How to beat pregnancy loneliness
Don’t suffer alone, if you feel lonely in your pregnancy, here are some ways to help beat it
It’s more common than you may think for pregnant women to feel lonely during their nine months.
But it is common. After all, your body is going through a lot of changes and if you are suffering from morning sickness that doesn’t stick to the morning or feeling very tired you may be feeling isolated from your old life.
Here’s our top tips for getting you through lonely times in pregnancy
Acknowledge how you feel
Accept how you’re feeling, don’t try and ignore it and push it to the back of your mind, acknowledge it so you can start to deal with it.
Reach out
Don’t sit back and wait for someone to notice, make the conscious effort to tell someone you trust exactly how you’re feeling.
Make effort to communicate
Even if you’re not feeling up to going out or visiting others, you can still reach out with a call or FaceTime to chat to help ease that feeling of loneliness.
What if it’s more than loneliness?
There are some signs to be aware of that perhaps you are suffering from more than loneliness in your pregnancy, that could indicate depression.
Apathy – losing interest in your usual daily life such as work, daily tasks and even can lose interest in your friends.
Growing anxiety – If you find yourself getting anxious about things you wouldn’t have in the past such as your relationship or even fears for your unborn child.
Hopelessness – If what might have started out as a feeling of loneliness has developed into a deeper feeling of hopelessness which feels hard to shake, this could be a sign of depression.
Suicidal thoughts – even if it’s occasional, never ignore this feeling as it strongly suggests you could be in a deep depression.
If any of these symptoms sound familiar, do seek help from your GP or midwife or alternatively you can reach out to the charity MIND at mind.org.uk/information-support/local-minds.aspx for help in your area.