Anxiety relapse postpartum
I’m a 22F and have dealt with anxiety since I was 5 years old. Every few years I go through what I call “anxiety spells” where I live in constant anxiety/disconnection from reality for months. Not just the day to day anxiety but the anxiety that makes you feel constant impending doom, where you only want to self isolate. Until one day I just snap out of it. This has been going on for as long as I can remember and I’m not really sure what triggers it. Back in 2023 I conceived my first daughter and quickly conceived my second after. So I have been either pregnant or breast feeding for the last 3 years. Throughout that time I didn’t experience anxiety the way I used to. Yes, I had the generalized anxiety but not the debilitating anxiety like I would get prior. I was sort of hoping I had just grown out of that. Until I got my first period back after weaning and it all hit me like a storm. My nervous system felt like it was under constant attack. I lost all of my baby weight in a month (about 15 pounds). I couldn’t eat, shower, grocery shop. Everything I did induced anxiety. I felt completely shut out from reality all the time and like there was a looming black cloud over my head. I should also include that in this time I also developed sub clinical hyperthyroidism. I am slowly digging myself out of it, everyday is getting a little bit easier, but I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I have started seeing a therapist and have started Prozac for the first time to help control it. I feel very alone in this as no one understands what this feels like. I’m also wondering if this has to do with hormones? I have asked my doctors to run a hormone panel but due to my age and regular periods they’ve refused.
Posted Feb 23, 2026, 6:11 AM UTC