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The pregnancy period, labor and caring for a newborn are all challenging parts of a new life as a mom. These parts take a toll on both our physical and mental health as a first-time mom. When mom is happy and healthy, so is the baby. Hence, new moms should pay special attention to maintaining their mental health in order to raise a happy and healthy child. After giving birth, moms often focus on their newborns and neglect their needs. Due to those reasons, they often disregard their physical and mental health. That’s why postpartum depression frequently happens.

How To Take Care of Your Mental Health as a First-Time Mom — *This is a guest post and all opinions are those of the author. This post may also contain affiliate and/or paid links. Rest assured that we only work with companies and individuals that we trust. While some of those companies and individuals may work in the medical field, this post is not intended to be a substitution for medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have concerns about your mental or physical health.

You have a lot to take in as a first-time mom. Regardless, you shouldn’t neglect your mental health. To avoid doing that, you should learn how to recognize a mental health issue, for starters. Then, you should reduce your to-do list. It’s essential to indulge in self-care to maintain your mental health. Decreasing the time you spend on social media can also have positive effects on your mental health. And finally, what also helps is practicing positive self-talk.

Recognize a mental health issue

To maintain your mental health as a first-time mom, you should first be aware of its importance. Only after you’ve grasped its importance can you focus on recognizing a mental health issue. The more you know about the most frequent mental health issues for new moms, the quicker you can start dealing with them. After delivery and follow-up appointments, most doctors discuss signs of postpartum depression with their patients. Typical signs of postpartum depression include lack of sleep, focus and overwhelming feeling of sadness and irritability. Other common mental health issues that can affect new moms are clinical depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. There are therapies that can treat each of these.

no mood disorder vs the baby blues vs postpartum anxiety vs postpartum depression — Copyright 2022

Reduce your to-do list

When you give birth and come home from the maternity hospital, you’ll have a lot of daily tasks related to your baby. And this should be your main focus. The baby requires constant care. It will nap, eat and need a frequent diaper change. That leaves you little time for other household chores. You shouldn’t force yourself to try and do everything, because it’s almost impossible. And what’s more, it can lead to mom burnout, which can cause other issues. So, to avoid this from happening, you can ask a family member to help you or hire temporary help. Try to minimize the necessary errands by shopping online for newborn baby clothes or groceries.

Indulge in self-care

Self-care is an integral part of our mental health. Everybody should indulge in some form of self-care, especially first-time moms. That doesn’t mean that you need to spend hours at the gym or spa. You simply need to do something that relaxes you. That can be reading a good book, taking a brisk walk, going for a swim or booking a relaxing massage. You shouldn’t feel guilty for doing this. You know what they say – a happy mom equals a happy family. Keep that in mind. You deserve to take a break and devote some time to yourself.

Decrease the time you spend on social media

Spending way too much time on social media can have detrimental effects on our self-esteem, well-being and mental health as a first-time mom. To avoid that, it would perhaps be the ideal time to take a social media break and go offline for some time. In that way, you will be able to focus more on your newborn and nurturing yourself. You will also be less inclined to compare yourself to other moms and your baby to other babies.

Practice positive self-talk

Being a new parent, more specifically a new mom, as moms tend to spend practically their whole day together with their baby, is quite challenging. It is also exhilarating at times. This is all normal, most parents have good and bad days. One of the best ways to make yourself feel good about yourself is to engage in positive self-talk. It will be crucial in those moments when you’re having bad days. Positive self-talk will allow you to focus on the positive things and in that way, boost your self-confidence. It’s difficult to start practicing it, but once you have a grip, it becomes much easier.

Being a mom is one of the best ‘jobs’ in the world. It is also one of the most important ones. That’s why you should do whatever makes you happy and calm.

Author Bio

Jess Cooper is a part-time journalist and blogger based in Sydney, Australia. She is an energetic, creative highly motivated person with plenty of interests. The most prominent areas of interest include makeup and cosmetics, fashion, style, event organization and decoration, healthy food, fitness, learning languages as well as home improvement. Jess loves learning about new things and having the chance to combine those insights with her ideas and spread them to the world. She enjoys having a mindful and well-organized, healthy life, filled with all kinds of different activities and interwoven with close friendships.

Postpartum anxiety is a common mood disorder that affects up to 15% of new mothers.

Postpartum anxiety is just as common, if not more so, than postpartum depression. It’s seldom discussed and when it is, it’s usually grouped together with postpartum depression as if they’re a package deal. The truth is, women can get BOTH postpartum depression AND anxiety or they can get one of the two.

Here’s what all moms need to know about postpartum anxiety.

A New Mom's Guide to Postpartum Anxiety — *This post contains affiliate and/or paid links which means that if you click on one of these links and buy a product, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Rest assured that I only recommend products that I love from companies that I trust. Furthermore, I am not a medical professional and nothing in this post should be taken as medical advice. I am simply a mother who has been there and lived to tell the tale.

What is Anxiety?

Basically speaking, anxiety causes a person to worry. Anxiety, in itself, is a common and natural human reaction. It’s our body’s instinctive way of protecting us from a possible threat. For new and expectant mothers, anxiety is almost expected, and seems to be part of the maternal instinct. We need to worry about our newborn babies in order for them to survive.

An anxiety disorder, however, is different. It’s when you lose your natural ability to stop worrying when the threat has passed. Postpartum anxiety is what it’s called when a women develops an anxiety disorder following the birth of her baby. Women can also suffer from prenatal anxiety during pregnancy. A postpartum anxiety disorder can cause a mother to worry so much that it disrupts her life and affects her health and well being.

Symptoms of Postpartum Anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder)

- Constant worrying
- Racing thoughts
- Intrusive thoughts
- Paranoia (always feeling like something bad is going to happen)
- Loss of appetite
- Insomnia
- Hyperventilating
- Perfectionism
- Needing to be in control of everything
- Physical manifestations including nausea, excessive sweating, shaking or trembling, heart palpitations or fatigue

While the symptoms themselves might not seem overly concerning, living with postpartum anxiety can be extremely debilitating. A mother who suffers from postpartum anxiety may suffer from extreme sleep deprivation if she stays up all night worrying or watching her baby breathe. She might start to avoid leaving the house or socializing with friends. The constant worrying, paranoia and intrusive thoughts can take a severe toll on her mental and physical health.

Symptoms of Postpartum OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)

- Compulsive and repetitive behavior
- Scary and intrusive thoughts
- Going to extreme lengths to avoid bad thoughts from becoming reality
- Becoming obsessed about things like germs, illnesses, death, accidents, etc.
- Extreme fearfulness

Postpartum OCD is a form of anxiety that manifests as compulsive behavior. It’s similar to other forms of OCD, just in this case, the worries relate to a new baby. For example, a mother suffering from postpartum OCD may clean, wash or sanitize everything obsessively for fear of the baby getting sick. Intrusive thoughts are very common in a mother with postpartum OCD and she may rearrange her entire life in order to avoid bad things from happening, even if they seem like a long shot.

Symptoms of Postpartum Panic Disorder

- Profuse sweating
- Feeling light-headed or dizzy
- Nausea
- Chest Pain*
- Racing heart beat
- Uncontrollable shaking or trembling
- Chills or hot flashes
- Numbness or tingling in hands, feet or face
- Claustrophobia
- Hyperventilating or shortness of breath

*always seek medical care if you are experiencing any kind of chest pain.

A panic attack can feel so bad that it’s often mistaken for a heart attack. It’s important to rule that out, especially if it’s your first panic attack. But if you become prone to panic attacks in the postpartum period, then it’s likely you suffer from a postpartum panic disorder. This is a more intense form of anxiety that can have several effects on a new mother’s life. It can often happen when a mother’s fears become severe and she feels like she has no control over what’s happening.

Are My Worries Postpartum Anxiety?

First of all, having a baby is terrifying. There is a lot worth worrying about. Starting from the moment of conception, you will likely worry about your child their entire lives. So how do you know if your worries are truly postpartum anxiety or just the normal worries that come along with motherhood?

This best way to answer this question is by determining how much your worrying is affecting your life.

- Do you avoid leaving the house because you’re worried about your baby getting sick?
- Do you lose sleep worrying if your baby is breathing?
- Do you avoid driving because you fear getting into an accident with baby?
- Is your relationship suffering because you don’t trust your partner with the baby?
- Do you panic when you can’t control absolutely everything?
- Are you losing weight from worrying so much?

If your entire way of life has changed in order to accommodate your worries, then it could be a sign of a postpartum anxiety disorder. It’s best to keep a journal or workbook to keep track of your worries. Seeing it on paper can help you identify if they’re getting out of control. Even if you’re not sure, speak to your healthcare professional about your worries. If nothing else, they may be able to provide you with some solutions to help ease your anxiety.

Postpartum Anxiety Treatment Options

In the same way that mothers can suffer from both postpartum depression and anxiety, they can also suffer from either one to all three forms of postpartum anxiety. Often, if a general anxiety disorder is not treated in the early stages, it can progressively become worse and worse. That’s why treatment is essential.

Some popular treatment options include:

- Anti-anxiety medications
- Talk therapy/Support Groups
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy
- Aromatherapy
- Yoga + Meditation
- Acupuncture
- EFT Tapping
- CBD treatments

There are many treatments available for anxiety, including alternative and natural treatments. You may not find success until you’ve tried several different ones, or a combination of them. Even if you have established a proper treatment plan for your postpartum anxiety disorder, you should never ignore it. Anxiety, like most mental health disorders, is something that can easily be triggered again.

Self Care for Postpartum Anxiety

Living with anxiety can cause a lot of stress and even lead to bouts of depression or other mental illnesses. Practicing self care is extremely important to avoid triggers and relapses. But keep in mind that self care alone may not be enough to eliminate your symptoms. Instead, it should be used in combination with an anxiety treatment plan.

Remember to:

- Eat healthy
- Use vitamins or supplements
- Get enough sleep
- Meditate to help ease your worries
- Journal your intrusive thoughts
- Exercise regularly
- Take time for yourself
- Spend time outdoors

Meditation Tips for People Who Hate to Meditate — .

Postpartum Anxiety + Addiction

Just as there are good ways to manage symptoms of anxiety, there are also destructive ways. Drugs or alcohol can numb the pain and help you forget your worries, but they only offer temporary relief and do more harm in the long run. Addiction is something that many people with anxiety struggle with, especially those with OCD, as addiction is a type of compulsive behavior. For more information and addiction resources, visit Addictions.com/anxiety-disorders.

Talking About Postpartum Anxiety

Anxiety, in general, is one of the most common mental health disorders in the world. While postpartum anxiety isn’t talked about as often as postpartum depression, that doesn’t mean it isn’t as important or as dangerous to mom and baby’s health.

If you’re suffering from symptoms of postpartum anxiety, including OCD or a panic disorder, make sure to seek help from a qualified professional and establish a treatment plan. Speak up about it with other moms too, and I promise you’ll find that you’re not alone. (If you’re interested in sharing your postpartum anxiety story with us, click here for more info).