Advice for the Mom-to-be With an Anxiety Disorder

An Instagram post from a day filled with panic attacks. Here you can see where I'd been doing something methodical (crocheting), while trying to appear normal (eating m&ms).

Specifically the mom-to-be with social anxiety/panic attacks, like me.

When I found out I was pregnant I chose to stop taking my anxiety and depression medications altogether, despite the fact that my doctor said she could prescribe me a safe anti-depressant and anxiety medication. She respected my decision, but told me the second I had a suicidal thought I was to call her and let her prescribe me something.

Thus far I have made it without needing to make that call. That doesn't mean I've been panic attack/anxiety free. I work at an airport, which is a highly stressful work environment, and not exactly the work field I would recommend someone with social anxiety join, but c'est la vie. 

I spend all day with a plane full of people staring at me, asking me questions, and on occasion yelling at me for things out of my control. As any of you who have social anxiety can imagine, I spend all day in a state of near panic, where even the littlest thing can tip me into a panic attack. Seeing as I am trying to avoid all medications, it can be very difficult to keep those feelings at bay. When I feel a panic attack coming I take a few steps to avoid it.

Tip 1) Invest in caffeine free, herbal teas! The best ones I've found are hibiscus tea, passionflower tea, a mix of chamomile and peppermint, or good ol' fashioned Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer. I drink on average two glasses of hot tea a day at work, during the busiest flights. Even if the tea is doing nothing for me, just the action of drinking hot tea and the steam can calm me down. I find that taking small sips can help.

Tip 2) I force myself to step back and analyze the trigger. In most cases it's simply my brain running away with the thought that everyone in the terminal is looking at and judging me, and that I'm falling short. I force myself to look around the room and count exactly how many people are actually looking in my direction, and then remind myself that I stand directly in front of the flight information screen, and 95% of these people don't care that I exist beyond the reassurance it brings them to know I'll be letting them on a plane. Sometimes this method helps, sometimes it does nothing but make it worse.

Tip 3) When I feel the panic rising, I hold my breath. It seems silly, but holding your breath will stop the hyperventilation. I do two or three sets of 15 seconds. Once I've finished those, I force myself to breathe deeply, in the 7-11 technique: in through the nose until the count of 7, out through the mouth until 11. This is really important while pregnant, because you want your blood pressure to stay down.

Tip 4) If I feel the panic coming, and none of the first three steps work, I try to accept it, and then pretend that I'm somewhere outside myself, watching the panic. It sounds silly, but it helps me to distance myself from the panic and see how I can change it in the future. I've found that to act normal, and find something methodical to do will help me break free of the panic, usually without me noticing.

Tip 5) Don't run away from it. I used to ask a coworker to cover my gate so I could go sit in a the restroom and have my panic attack. However, all that would accomplish is adding a new anxiety of going back to the place that triggered the attack in the first place, which would feed the attack. Stay where you are, and let the panic know who's in control.

If you have any tips, comment and let us know!