Have you been diagnosed with post partum depression? If so you might have yourself dealing with obsessive thoughts.
Sometimes these thoughts are fears that your baby will become sick and die. Other times you get a fear that you might hurt the baby. Many new mothers feel like they are going crazy.
Here are some tips for dealing with those types of thoughts –
First of deal with the thought, don't dwell. If it is a realistic fear then just don't sit there. Do something about it.
If the thought comes as the result of a day dream then pay attention to what the dream represents. For instance if you are dreaming about crashing in a car then maybe the theme is control. It is time to examine that thing in your life that you feel you are losing control over.
Stopping your thought does not work of obsessive thinkers. In fact the more you fight the thought, the more likely it is to take over.
Cognitive behaviorists have a solution to this. First of all you need to notice and accept the thought. Then call upon your relaxations response and attempt to relax your body from head to toe.
Thirdly you will need to breathe. Inhale for two seconds and then exhale for four.
Fourthly soothe your mind with three or four calm sentences. The less attention you give a bad thought the sooner it leaves.
You might also want to try thought blocking. Write the obsessive thought down again and again until you become desensitized to it. Write until your hand hurts and you cannot write anymore.
Remember that we are not our thoughts.
We are our actions.
The bottom line is that your thoughts do not represent who you are. What you think about is not a critical s what you tell yourself about what you think.
Fear is ne of the most powerful of emotions. It I normally protect us from harm. It is a gift. Without fear and the brain chemicals that go with it we would not be able to keep ourselves safe from anger.
One way to keep obsessive thinkers in balance is to use humor. Humor is the counterpoint of fear and also creates powerful 'feel good' chemicals in the brain.
Unfortunately many people who suffer from depression lose their sense of humor.
To try and combat this assigns one whole section of your journal to obsessive thoughts. Write out the thought.
An example would be 'What if I drop the baby?'
Counter this thought with a positive one such as 'I am in control.' And 'Caring for my Childs automatic.'
You would then question why you are feeling a certain way and identify it. 'What is really bothering me?
What happened to trigger this?
Your next step is to make a plan to solve this problem. Write outdo plan of action. Try using a relaxation tape every day for two weeks.
You may have noticed that you need to be very patient in order to reformat your thinking in these ways. However it works to cure anxiety once and for all so stick with this program.