How I Cope with Postpartum Anxiety

Postpartum, or your fourth trimester, is a tricky thing to deal with. Your hormones are all over the place, and it can come with other issues, like depression or anxiety. I have a two-year-old and just had my second child in August 2023. I want to share my postpartum experience with my first child and how I’m preparing for postpartum with my second. 

I’d like to mention that everyone’s experience with postpartum is different. If your experience is different from mine, that’s okay! Do what’s best for you, but I hope you have some takeaways from my journey.

My Postpartum Journey with Baby 1

The first three months after giving birth were the most turbulent for me. For the last nine months, your body is building up hormones to support another human, and when the baby leaves your body, you can go into shock. I got super emotional and would cry when my baby did or when someone said something negative.

I also struggled with self-confidence. I started developing mom guilt, and I now have so much empathy for my clients who are moms! My anxiety was also heightened in those first three months. I finally realized this was happening because of postpartum and worked to accept that this was normal. 

Coping with Postpartum Anxiety

In postpartum, you need to put yourself first. Here are some other things that helped me in my postpartum journey that I’ll be doing with Baby 2.

• Talk about it while you’re pregnant and in postpartum
• Surround yourself with people who will understand (other moms, parents, etc.)
• Form your team (counselors, self-care, etc.)
• Talk to your partner about your journey – you’re a team!
• Exercise or some form of movement
• Set boundaries
• Prepare your environment for this child (meal prepping, decluttering, etc.)

If you’re wondering, “How long does it take to heal postpartum anxiety,” the answer is it depends, but around the three-month mark, you’ll start to see some changes. Give yourself grace, and know you won’t feel this way forever. You’ve just gone through a huge life change, and you need time to adjust. You just gave birth to a little human for crying out loud! Your body needs time to feel like itself again. You got this, mama ❤

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