March 2018 Moms

Mental Health Check-in (Week of 10/23)

I hadn't seen a mental health check-in thread for a minute, so I thought I'd start one for the last couple of weeks of October. (I'll also admit that I'm partially selfishly starting it because I felt like I needed a check-in.) Let us know how you're doing!

Re: Mental Health Check-in (Week of 10/23)

  • @ksmwalters thank you so much for starting this thread. I’ve been needing a check in too. *TW I’m so sorry to hear about your SILs friend. That’s scary to go through and super scary to watch someone else go through when you’re pregnant. I’m glad she’s doing well now though and that baby is doing well also. 

    I’ve been having a rough couple of weeks with my anxiety too. My anatomy scan is on Wednesday and I’m hoping after that maybe I’ll be able to breathe a little easier. I think it maybe mostly be caused by my husband being gone so much in the last couple months. He won’t be home for longer than a few days again until Christmas. We also had a big blow up yesterday with my mother in law, who shared info to people about our lives that she shouldn’t have, and instead of just apologizing for it she took it like we were attacking her and it became such a big thing that we’ve decided to just cut her off completely from our lives. So that didn’t help the anxiety. 


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  • What does everyone do to help ease their anxiety? Or if you don’t have full on anxiety, what do you do to just destress? 
  • My method for coping is multi-printed, partially based on what’s coming up for me at the moment. The two biggest non-drug or therapy related are exercise and meditation. I have an app on my phone called Insight Timer that’s a great guided meditation app, and there’s a variety of times available so even if you only have 5 minutes, you can find some space to clear your head. My other methods of choice are being outdoors, snuggling my dog/DH, and reading. I was in therapy for a while but the woman I saw was OON and it became cost prohibitive. I’m in the process of finding someone who is covered by my insurance so I can start going at least semi-regularly again. (For reference my diagnosis is anxiety/depression and PTSD with a history of *TW sexual assault and domestic violence *end TW)
  • @ksmwalters sorry to hear about your friend, prayers heading your way. So scary.

     I also have been fighting some anxiety higher than normal however (please don't hate me) my Dr approved my Lexapro to keep me at bay. It's really hard some days without the help from Xanax, I find myself hiding in my room under the covers in the dark when it gets bad. I really need to get out and walk and do something but it's so hard to find the motivation on a bad day. Fortinately my SO is great at listening and that helps. He sure doesn't know what to do with the meltdowns, neither do I though.. I may give this insight timer a shot!
    First time Momma praying for a safe and healthy arrival. 
  • @kelsajo no one will hate you for taking medication to help with your anxiety! The only reason I don’t is because I’m a control freak and the idea of relying on something outside of myself makes me, well, anxious  :# 

    @ksmwalters excersize is definitely my #2 go-to for stress relief, #1 being music. I just got done with an hour long walk with my daughter and I’ve gone from being on the brink of a panic attack to feeling like I’ve got myself together again. Sometimes those things are just too short lived though and I need something else to rely on, since I can’t go on 10 walks a day  :D do you have any book reccomendations? I love reading but I’m never sure WHAT to read  :D
  • @ksmwalters Ugh, that is so scary. It’s definitely one of my fears and crosses my mind several times a day. Our cousin had her baby at either 26 or 28 weeks. She is ok and healthy today, but it was a scary road and she was in the NICU for a couple of months. Terrifying. 


  • My anxiety has been bad the last week or so. I feel panicky randomly for no real reason/no trigger that I can think of other than today worrying about caffeine intake and I’m sure the caffeine is making me jittery and anxious. I usually only ever have a Coke here and there, a mocha may have been a little overboard for me. Now I know better! 
  • @chasingroygbiv I definitely notice I’m more anxious on days that I have more caffeine than usual! Decaf mochas from now on  ;):D
  • I feel like a crazy person tonight! My anxiety hasn’t been this bad in years! Big mistake. @ShawnnaO
  • @chasingroygbiv sending so many good vibes.  <3
  • @shawnnao The only ones off the top of my head would be The Royal We (a fun fictionalization of Will and Kate’s courtship) and The Raven Boys, which is supernatural YA and wonderful. The Raven Boys has some heaviness to it but it’s so good. 

    @chasingroygbiv sending lots of good vibes and love your way!!
  • My anxiety has been ratcheting back up slowly. I had to go off of the Zoloft in order to take meds for getting sick 3-4 times a day. One of my biggest sources of anxiety is from mess/clutter/lack of organization. I’ve been working like crazy for about four weeks to whip my house into shape and declutter. We moved countries during my third trimester with DS and getting your entire household delivered two weeks before you have your first baby is not a recipe for organization. Yesterday I tripped over a teething necklace DS keeps pulling out and twisted my back which has kind of halted forward progress at the moment. I think MH would be okay with me going back on the Zoloft but I’ve made it halfway now and would rather go back on it PP. My anxiety usually shows up in a lack of patience and a fast temper so I know I need to calm the anxiety down or just take the pill. I really need to start getting back into walks but MH’s work schedule this week is insane. It’s almost like he’s not even here. I do better about leaving the house when he’s home for some reason. 

    @ksmwalters sending prayers for your friends. @chasingroygbiv drinking decaf a few days in a row did help me with my constipation but it didn’t work on the first day. I haven’t had caffeine in so long at this point that I don’t think I could handle a full mocha—not because it’s a huge amount but because I haven’t had any and I know I would get jittery. 

    @ShawnnaO It absolutely sucks that YH is gone and you are dealing with a difficult MIL. I hope your week gets better. Yoga is one of my go-tos for handling anxiety. I like Yoga by Adrienne on YouTube. When I’m anxious I usually go for the calming/relaxing/bedtime/destress routines but she has a little bit of everything. I also have to make it a point to schedule time every day for me—especially if MH isn’t home. Sometimes that’s a bath or shower before bed and sometimes it’s waking up to do my journal and read a book before DS is up for the day. 

    @kelsajo There’s nothing wrong with taking medication so you can be healthy. A healthy mom is a healthy baby. <3
  • @mdfarmchick thank you for the YT suggestion for yoga!!! I’ve been wanting to get into it, and our loca gym has free classes but being a SAHM, I don’t really have time to go to those. I’m also super self conscious about doing things alone. I’ll definitely be looking into that channel and hopefully start getting into yoga. 
  • Omg yes yoga!! @mdfarmchick @shawnnao I always know it’s been too long since I’ve practiced when I cry during shavasana. There are tons of great options on YT and Yoga Glo is a good app, too - I think they have a free trial for online classes. I also think there are options on Netflix and Amazon Prime but I can’t remember specific ones at the moment. 
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