Coping Strategies For New-Parent Panics
Having your first child is an acid test of adulthood. It’s the moment when you realise that you are responsible for an entire human life, and you have to get it right, every time (otherwise you will create one messed up human being and it will be alllllllllllll your fault). This pressure tends to produce a huge spike in anxiety for new parents, which is often worsened by sleep deprivation.
Coping with this anxiety is essential, for your health and your child’s. If you’re constantly worrying about your baby’s health, then you’re normal for a new parent, but that doesn’t make it any easier to live with. Below, let’s examine a few coping methods that can ease the burden, and let you sleep as easily as possible during those first few months.
Coping Method: Use Full Service Options For Medical Treatment
If you’re worried about something to do with your child’s health, then you do have options besides the eternal struggle that is obtaining a GP appointment. Try and make use of the alternative services to ease your concern and keep on top of your child’s health. There are options such as using an online doctor app or even just visiting a pharmacy, both of which are far quicker and don’t involve the same stresses as trying to obtain a full GP appointment.
Coping Method: Talk To Your Relatives
Speaking to family members about the concerns you’re going through is a fantastic way of approaching the problem. This is especially true of elderly relatives, who will have been through and experienced what you’re experiencing — often many times over. Not only will they hopefully be able to offer sage advice when it comes to calming your nerves, but they will also be sound judges of whether there’s really a problem or it’s all a manifestation of your panic. While relatives are unlikely to welcome a call at 2am in the morning, for the most part, they will have more time and willingness to discuss what’s happening than a doctor would.
Coping Method: Buddy Up With Other Parents
Wondering how to make friends with other parents is natural when you first have a child. Your childfree and childless friends just don’t get what you’re going through; if you don’t already have other friends with children, then it can feel like you have nowhere to turn.
You’re going to need the support of those other parents, though. You’ll need to bounce ideas around, have someone to turn to when you’re concerned, even just have someone to ask: “my baby did this… is it normal?”
Without existing parents in your friendship group, this can be tricky. Thankfully, the internet solves many of these concerns. There are plenty of Facebook groups and specialist, dedicated forums which can help to connect you with other parents going through the same emotions as you are. Pursuing these options should help you feel less isolated, and thus better able to cope.
The first year of your baby’s life is incredibly tough to cope with on an emotional level. Hopefully, by putting some of the above ideas into practice, you should be able to leave your worries aside and just enjoy every single second.
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