Guidelines I follow in my pregnancy to reduce my anxiety

Still I can vividly remember the feeling when I came to know I was going to be a mother after my first analysis. It seemed I was the happiest person in the world at that moment. I was so captivated by the joy and thrill, I could barely sleep at night.

But at the same time, I had to face a lot of physical difficulties. I was dizzy all the time and had a severe vomiting tendency. I could barely eat or digest. Often after taking food I could do nothing but to vomit it out. That’s when I started suffering from anxiety.

I felt bad when I could not do my daily work on my own. As I needed people around to take care of me I started to suffer from a type of inferiority complex. I kept feeling like I was losing myself, that I wasn’t good enough. I had some symptoms of depression, even nervous breakdown then. My mental anxiety grew more and more, I was always thinking, ‘Can I take care of my child properly?’ ‘Can I resume my normal life ever?’ ‘Can I look after my family like before?’ I was haunted by these thoughts.

As I had to stay at home most of the time, I felt restless all the time. My health deteriorated, I had constant headaches. Sound sleep was becoming alien to me, so I had a black spot under my eyes. And you know what, I could not concentrate on anything for a certain time. I tended to lose my temper frequently. These mental anxieties eventually led to a panic attack. I had palpitation, my heart rate also went irregular. I was always thinking if my baby was well. So I had frequent panic attacks after a few days. At that time I decided to consult a doctor. I explained my problems to her and she asked if I was mentally ok. Then I revealed the mental issues I had to go through. The doctor gave me some guidelines which I followed later in my pregnancy period. I am sharing these guidelines with you now.

First of all, I shared everything with my husband. I consulted him about my problems in detail. As I was sick physically and mentally, even I was thinking if loved me like then as before. But he assured me I was wrong. He comforted me and motivated me to stay fit and healthy. Then I was assured he cared for me always like before. If I revealed everything to him earlier I could have a better time. After all, the baby is a gift to both of us. Then I started to communicate with relatives. I enjoyed some quality time with my friends. As my anxiety was slowing down, I started to have a better time than before.

For physical change, I could not wear my old clothes. I decided to make some new clothes. So I was quite preoccupied at home and could get rid of anxieties and tensions. Sometimes for my mental refreshment I did a little makeup at home. I started to feel a bit confident and felt my baby was doing quite well.

I decided to avoid taking tea and coffee. I started drinking fresh fruit juices regularly. So the amount of caffeine reduced in my body and I was able to enjoy sleep quite well. I almost quitted oil made foods and marinated a balanced diet. As I had more time while staying at home, I did some experiments with healthy food recipes. All of these helped to maintain the level of nutrition in my body.

I started to do some sorts of physical exercise daily. According to the doctor’s advice, I followed a time-chart. Regular exercise helped me to ease my mental turmoil and I started to feel more and more refreshed.
These are the steps that I followed during my pregnancy time. Mental trauma and panic attacks are not irregular during pregnancy time. But following the above steps will help you to get rid of the problems. So don’t be tense and share your problems with your nearest and dearest ones and if necessary, with your doctor.