Things You Ask Thursday! #3
I love these weekly Things You Ask Thursday because you all ask such awesome questions. Not to mention you ask a lot of personal ones which makes me feel good because it shows you value what I have to say. Before I get started, thank you for being vulnerable and trusting me to answer these. There have been many questions sent my way that I, at one point, wondered myself. These are the most important to me to answer. I know how lonely the unknown can be, so I genuinely hope these blog posts help and inspire you! Now, I have to say, without a doubt the top question asked is "Did you suffer from postpartum depression/anxiety and how did you handle it?" That's a particularly heavy one I have waited on answering for months now because I do not want to speak for everyone when I give advice. I decided the best way to go about answering is to personally share how I handled this obstacle. As a disclaimer, I would just like to say that I am not a doctor! If you believe you are suffering from postpartum depression/anxiety, talk to your doctor about the options you have. I am a twin momma who is 7 months postpartum. I am about to share my personal story and how I handled (and continue to handle) postpartum anxiety. Let's dive in, shall we? I did not suffer from depression but after my babies were born, the responsibility of becoming a new mom to twins did cause a lot of anxiety for me. I had hyper-alertness and vigilance 24/7. My mind was racing constantly and my thoughts consisted of a lot of these things: "What if the baby suffocates?" "What if they slip under the water during a bath?" "What if someone breaks into the house and snatches them?" "What if I get in a car crash while driving?" "What if a car hits us while we are going for a walk?" Friends, these were just a few of many obsessive thoughts going through my mind...constantly. I had so many irrational thoughts and knew early on that I needed to learn how to handle them. It was crucial to learn how to get these under control and not let them rule every single second of my day. They were robbing me of times where I should just be enjoying my [...]