36 weeks pregnant and lingering anxiety
Hello,
I am 36 weeks pregnant and have lingering anxiety and low self esteem that something catastrophic will happen during labour and birth and either myself or baby will die. I obsessively search online for stats to make me feel better and I know I'm like in the 99.9% category that nothing bad will happen, but even with my doctor and other people telling me that my risk is as low as winning the lottery, I can't seem to stop worrying.
I'm doing Hypnobabies to try for a natural birth, but they have this phrase that says "what you dwell upon most will indeed come to pass", so I'm terrified that my GAD thinking will make my fears become true. I already have fear of pregnancy and pregnancy after miscarriage. Is there something you can recommend, like generalized anxiety download or stop worrying? Or should I try to treat my thoughts as my imagination and not give it more attention and just let them float away rather than focus on stopping them?
Thanks in advance.
Hi there,
Thank you for your question. It is, of course, natural to want a safe and risk-free pregnancy, for everything to go well and for the infant to come out healthy and well. :)
It is also true that trying to stop thinking about something is hardly ever effective - the more we try to stop thinking something, the more the thought clings on and returns. So not giving those thoughts attention at all is one way to deal with them, but you can take it a step further. Hoping for things to go well is a more positive train of thought than worrying something will go wrong, so when you notice an unhelpful worry thought, you can work on stopping it and rephrasing it as a hopeful thought instead. With enough practice, that will become the norm.
And you can also check out the downloads I've flagged below for you.
I hope everything goes well for the remainder of your pregnancy and that a happy and healthy infant enters your family!
Best wishes,
Rebekah
Uncommon Care Team
