Struggling with pregnancy anxiety? You are not alone. This can be fairly common to some degree or another. So here are some of our tops tips to help overcome this!
- Practice gratitude. This is so important! Ultimately, anxiety comes because we are focusing on fear and what we don’t have rather than what we do have. Take some time to create a gratitude journal for your pregnancy journey and note down your wins and focus on the good things! Honestly, this can change everything! I touch a little more on some of this further down.
- Get some physical activity in. Exercise is medicine for anxiety as it literally produces ‘happiness hormones’. Take some time to care for yourself and your body. Go for a walk outside – there is something about being outside in the sunshine that is so refreshing. Do you like to workout? Go to the gym and rock it out as a pregnant momma! Whatever type of physical activity you choose, do something you enjoy!
- Make sure you are getting adequate sleep. Lack of sleep plays a huge factor in anxiety during pregnancy. I know that when I am super tired, I can get more grumpy and irritable and small things seem to be a bigger deal. Anyone else relate?! When you are pregnant, your body is using much more energy to be able to support that little life growing inside of you! Isn’t it so awesome to think about the fact that there is a little person growing inside of you that you are going to get to know more as more as they grow up?! Your body is amazing!! Make sure to take care of it by getting enough sleep!
- Nourish and fuel your body. Again, this comes back to taking care of your body. Who else gets *just a little* grumpy when they have not eaten enough? Being hangry is a real thing! So make sure to eat! And don’t just eat anything, make sure to fuel your body with foods that provide nourishment. This is so important, especially during pregnancy. We all know, ladies, that you are going to need to eat more food as you are feeding another person inside you!
- Don’t isolate yourself. This is so important!! When we don’t reach out to others for help or even just hang out with those who are special to us, we tend to get more in our own head and anxiety has much more power over us. Spend time with others who refresh you and support you. Ask fellow moms in your life for advice. Ask them to share their stories with you about pregnancy and motherhood. Whatever you do, don’t go this alone!
- Identify if the source of your anxiety is related to something in the past or concern about the future. Have you gone through something in a past pregnancy that is causing anxiety? Are you worried about being a good mom? Have you got other things on your mind? By identifying the source, you can then focus on thinking positively about those things rather than negatively. Just because something happened in a past pregnancy, it does not mean it is going to happen again. Personally, I find that casting my cares on God is a game changer because it takes the pressure off me as I remind myself that He cares about me and can take care of me when I hand Him my problems. As a woman and a mom, you were not made to go everything alone. Lean on God! And remember, you were made to mother. You are going to be an incredible mom!