“Parent”, it’s not just a word, it’s a responsibility in itself. A responsibility to bring a healthy child in this world. A responsibility to fulfill all his dreams. A responsibility to keep him happy throughout life. And with these overwhelming responsibilities comes parental anxiety.
The moment any lady sees two pink lines on a pregnancy test, the anxiety starts. Her mind gets stuck into numerous valid and invalid questions about pregnancy, childbirth and parenting. These worries intensify after the child is born.
For many parents, parental anxiety is a real and difficult issue but there are many methods that can help in dealing with it.
Know the Symtpoms
Just imagine, your little one just started going to school and you are having extreme separation anxiety. You might have worst thoughts about the other kids bullying your child or the teacher not appreciating his personality.
All these fears can lead to parental anxiety. If you are an over anxious parent, you may experience the following:
You are more protective and often demonstrate shielding and avoidance behaviors. Shielding behaviors involve protecting your child from anything negative that can happen to him. On the other hand, avoidance behavior include removing yourself or your child from situations that you find fearful.
For instance, you might refuse your baby to go to a picnic from the fear of accident, even when you know the bus driver is a responsible person.
Being a parent, these random thoughts and fear is quite normal but when it becomes constant, it can be a symptom of parental anxiety.
The second common symptom is that you may engage yourself in anxious talk and conversations about your fears related to parenting. You constantly think negative about your child’s problems and you do not have any life outside. Your own thoughts put you into an unhappy and unhealthy place and makes you more anxious.
You google a lot. You spend majority of the time researching parenting questions. Even if your little one has minor cold, you think of it as something more serious.
Causes of Parental Anxiety
If you find yourself over anxious, it is important to find out the root cause and try to work on it. Certain factors that contribute to parental anxiety are:
● A history of mental illness
● Stressful or negative life events
● A history of anxiety in other relatives
● Physical conditions that trigger anxiety symptoms.
● Overcomparing your child with other children.
Tips to manage Parental Anxiety
Good news: If you are an over anxious parent and want to overcome your anxiety issues, here are some tips to manage it.
● Accept that you are fearful and learn the risks and facts. It helps combating your own fear.
● Expose yourself to fear and fight them. You can naturally overcome your fears by experiencing them.
● Get your body moving. Parental anxiety has many side effects on your body. So, start working out and divert your mind into something meaninful.
● Get professional help. Therapy works well in case of anxiety. If you think your problem is more serious you can even go for medications.
● Talk to your partner.
● Meditate. Deeo breathing helps a lot in dealing with negative thoughts and anxiety issues.
Remember, parental anxiety is just a state and not a permanent condition. You can easily overcome it by following some easy parenting tips. So, keep your worries at bay and enjoy parenthood.
