Postpartum anxiety hit me hard. And, even as a trained therapist, I didn’t know what it was. Of course I’d heard of postpartum depression, but I thought that was for other moms, moms who didn’t have the resources or support they needed.

Postpartum anxiety was not remotely on my radar. However, looking back, I had so many of the risk factors:

• A history of anxiety
• A family history of postpartum (perinatal) mood disorders
• A traumatic birth experience
• Very little family and community support (I lived nine hours from my family and didn’t have any mom friends where I lived)

My primary symptom was worrying about EVERYTHING. If there was something to worry about, I worried like there was no tomorrow. If there was nothing to worry about, I found a reason to worry anyway. I researched everything. I read everything. I questioned everything.

Attachment parenting, baby food, toys (I even gave my family lists of things that they were allowed to buy...