Postpartum Anxiety

Postpartum anxiety does not get as much attention as postpartum depression, but it is a very real phenomenon in a new mother’s life. It is easy to discount this mental health issue because it seems normal that a new mom would worry. I remember thinking that it is normal to worry. Then I started to become more and more aware of my worries and realized that my thoughts could not possibly be normal anymore. I obsessed about how clean the baby things were getting. I would clean constantly! I started to convince myself that people were out to hurt my baby and I had to protect her. I remember thinking strange thoughts like my baby must be upset with me or not like me when she would cry and cry-as babies sometimes do. I was originally able to sleep when my baby slept, which is great and encouraged, but at about 6-8 weeks postpartum, I experienced this surge in energy but I was just not sleeping! I would stay awake most of the night and day. I don’t even remember when I would sleep. I just remember telling my husband that I just COULDN’T sleep. I won’t even get started on my obsessive “what if” thoughts that would just escalate until I was in tears and in a frenzy. My husband even started to worry about me!

I started to do some research. I was so perplexed because I didn’t feel depressed. I didn’t feel trapped or the need to run away. I didn’t feel angry with my husband, or sad, or lost or any of the feelings one reads about or hears about regarding PPD. Quite the contrary, I felt so attached and devoted to my new little family that I was on hyper drive worrying about us. My mind was just racing ALL THE TIME.

I finally spoke to my husband and a few close friends. After a couple of weeks, I started speaking with a therapist. I think that it is important to remember that even though motherhood is amazing and one of the most important roles ever, it is hard but women should not be suffering. Women need to be supported and cared for as they support and care for the new blessing in her life. I hope that having experienced this condition and still managing the emotional and hormonal fluctuations that come with pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and working outside the home, will allow me to help any new moms around me.

Surprisingly, postpartum depression and anxiety is even higher in developing countries. According to the website Wellcome Trust, an estimated 20-30% of new mothers in developing countries and they say that, “while it might seem anomalous to look at postnatal depression in developing countries, where other health problems seem so compelling, it is likely that these are precisely the places where mental health problems are likely to be at the worst – and contributing significantly to the severity of other health problems.”

http://www.postpartumprogress.com/the-symptoms-of-postpartum-depression-anxiety-in-plain-mama-english-1

http://www.postpartumprogress.com/the-difference-between-postpartum-depression-normal-new-mom-stress?fb_ref=wp

http://www.postpartumprogress.com/6-surprising-symptoms-of-postpartum-depression-and-anxiety?fb_ref=wp

http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2004/Features/WTD006153.htm