Anxiety and the Postpartum Period.

Why do I keep having these thoughts? Anxiety and the Postpartum Period.

Do you experience recurring thoughts of your little baby rolling down the stairs or getting hit by a car? Or some other random violent images? These thoughts and images amongst new mothers are common, but should not be minimized or normalized. These thoughts can be overwhelming and disorienting, especially if you have never had any mental illness in your history. So what is happening? How can you handle it? What can you do?

It is important to go to a therapist if you have these thoughts, you may have postpartum anxiety.

A person’s hormonal health will affect their mental health. After giving birth, a mother is usually hit with what I call a hormonal wave. This wave can crash onto a person, causing a temporary imbalance. The beauty of this, is that it can be cured. You need to go to your Dr. and have blood work done to test whether this is a thyroid issue and then also sit with the idea of taking medicine, talk about this option with your doctor.

How to tolerate these thoughts until the medicine kicks in? Do not try to push the images and thoughts away, because then it will come back even stronger. Allow the image or thought to pass by you, and watch it like clouds passing thru the sky. It is a thought, it is a feeling, but it is not who you. You want to both hold the thought and then let it go. Consider these thoughts like waves in the ocean, sometimes there are high tides and the waves are stronger and at times they are low tides and the waves are less frequent or non existent and very small, an ebb of a thought or image so to speak.

Every thought moves, thoughts are not who you are. Do not blame yourself for these thoughts. Share with your spouse or family member or close friend that you are having these thoughts and images. Feel free to reach out to me for therapy or to lookup therapists in your area that treat obsessive thoughts, most do.

You are not alone. You are not crazy. Your thoughts and feelings are not who you are.

They are what you are experiencing in this moment. Take care of yourself as much as you possibly can, because exhaustions exacerbates them. And of course you are exhausted. You may feel hesitant to leave your child with a sitter or your spouse. Play with going down the street to a cafe and having your spouse watch your child for 20 minutes and taking a rest. Because resting while your baby sleeps is not rest, she or he can wake up at anytime. But resting down the street, while your partner plays with the baby is healthy for two reasons. 1. It gives you down time. 2. It provides an opportunity for your baby to bond with his or her other parent.

I know this advice is counter intuitive, but once you rest a bit, then you will feel less overwhelmed and you will heal quicker this way.

“Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.”

Tori Amos