Pregnancy and mood swings: coping with the situation
Confirmed! You are finally pregnant. The enthusiasm and readiness stored in your fortunate self could take you on a rollercoaster ride of celebration. But it seems you are bereft of an iota of cheer. Something has taken over the smile and cry motion. Let’s face it, you are experiencing a pregnancy induced mood swing.
Mood swing in pregnancy: the utmost result of surging hormones, fatigue, anxiety and discomfort is a normal condition that is experienced at one time or the other or throughout the gestation period. Luckily it is a manageable situation as evident in the tips below.
✔ Go easy on yourself
The idea of breaking into tears few minutes after you had been cheery faced can sound unreasonable to you. However, you will need to accept the new change as more of it is likely to occur throughout your pregnancy. Understand that you’re not purposely acting strange and you’re not alone in this situation.
✔ Good sleep
As your body houses and makes itself convenient for the foetus, anxiety, discomfort and all those actions going on in your systems could make you sleep deprived. But if you must manage all conditions, mood swings inclusive, and be a good host to baby, you’ll have to sleep fine. Even if you’ll have to be lullabied to sleep or nap in a swing, just ensure you’re not sleep deprived.
✔ Relaxation
You could dip your legs in a bowl of warm water as a friend massages your shoulders, meditate, go swimming, engage in yoga and muscle relaxing exercises. Pregnant women have attested to the fact that relaxation helps them stay cool and clear headed and take a break from the constantly changing mood.
✔ Being positive
Pregnancy and its characteristic surprises, changes and complications may trigger negative thoughts in the expecting mother. Mothers who have had a still birth, pregnancy induced diabetes or high blood pressure may be constantly concerned about their fate. However, it is better to be faithful and hopeful believing that just as conception is a miracle, every other step of the way would go miraculously fine.
✔ Be the boss
After series of visits, checks, tests and results, the medical team had no clue until the hematologist eventually suspected anger and anxiety as the bane of Lina’s ever decreasing platelets count. Lina confirmed this as her moods had gone wild and weird over the last few months of her pregnancy. Resultantly, between the 27th and 37th week when platelet transfusion was carried out on her, her platelet count had fluctuated between 140, 000 to 45000!
As scary as it sounds, mood swings unchecked can boss you around and make life unbearable. Don’t indulge it. Take practical steps to take charge. Taking a walk instead of giving a rude reply, crying to relieve emotions, keeping a diary, avoiding stressful situations etc are means of being in control and getting your moods controlled.
✔ Confide in someone
Sharing your thoughts and emotions with someone; partner, sister, friend, mother and other mums who can relate with your experience is a good way to lighten the burden of your mind. It relieves stress and invokes the feeling of being loved and understood. Besides, it helps them to know how best to relate with you so your mood swings doesn’t affect the age-long relationship you’ve built.
✔ Conquer the fear
Whatever fear you nurse as regards your pregnancy should be confronted. Get enough information from health specialists, join a prenatal class, be aware of pregnancy myths and facts. Being educated on labour and delivery matters as well as birth options that suits your medical predicament puts you in an advantage and helps to reduce stress.
✔ Treat/Manage all pregnancy related sicknesses
If you’re dealing with pregnancy induced diabetes, anemia, high blood pressure or any other, get treatment and stay committed to the cure process. Your overall health is greatly connected to your emotional well being. Take care of yourself, you will be fine.
✔ Stay around friends and relatives
The annoying mood swings you experience shouldn’t be a barrier between you and your friends. Chances are high that your friends and family would be receiving and loving. If they don’t, who will?
Some pregnant women isolate themselves from the rest of the world in a bid to hide their fluctuating moods. This shouldn’t be the case as this could lead to depression and other emotional complications.
✔ Get professional help
In rare cases, fluctuating moods in pregnancy may need more attention than the ordinary. If you think you’re swimming on the extreme tide, it is best to seek the services of professionals. Early diagnosis and intervention would take care of you and the growing glory inside of you
