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Article Anxiety sucks! Mum shares ‘I would sit on the toilet and sob’

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Mum opens up about her battle with perinatal anxiety.

Mel Watts, mum-of-four, from the Central Coast in NSW, penned a candid post about the condition which she developed after the birth of her youngest child, Sonny, shares Daily Mail.

Mel, also known as The Modern Mumma, explained that a year and a half ago she was desperately Googling her extensive list of symptoms as tears ‘streamed’ down her face.

‘My heart was racing, I was shaking and I felt scared. I had been feeling like this for months and every time I went to get help I was told it was IBS or a stomach infection,’ she wrote.

‘I remember once I left my children at the checkout in the trolley with the workers so I could go to the bathroom,’ she said.

‘I wouldn’t go the gym, I wouldn’t go to friends houses, I wouldn’t even think about going out for the night or a party. I’d rather sit at home – it was easier.’

‘I started hiding the feelings I was having. I would go into the bathroom and cry, I would sit on the toilet and sob whilst saying to him it must have been something I ate.’

‘The only way I could venture outside my four walls was with a packet of gastro stop and two anti nausea tablets in my stomach,’ Mel said.

‘I could function then, just. But enough to get the children to school and go and get bread and milk.’

Mel was isolating herself from the people around her but after a while, decided to visit a psychologist.

‘I walked into that room a year ago broken, lost, scared and miserable. I cried the whole session,’ she said.

‘He listened to me and finally he gave me the answer I have been searching for.’

It was this psychologist who told her that although she had had her baby months earlier, she was suffering perinatal anxiety.

She reiterated that it’s okay to not be okay and said she urged others to seek professional help when they need it.

The post has received an outpouring of support and ‘thank yous’ from mothers who have been, or are, in similar situations.

Can you relate to Mel’s story?

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Comments

  • A honest raw article that I’m sure will help many suffering with anxiety. It is truly a debilitating illness.

    Reply

  • Anxiety is horrible to deal with, I’m so glad she sort help. There needs to be more awareness of this for new mothers as it’s common.

    Reply

  • well done to her for getting the help that she needed. A doctor asked me once “who is the most important person to take care of?” and i answered that it was my newborn but he said “nope it’s you! You have to make sure that you’re ok so that you can take care of others” and i had never thought about it that way before and i certainly had never put myself first like that before. I’ll never forget that advice

    Reply

  • So glad she found help. Its not easy.

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  • Very brave she gathered the courage to seek professional help. Sadly enough ther’s still a lot of taboo to get help from a psychologist or psychiatrist, as if you would be crazy. So important to take your symptoms serious and take care for your help by seeking help, nobody should suffer in silence.

    • You are right – there is still a lot of stigma and taboo and it should not be that way at all. Some of the problem comes from the Supermum tag. All mothers need to be cared for and have their needs met too.

    Reply

  • Some things don’t need a name. I went through lots of stuff and needed help but never found any. Glad I made it through.

    Reply

  • information needs to be made available for young mums as to where they can get help.

    Reply

  • Too many people suffer in silence, while going to to talk to a professional can help so much. I’m glad she did that.

    Reply

  • Glad that she got support as no one should feel this way – it is just awful for any mum to go through this experience.

    Reply
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