Anxiety as a New Mom
Anxiety as a new mom is completely normal. Becoming a mother is one of the most wonderful gifts in life. There is a precious life that you are now responsible for. This can be both exhilarating and anxiety-inducing. Anxiety can be paralyzing especially as you step into the completely unknown territory of motherhood.
Before becoming a mother you think you know kind of how it will go or how you will do things. Then all of a sudden you are in charge of this little human and you just want someone to tell you how to do it all correctly. If you feel anxious as a new mother, you are not alone. Here are four ways to combat the anxiety of motherhood as a new mom.
1. Stop Comparing Yourself to Other Moms
So many anxieties mothers face today are caused by the use of social media. If there is one place you will find it easy to compare your life to another’s, it is on social media. There are tons of moms out there who look like they have everything perfectly figured out when it comes to motherhood, but know that social media is not real life. Social media provides a snapshot and I don’t know about you, but I typically try to look my best when I am being watched.
I do believe you can learn lots of valuable things from the motherhood community on social media. However; if you find yourself starting to compare your life or what you have to another mom, it’s time to put the phone down. Looking at what other moms have and desiring it, will not make you a better mother. Chances are you’re doing just fine and you wouldn’t be so hard on yourself if you hadn’t made comparisons.
2. Set Priorities for You and Your Child
The beauty of raising children is that you get to help bring up your kids in any way you believe is good. The reality is you are never going to be able to do all the things you want to as a parent. When you begin to feel anxious and overwhelmed with all the responsibilities you have incurred as a parent. Sit down, and write down your priorities.
Do not think of what someone else expects of you, truly think about what you desire for your child. If music is important in your life, then incorporate it into your day. It is easy to waste time trying to perfect things that are not even a big deal to you in the long run. Save yourself the wasted energy. Find ways to set your main goals before the other less important things on your list of things to do, throw out any extras. When you know what you value for your child and hone in on that you will feel less anxious because you will use your time more effectively and not waste it.
3. Trust Your Gut, Not Their Opinions
Anxiety as a new mom is sometimes greatly due to the wealth of information some asked for, some… not. Whether you ask for it or not people will give you their opinions on basically everything related to you and your baby. Most times people just want to connect and help you. Sometimes, though it does more harm than good. A good rule of thumb is to go with your gut. If it is something that you cannot change in the future, then trust your intuition.
There are so many different ways to parent and a lot of them are great. As long as you and baby can be happy and healthy, you are doing swell. Don’t let anyone make you think otherwise.
4. Become a New Mom
It is easy to beat yourself up over mistakes you made in the past. You should allow yourself to feel the weight of whatever mistake you made and then use it to grow and change.
Sometimes motherhood can be this weird identity thing. Maybe you did sleep a certain way with your child and were super adamant about it. Then later down the road decided (either from new information or convenience) to have your child sleep in a different way. Do not allow yourself to feel shame for changing, and keep it to yourself. We mothers are constantly changing because our children are changing too! There is no shame in changing up the way you parent. In fact it is really empowering to you and others around you. Maybe your change is just what the new mommy you met at the park needed to hear about, to feel peace about how her son is sleeping.
This is so beautiful! Great tips. Thank you so much for sharing!
thanks for stopping by!
These are such good tips!
Hope they help.
I love all of these. You are such an encouragement and a light! Thank you for sharing your heart and how to be a less anxious mama. We all need some help with that I think!
I know I need help being a mama, thanks for stopping by!
Thank you so much for sharing these thoughts. Creating a new identity as a mom is so important and so challenging. I am on number 4 and am still trying to find my footing! 🙂 Avoiding social media is huge… I got rid of instagram because it is just so toxic for our mom hearts and brains.
Thank you for sharing and encouraging other moms!
I feel you on that, yes instagram can be so toxic for us.