Birth trauma is real, is raw and is painful. It means differently things for women who have gone through it. It’s so important to understand that it’s your story and you can share it when you feel safe and comfortable in doing so.
For me it took until now to actually speak up about my traumatic birth and live my purpose from it. Yes! Mama, there is a reason or purpose why you went through this birth trauma. Whether right now you don’t see it or even believe it. Because it’s too soon, or you’re still going through the effects of it.
It’s hard to see the light at the end of a very dark, lonely and painful tunnel, right? But trust me,this year I became a life coach for women who have gone through birth trauma. Here’s my 1:1 coaching program!
But all of this happened after 8 years! Yup! I was too scared to share my story, had fears and a lot of limiting beliefs about it. But I knew deep down that my purpose and passion is to help other mamas who have gone through birth trauma and I want to help them thrive despite of it.
For my birth story, I am a survivor of HELLP Syndrome and Eclampsia. I was in the ICU for a week fighting for my life. I was confused, scared to death and filled with anxiety. My life was not supposed to end up like this. My birth wasn’t supposed to be like this. What.is.happeneing? The first year after giving birth to my twins and having that traumatic birth, I had extreme anxiety and even suffered a couple of anxiety attacks!
Sounds familiar?
I hope these tips can help you ease and overcome your anxiety from birth trauma. These are the things that I did to start feeling like myself again, to stop the anxiety attacks and to thrive and truly enjoy my life as a mom!
5 powerful ways to overcome anxiety from birth trauma
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure here.
1.Distract your mind
One of the first things that I learned myself was to distract my mind. For example, if those flashbacks were coming back or I started to think something bad was going to happen to me then I would immediately change my thoughts. So, I would think about dinner, or i would literally say “I’m okay, I’m healthy God is with me”. These thoughts would change everything for me. So, the more you say these positive thoughts or affirmations the more you will learn to distract your negative scary thoughts. Then it will lead to reducing your anxiety.
It helps with redirecting your brain into thinking something other than what’s triggering your anxiety.
Read these books:
2.Find a hobby
When you are preoccupied with something else that brings you joy and a positive distraction. It will help you so much. Not only to reduce your anxiety and fears that happens after something traumatic, but it also gets you excited to have this hobby. For me was creating this website (stressfreemommies) and so everyday I would look forward to it and it helped me forget about my birth trauma. Having hobby for you and only you will help with your mental and emotional health as well. You start to feel happier and more like yourself again. Slowly but surely.
Journaling can be an amazing and powerful hobby to have. It will help you reflect on yourself and take action. I would love for you to download my free Birth trauma journal prompts pdf!
3. Who is your support system/tribe
You must have a support group. You can’t do this on your own. It’s so hard to have gone through this traumatic birth when all you wanted was a smooth easy birth, right? Noone expects that something bad is going to happen. Itcan scar us for life. So, even though you may not want to talk about it because it triggers you, you do need a support system. Someone or people that will be there for you to listen and hold space for you to cry,to vent and to be mad. Your support group should encourage you and support you through your journey. You will not feel alone and it will make it easier for you to work on yourself.
4.Practice self-care
Taking care of yourself after trauma is so important. It helps your mood, distracts you and makes you feel better. For me, getting dressed and putting on makeup made me feel more like myself again. It distracted me from thinking about my birth or thinking I was going to die. Selfcare helps with your mental, emotional and physical health depending on what you’re doing. Walking around your neighborhood or park helps declutter your brain, calms you and helps you appreciate your life. It’s up to you to take care of you! Do it mama, it reduces your anxiety and stress.
5. Pray
What really helped me overcome my anxiety was to pray and speak with God. Even though I was mad at him for letting me go through this scary and life changing experience. I knew there was a better purpose for that but I just didn’t know what. I prayed because I knew God was not going to let me fall. He gave me the miracle of life again and for that I was truly grateful. It helped me so much to start my healing process. So, if you are spiritual, tap into that.
I do want to say that these things helped me overcome anxiety after birth trauma. It took me a year of dealing with it. It takes time, commitment and faith. Healing does not happen overtime. I must express this to be true.
Every mom overcome trauma and it’s effects at her own time.
What I wish I did or knew about was hiring a birth trauma coach. It would have been amazing to be able to have someone on my team that listen, support and pushes me to deal with the uncomfortable emotions and feelings in order for me to heal faster from it.
I am that coach for you! Is the reason exactly why I became a life coach for birth trauma women who are ready to thrive despite of it! Enroll in my coaching program “From Birth Trauma to Thriving despite of it”. Can’t wait to meet you!
Leave a Reply