Reduce Pregnancy Anxiety in 3 Simple Steps
/As I come to the end of my pregnancy I've had MANY conversations with other pregnant women. I've also done my fair share of social media scrolling on pregnancy hashtags. It's amazing the volume of questions, anxieties, expectations, and overall stress that women experience during pregnancy. And rightly so, your whole life and body are changing rapidly before your eyes! I've experienced several moments of anxiety myself. But I keep coming back to my self love lessons in order to refocus and move throughout my day with more enjoyment and happiness.
I found that there were 3 specific ways to reduce my anxiety and increase my overall level of happiness during my pregnancy. They are simple, which means they are easy do to but they are also easy NOT to do. But if you're serious about reducing your anxiety here are 3 things to engage in today:
1. Peaceful Pockets:
Set aside time during your day where you savor and enjoy the sheer fact that you are pregnant. This can be a meditation around your baby, visualizing what your family life will look like. Or playing music into your womb. Or just watching the kicks and talking to your baby. This is a pocket of time you devote each day to embracing the beauty of your changing body, you are engaged more fully and deeply with your baby and you are letting those love emotions fill up your soul. These savory moments will fuel your mind, body and soul and create a happier more connected experience for you!
2. Gold Star Recognition:
We'll soon be rewarding our little one with some version of a "gold star" when they do something right. This recognition keeps them excited about what they've done and makes them want to do more of that good thing! Well we are no different. However, as we've gotten older our brains tend to focus on all the things that AREN'T working. We have our lists handy on all the ways we've failed during the day but we forget all the things we've done really well. Each night in a gratitude journal or even as simple as a running notes section on your phone, I want you to give yourself credit and recognize all the things you DID accomplish and what you felt went really well. Instead of letting the negative bias of your brain shape how the day looked, explore the amazing. And when you go to bed wrapped in that kind of joy you will reduce your anxiety throughout the night and wake up refreshed and refueled.
3. Seek Out Adventure:
Remember when you were a kid and you could find adventure in anything? A simple blanket could turn into a mighty fort and transfix you for hours. Our to-do lists are pretty much as exciting as a blanket am I right? So how can you find the adventure in your day? My mentor, Brendon Burchard, always says, "the power plant doesn't HAVE energy it GENERATES it." Meaning, it's up to us to adjust our attitude and find the joy and the adventure in the mundane. When we find the adventure we're learning how to be a better human being and we're creating extraordinary life moments and memories.
While pregnancy seems like an extremely LONG period of time it is finite when you look back. I've heard from so many women how fast it felt. I've also heard the miss it terribly. So while you're in this precious moment of time that women around the world love, crave and miss how can you generate more joy? With these 3 steps you have the tools to minimize anxiety, savor the moment and create lasting enjoyable memories and habits that will serve you as you move into motherhood.
If you're like me, you'll need a visual reminder to stay on top of this list. I've created a little image you can download and put on your phone's home screen to remind you of these self care steps to reduce your pregnancy anxiety. Download it HERE!
xo
Becky
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