Anxiety while pregnant

kushimama

hi ladies,

After my first I had a bad case of PPD and it started with one stupid thought that spiraled into many other thoughts.

Now I'm pregnant with my second and I'm trying to meditate a lot to get better. I keep worrying that something bad will happen to me. Then at times I feel scared for no reason especially when I'm driving.

My doctor said not to take medicine while pregnant but is anyone else having ocd thoughts or feeling scared?

I keep thinking "what if I die" "why do we die" "I don't want something happening to me" "who will take care of my baby" "I don't understand this life" "why do we come here and then we go"

Thoughts like this make me feel something bad will happen and then I get so anxious. Please pray for me and I just need support.

mac-n-cheesy

I'm very sorry you are going through this. I think it's not really possible for those to completely understand anxiety/OCD and just how debilitating it can be unless they themselves have gone through it. I have GAD, panic disorder and social anxiety disorder and it's miserable combining that with pregnancy.
I'm a FTM so I'm navigating this whole pregnancy + mental illness thing for the first time and I'm not sure if I could do it again (I also have had major depressive disorder for over 18 years). That you have been able to get through one pregnancy and have the courage to do this again is inspiring.
It sounds like you have a lot of irrational thoughts and that you recognize they are such. To me, that's more of a positive things because you are reaching out and know that feeling this way isn't healthy (though of course it's pretty impossible to control these).
My psychiatrist has kept me on Klonipin because he truly feels my ability to function would be severely impaired. I know a lot of women don't agree with meds and pregnancy but it's the decision that was right for me and agreed upon by my psychiatrist (who literally only sees pregnant women), my OB (who is Chief of OB/GYN at my hospital), and myself. I'm a little over 26 weeks and will have to taper down/off the last month so my little girl will not have any withdrawal issues. My anti-depressant was stopped immediately when I found out I was pregnant because it is associated with congenital heart defects. Anyway that's my story.
I really hope you have a SO/DH and/or family and friends that are supportive of you and that you can go to for help. Also, therapy (especially CBT), yoga, mindfulness exercises, and support groups have been immensely helpful to me and I would highly suggest looking into. You have done this before and you can do it again! The chance of something bad happening to you or your LO is so small. I know that doesn't stop the thoughts but try to remember that you can get through this.

RisaKellogg

I think anxiety gets the best of us even more when we're pregnant, and it's not fair. I got diagnosed with a nasty case of PPD after my first and even wound up in the hospital for it. Now with my second, my doctor told me I could stay on my anti-depressants just because I've been taking them for so long. But my anxiety has gone through the roof the further along I got. How I deal with it is simple, yet not so at the same time. If I can't sleep at night, I let my mind wonder just long enough and then bring myself back down and remind myself that I AM pregnant and hormonal, and 90% of what I worry about isn't going to happen anyway. I basically talk myself out of it. Tell your doctor that your anxiety is affecting your everyday life and maybe ask about coping mechanisms instead of using drugs, because introducing new anxiety medication to pregnant women is not a good idea.