessive with trying to find these symptoms I may be having. I seem to have a fear of something bad happening to me health wise then not be able to be here for my kids! I can't live like this. Please give me some advice! It will be much much appreciated.

[missmello]

Do you not want to take meds because you are breastfeeding? If not, just go on the meds. Sometimes we need it to get over the hump. Of course you could try other things like exercising regularly, going to therapy, etc. But if you are still struggling, then take the meds.

I'm being stubborn right now not wanting to take meds because we were trying to conceive before anxiety started taking over my life. We've stopped trying because I've been such a wreck lately, but I still refuse the meds because I want us to try again asap, and I know if I go on meds I'm gonna have to be on them for months then slowly get off. I'm just impatient and stubborn lol.

Things I've been doing are exercise, therapy, making sure I get out of the house, going to work, and taking multivitamins and b complex. I'm also looking into more natural remedies like st John's wort and passion flower. I haven't tried either of them yet, I'm going to talk to my therapist about it first. I also drink a sleepy time tea before bed. It's by Yogi. I find it helps me relax before bed.

[sweetmaria]

Hi There


I was in the similar situation. I have a 1 year old baby boy. My anxiety started when I was pregnant. I was loosing my mind with fear about potential
Birth defects, and getting an ultrasound done was the scariest thing for me. I was a total nervous wreck. I would think about a certain defect over and over again and google it in the Internet. bad idea! There is so much negativity on the Internet.
After I had my baby, I had severe hypochondria. I thought I had brain tumor because I had frequent headaches. I was really convinced I had it.
You are not alone!

[hrynkiws]

I just don't want to feel anymore medicated. So id rather try to deal with it than be a zombie.

[em1]

It's so hard to cope with anxiety when you have children to look after to and a husband that don't get what your going through

[halleclaire]

I've had anxiety for two years now, it kicked in after my first son. I was going through a rough time in my life and it hit me like a ton of bricks. ( not because of my first pregnancy/birth or postpartum) I've been on the generic brand of celexa since. I've had my ups and downs but its been okay. Well I'm now two months postpartum again and I'm assuming my anxiety is acting up because of my hormones. But it feels like a daily battle. I'm back to thinking about my anxiety all the time- then feeling anxious. All the time. I'm so tired of it and just want to move forward. I'm not interested in taking anymore Meds. I want to get better and get off of the ones I'm on.
I try to keep as busy as I can but it seems it always creeps up on me. Then in turn, ruining my day. I feel like a mess. I'm not depressed or anything. I'm so happy with both my kids. I'm extremely grateful that they are both healthy. It's just this anxiety. I over analyze everything I'm feeling. I've become almost obsessive with trying to find these symptoms I may be having. I seem to have a fear of something bad happening to me health wise then not be able to be here for my kids! I can't live like this. Please give me some advice! It will be much much appreciated.

this is exactly what I am going through. I have a two and a half year old and a 7 month old. About 4 months ago I started getting bad anxiety surrounding my health and the health of both my children. I would find that I would dwell on every little ache and pain I was feeling, which would cause me daily anxiety and not leaving me a moment without thinking about this. Every time I would feel something, I would google it, which made everything 100 times worse! I am in the same boat...I have no depression, happy all the time, just frustrated that I have this anxiety!! My doc calls it post-partum anxiety and I find myself constantly thinking about being here for my kids. I myself have not taken any medication. I have been seeing a psychologist for cognitive behavioural therapy for over a month now and have noticed a huge difference in my anxiety. I no longer sit and dwell and worry over every ache and pain I am having, just tend to ignore them. It really has done wonders and I seem more myself now than I have the past 4 months. But there for a while, I thought I was never going to be the same again. I also have been having acupuncture. It is frustrating because we feel this way, and not sure why!!! But both these methods have been extremely helpful!

[sweetmaria]

I, too, never took any medication 'cause I want to get to the root of the problem. I am working on myself and doing the following: deep relaxation, positive affirmations while looking in the mirror, and passionflower drops before each meal. it is helping and easing my anxiety but I need to be consistent. Not always easy when you are a working mom...
I also try hard to stop the negative self- talk and catastrophic thinking as that's what sends me right to the hell of anxiety. Brain tumor anxieties went away as well as the headaches, which were probably caused by anxiety.

[Estelle2008]

Hi There


I was in the similar situation. I have a 1 year old baby boy. My anxiety started when I was pregnant. I was loosing my mind with fear about potential
Birth defects, and getting an ultrasound done was the scariest thing for me. I was a total nervous wreck. I would think about a certain defect over and over again and google it in the Internet. bad idea! There is so much negativity on the Internet.
After I had my baby, I had severe hypochondria. I thought I had brain tumor because I had frequent headaches. I was really convinced I had it.
You are not alone!

Hello, I am new to this forum, I came across your post and I wondered how you were doing now and if you had any advice?