Pregnant & worrying about her mother dying
The mother of a friend of mine died recently. I offered my condolences, and since then I havent been the same.
DEAR ABBY: The mother of a friend of mine died recently. I offered my condolences, and since then I haven't been the same.
I am nine months pregnant, and even though I should be excited and celebrating the anticipated arrival of our baby, all I can think about is that my mother is going to die one day. She's 52, healthy and happy, but I can't get it out of my mind.
I have become a different person, crying at the most trivial things and often panicking that Mom's OK. I don't think I could make it through if anything happened to her.
Dwelling on this is affecting my relationship with my husband and my friends. How do I stop obsessing over this?
- Anxious in Albuquerque
DEAR ANXIOUS: A discussion with your OB-GYN would be helpful. By the last months of pregnancy, a woman's body is swimming in hormones. Those increased hormone levels have been known to have a profound effect on a woman's emotions.
The solution to your problem may be as simple as understanding that once your baby arrives and your hormones return to normal, you will be back on a more even keel. If that doesn't happen, you may have to talk with a mental-health professional - although I doubt that that will be necessary.
In the meantime, your mother is healthy, happy and about to be a grandmother, so dwell on the positive.
DEAR READERS: A thought for the day: The best exercise in the world is to bend down and help someone up.