Last week I (Jo) interviewed two
young mothers. Both women struggled with anxiety during the postpartum period.
One mom expressed having a real fear that something bad would happen to her
baby boy. She felt the need to constantly check on him through the night, she
would check her doors multiple times before settling into bed and as she laid
in bed she ran through many different scenarios of what she would do in an
unlikely event, such as a house fire, how would she keep her baby safe? During
the day she felt normal but at night her anxiety dramatically increased. For
her, these symptoms subsided in a matter of a few months. Although therapy were
not necessary for her personally, the feelings were a real battle. It’s normal
for moms to worry about their babies but sometimes excessive worry and anxiety
can point to a postpartum anxiety disorder that can be treated.
The second young mom I interviewed
stated that she has struggled with anxiety in the past but it was nothing
compared to what she experienced after giving birth. Your chances of having a
mood disorder (depression or anxiety) is increased if you have had a previous
history of anxiety disorder (Matthey, 2003). I asked her if she would type up
her story and I'm sharing it with her permission.
I've struggled with anxiety and
panic attacks since youth, and I've been on anxiety medication for 10 years,
but I noticed about 4 months postpartum that I was having several panic attacks
daily, even while medicated. So, I told my husband and started asking friends
for advice and help and then I started looking for a counselor. Within a week
or two my panic attacks were crippling and I was unable to eat much of anything
because my throat was so tense all day and I was afraid I would choke and die.
I spent most of my days laying in my bed just trying to breathe and trying to
talk myself down from the many panic attacks I was having each day. I started
therapy and the therapist immediately started EMDR on me.. (EMDR is short for
eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.) My anxiety got much worse as I
processed things and old feelings and emotions were brought to the surface but
within probably a month I could see I was coming out of the worst of it. I did
8 sessions of EMDR, and I really felt like it got to the root of so many of my
fears and the causes of my panic attacks and daily anxieties.
There are multiple options for
therapy, EMDR just happens to be one of them. Seek out one that works for you
if you feel that you are needing help coping.
As we read from both mothers,
postpartum anxiety is a serious life event that can be debilitating for any
mother. As we (Jo and Omar) have shared, having a baby can be a great and
special time for a mother, but it can also be stressful and full of self-doubt.
The mother in our story above shared she struggled with anxiety since she was a
youth and she experienced a higher degree of anxiety postpartum. There are
certain factors that can increase a woman’s risk of experiencing postpartum
anxiety which include “Sociodemographic (age, marital status, socio-economical
status), intrapersonal (self-esteem, neuroticism, negative life experiences),
social (marital dissatisfaction, lack of social support) and pregnancy related
clinical (risk status of pregnancy, previous pregnancy experiences) variables
have been associated with higher levels of anxiety in pregnant women” (Van
Bussel, Spitz, & Demyttenaere, 2009, p.233). It is good to know if you are
at risk of experiencing postpartum anxiety, or any other postpartum mood disorder,
so you and your support system can keep an eye out for symptoms and get you the
help you need right away.
postpartum anxiety signs:
●
Changes in eating and sleeping
●
Racing thoughts that you have difficulty controlling
●
Constant worry
●
Impending fear that something bad is going to happen
●
Trouble focusing
●
Dizziness, hot flashes, and nausea (American Pregnancy
Association, 2015)
●
Restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge
●
Being easily fatigued
●
Muscle tension
●
Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank
●
Difficulty falling asleep
●
Irritability (American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
Note: 10–50% of women who report anxiety symptoms also
report depressive symptoms (Wenzel, Haugen, Jackson, & Brendle, 2005).
If you
recognize these symptoms, seek out social support, counseling, and/or your
medical provider. We always encourage
those who read this blog to come up with questions you would like to have
answered about postpartum illness in future posts.
References
American Pregnancy Association.
(2015). Do I have a form of postpartum depression? Retrieved from http://americanpregnancy.org/first-year-of-life/forms-of-postpartum-depression/
American Psychiatric Association.
(2013). Cautionary statement for forensic use of DSM-5. In Diagnostic and
statistical manual of mental disorders
(5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Matthey, S., Barnett, B., Howie, P.,
& Kavanagh, D. J. (2003). Diagnosing postpartum depression in mothers and
fathers: whatever happened to anxiety? Journal
of Affective Disorders, 74(2),
139-147. doi:10.1016/s0165-0327(02)00012-5
Van Bussel, J.C., Spitz, B.,
Demyttenaere, K. (2009), p. 233) Anxiety in pregnant and postpartum women, An
exploratory study of the role of maternal orientations. Journal of Affective
Disorders, 114(1-3), 232-242. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2008.07.018
Wenzel, A., Haugen, E. N., Jackson,
L. C., & Brendle, J. R. (2005). Anxiety symptoms and disorders at eight
weeks postpartum. Journal of Anxiety
Disorders,19(3), 295-311. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2004.04.001
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