Becoming a mother seems to have caused many of my friends to become more anxious, in general. I guess it’s inevitable; you’re suddenly in charge of another human being. Everything becomes your responsibility; what they eat, what they learn, how they act, and absolutely everything in between. You are that person’s whole world (for a while, at least) and that's a lot of pressure and obligation. However, for those of us who suffered with anxiety prior to become parents, well, the new mom experience is even more intense. There are struggles only moms with anxiety can understand; struggles that are pretty universal for all parents, but seem far more difficult when you're also battling anxiety; struggles that make our self-doubt and fear all the more intrusive. Sadly, when those struggles present themselves (sometimes, on a daily basis) anxiety can go from being a small part of your parenting experience, to being one of the things that define it.
I guess I was always prone to worrying, but never categorized or identified myself as anxious until my daughter was born. After she came into the world, I began to have all sorts of fears pop into my head and to the point that they were impacting my ability to get through day-to-day life. Simple tasks that other mothers appeared to have no problem accomplishing, became huge challenges for me. Eventually, I needed outside help in order to manage my anxiety. Seeing a counselor on a regular basis helped me to learn to keep my anxiety at manageable levels, although there are still times when I feel it creeping out of my control again (because that’s the "fun" thing about anxiety: it functions on a sliding scale, not an on/off switch, and it takes concerted maintenance to keep it from sliding too far in the wrong direction).
It's important to note that anxiety looks and acts differently to different people, but when it comes to anxiety and being a mom (and especially a new mom) there seem to be certain experiences and moments that can trigger anxiety for those of us who are predisposed to it. The struggles I list here might not be monumental, for some people, but they can stop me in my tracks: