Scarleteen

Hey Sandrah,

I totally hear you on this — some days, it’s just a little harder to get yourself out of the reassurance-seeking loop. It’s okay to have these more difficult days, too; progress towards anxiety management is not linear, you can have a little blip and still be on your way towards feeling better about pregnancy anxiety. In times when you feel like you’re falling into the loop again, has your therapist given you any tools to help you in the moment? If not, is this something you feel like you can ask your therapist?

I see Andy also provided the Self-Care article; that is an excellent resource to go to, as well, in times when you’re struggling not to think about pregnancy risk. I think it’s also worth remembering that looking up sources on the internet can play a big role in perpetuating the reassurance-seeking cycle as well; looking at sources each time you have the anxiety can do more work to perpetuate the cycle, and often it can help more to just notice when the anxiety pops up, give yourself some self-care (a hug, an affirmation, etc.), and redirect to an activity that doesn’t involve engaging with the thing you’re anxious about. Know what I mean?

Yes she has given me some advice but these days is really difficult to manage and just waiting for my period for confirmation is exhausting and most of the times it keeps me from enjoying my daily life no matter how I try to distract myself

Hi Sandrah,

I'm so sorry that this anxiety is still weighing on you! I remember that you were considering taking a break from sexual activity to help manage your anxiety. Is that still something that you're thinking about doing? How do you feel about that?

I'm wondering if you'd like to explore where your anxiety comes from. You started this thread by referencing this piece: You're Not Pregnant. Why Do You Think You Are?. When you read it, did any of the reasons in the article feel like they might apply to you?