Tingly hands… racing heart.. and a knot in my tummy so tight I’d find it hard to breathe. This was how anxiety felt for me even before I became a parent.
Mind chatter or the “chimp in my head” as my husband and I would affectionately refer to was another familiar element of suffering with general anxiety disorder.
On the outside I’d be loving life, calm and confident but this would very often be an act. Like a swan gliding along serenely, yet paddling madly underneath the surface. Most days, with thanks to great friends I’d be able to keep my anxieties at bay and most people would have had no idea how I’d sometimes be feeling.
Becoming a parent however, brought my anxiety to a whole new level and most definitely over shadowed the first few months of motherhood.