Does anyone else get bad anxiety when they are pregnant, despite never having it when not pregnant?

[goldingoddess]

I am starting to get bad anxiety and an inability to deal with stress, just like I did with my first pregnancy. It is not bad to the point that I can't deal with it, but I feel very much so on edge and like my mind is just racing all of the time, and worrying about seemingly silly thing. I'm also on DHs case a lot more about things that I can normally let go.

The strange thing is I hardly every feel 'stressed' or have feelings of anxiousness when I am not pregnant. In fact I haven't felt these feelings since my last pregnancy, and the stress and anxiety resolved itself literally the minute my son was born, I never had any sort of PPD and the 2.5 years since DS was born have been the happiest years of my life. It got bad enough last pregnancy that I didn't leave the house for the last month of pregnancy, other than what was absolutely necessary and I couldn't talk on the phone or have any contact with anyone the last month of pregnancy except my mother and DH.

I really don't want it to get that bad this time, and really it can't because I have DS and not leaving the house is not going to be an option.

So does anyone have experience or information with pregnancy induced anxiety, how to control it, what hormones cause it, etc? I feel like if I can understand where it is coming from then I can better cope with it.

[WifeofAnt]

Mine wasn't severe but there were a few nights I spent worrying about things that didn't need to be worried about. I did 'grow out of it' after the first trimester though without much help.

[Family4Christ]

Yup, here too. I'm not at all like this normally. However, we have some stuff going on that would stress me to the max when not pregnant, so that may be why.

[annaconda]

I wouldn't say I'm the MOST low key person in the world while not pregnant.

However, I'm 13.5 weeks and I've had some amazing nights in the last 10 weeks where I wake up (thanks bladder) and can't get back to sleep because my mind is racing.

I have some specific stress going on (company merger) that's causing me a great deal of uncertainty and it has the ability to absolutely wreck me, then I'm exhausted and more prone to nausea etc.

I'd consider myself definitely high anxiety during pregnancy.

I listen to Hypnobirthing Rainbow Relaxation CD and sometimes that has the ability to chill me out at night and let me go back to sleep, but sometimes I'm just awake and grumpy and try to read a book till I can fall back asleep.

If you look up Janet Decker she has a lot of hypnotherapy cds that are amazing. Her voice is very powerful and I find deep relaxation when I practice relaxing with her recordings regularly.

I wish I had more info about what causes it hormonally and I will be watching this thread. There are days where I know a glass or two of red wine would chill me out but I know that's not a good strategy.... sometimes I have a sip or two but the amount it would take to take the edge off is more than I'm comfortable with at this point.

[goldingoddess]

I'm starting to wonder if it is blood sugar related. I went about five hours without eating, after having a small breakfast and had a total meltdown this afternoon complete with crying. Once I relaxed enough to think I realized I had only eaten maybe 500 calories all day and got something to eat I feel completely better. Yesterday which was a rough day was another sparse eating day.

[stellamia]

Yes! I've only ever had panic attacks while pregnant and it happened once during each of my pregnancies. Always in the 3rd trimester too...

I do think it's harder to cope when pregnant and things seem magnified. The good thing is, pregnancy eventually ends and you'll feel like your normal self again!