feeling emotional during second trimester☔️ (I am not usually a crier!)

chapters:

• short intro

• what are pregnancy emotions?

• are pregnancy emotions real, or a MYTH?

• why are you more emotional during pregnancy?

• how to control pregnancy emotions?

• 4 tips

short intro

If you have been feeling emotional during pregnancy, you are not alone.

Is it normal to feel very emotional during pregnancy? COMPLETELY. Yes!

With everything happening in your body, with your body, in your life, in your mind; your emotions are bound to take a toll in some way.

For each woman, this look different, as with anything else.

Today, I will go into:

• are women more emotional during pregnancy? (not with all women, but is it more likely?)

• why do I get emotional during pregnancy?

• is it normal to cry a lot during pregnancy?

• how to control emotions during pregnancy?

I, personally, have started feeling a lot more emotional during pregnancy in my second trimester, by easily crying, and feeling more sensitive while pregnant (when I would usually not be as emotionally reactive).

So, let's breakdown what every woman should know whilst they go through the emotional rollercoaster of pregnancy...

what are pregnancy emotions?

First of all, I wanted to quickly tackle the obvious question of "what are we actually talking about here in real-world scenarios?"

Whoever is pregnant and knows what I am talking about, doesn't need much explanation for this one, but those who are not sure whether they are emotional because of pregnancy, or maybe just overthinking? Let me make it easier for you.

Pregnancy emotions are all about looking at your emotional self (your emotional environment) during pregnancy, and comparing this state to your emotional self outside of pregnancy.

Your emotional environment composes of what emotions most commonly fill-up your days and life, what most commonly triggers you to feel negative emotions? does it take a lot for you to feel irritable / is your tolerance quite high? How do you physically react to your emotions / do you usually cry a lot when feeling certain emotions or in certain scenarios?

For example:

• Before pregnancy, let's hypothetically consider that you pretty much only cry when you see super sad movies, but that's about it. You are usually quite bouncy, and optimistic, and it takes quite a lot to get you to feel frustrated or annoyed

• During pregnancy: let's say now you notice yourself feeling sad after someone says something less-polite to you, that you wouldn't have cared as much for before. You cry just watching a puppy video on Youtube or simply thinking about something cute. You find it harder to pick yourself up when you are feeling this state of lowness. You are ruminating a bit more in your feelings.

Quite an extreme scenario difference, but it's quite reasonable to say that you are experiencing pregnancy emotions.

Comparing your pregnant self to your baseline self is what helps you answer this.

Of course, it could just be a result of you dealing with such huge transitions in life, body and all else, that is pregnancy; but it nonetheless still comes to the surface as pregnancy emotions.

common types of pregnancy emotions (or emotional reactions) you might experience:

• increased anxiety

• lower tolerance to stress

• more easily overwhelmed

• crying more easily or more frequently

• increasing feelings of self-doubt and worry

are pregnancy emotions real, or a MYTH?

There are many common pregnancy myths, such as: "you will be glowing all the time" or "you're eating for two now". Of course if you are glowing 100% of the time while pregnant, and you do want to eat as if you are for two, then I still cheer you on girl!

But you get the gist.

There are many common myths out there about pregnancy, specially with how widely diverse a woman's experience can be of the same life event; of growing a life inside of them. But EVERYTHING can feel different, since we are all different.

Now, one thing that is NOT a myth, no matter WHO you are is the simple fact that:

• Pregnancy emotions are VERY real

I can say I used to think that it was just a stereotype that was greatly exaggerated by TV shows and movies, and not to say I thought it was a complete lie, but I never thought to the extent it actually is!

why are you more emotional during pregnancy?

Well, I'm about to say the SAME.THING. that I have for other pregnancy-related changes in previous blog posts, but it's true and it's...

Hormones!!!

I still don't quite get the ins-and-outs, scientifically-speaking, but the whole concept is that during pregnancy, your hormonal levels change a lot, compared to your usual cycle.

If we simply take that statement as the fundamental basis of pregnancy emotions and causes, because of hormonal shift, then we can already understand why our emotions might also be NOT AS regulated as what they might usually be.

I know, you might be thinking "well, how do hormones affect emotions during pregnancy?".

Just think about it...

• Your hormonal levels are not at the stable levels your body and mind is used to

• Your hormones impact your emotions

• Your hormonal fluctuations lead to fluctuations in emotions that you are not used to

• Thus, making your emotions not as regulated because of

a) hormonal changes, but also

b) the simple fact that you do not KNOW how to deal with pregnancy emotions, because you cannot predict it and haven’t experienced it before.

You have spent your adulting years getting to learn about yourself, how you respond and feel in certain situations, learning how to self-soothe, and pick yourself up, to then be almost thrown into a complete new hormonal environment, where emotions may feel more erratic during pregnancy.

Learning to deal with this novelty in our self can also become challenging, confusing and troubling, that might place more emphasis on our emotional intensity.

So, don't you worry girl, it is normal to feel more emotional during pregnancy, whether it's your first, second or third trimester, AND whether it's your first, second, or anything-beyond child.

Give yourself grace in those incontrollable emotional moments in pregnancy, to know it is part of the process.

how to control pregnancy emotions?

THIS question is one I have thought about a lot myself, and my personal answer to this is that there is NO WAY.

You cannot control the emotions you are feeling, specially when they are at such high intensity such as during pregnancy, and when it's so biologically infiltrated within you; as with your hormones.

Even if you tried to learn what triggers were causing your pregnancy emotions, chances are, it’s quite random.

ON THE OTHER HAND, you can control how you respond to your pregnancy emotions to help you in how to handle pregnancy emotions.

Notice how I said "respond" and not "react", since I do not want to imply impulsion, but I want to fight for our logical side to come out a bit more, because it IS present, it's just been pushed way to the back there, with all the pregnancy hormones.

disclaimer: I am not trying to say that you "should" be controlling your pregnancy emotions either, but if you are wanting to know how you might be able to learn to manage these heightened emotions, during such a challenging time as is already, then that is more-so what I aim to offer you if you will.

I am about to share 4 tips to handle pregnancy emotions, that I personally keep in-mind, and that I felt were the most compelling from my research across Google, and self-experience.

It doesn't mean these tips will cure all of your experiences with pregnancy emotions, but it might help you self-soothe during those times, where you feel a bit out of control, and out of tune with yourself.

Take some time to reflect and see what seems to sit with you better. It may be that none of my 4 tips align with you too, and that is okay.

What matters is that you feel your best as much as possible, so let these tips serve you as a guide or inspiration.

4 tips

My tips are all surrounding self-love, in one way or another.

It is all about pouring into yourself, now more than ever; even in moments where your pregnancy emotions might have you feeling shameful for how you may have acted or behaved in a particular scenario, because of all the novelty and chaos surrounding these emotions you are feeling.

• 1. Let yourself FEEL the emotions

I know, this one might annoy you since it might be something you don’t actually want to do.

Well, I put it as my NUMBER 1 tip for you on purpose.

You need to be aware that there is no way of managing your pregnancy emotions, without allowing yourself to FIRST feel those emotions in its entirety.

There is absolutely no point fighting emotions you simply cannot comprehend at-times.

It might feel long, or exhausting, or like your whole pregnant life is being even made more tiring by having to emotionally self-regulate, but it is a necessary step.

Think of it like mothering yourself. You need to go through this step, even if slightly uncomfortable, to then get it out of your system and move-on and feeling more soothed or relaxed.

Make this as easy as possible for you by perhaps doing it alone, doing it in a cosy environment, light some candles; really try to feel relaxed whilst going into this immersion of your emotions.

FOR ME: I have to say I sometimes would ignore the emotions I was feeling, like sadness or helplessness, because I was too tired and wanted to start feeling good, but I needed a cry session to be able to get through to feeling lighter and better; even if the mind didn’t comprehend “why”, my body was releasing what it needed to!

• 2. Speak SENSE into yourself

This one is all about tapping into your logic, to stabilise your emotions.

I’m not telling you to try figure out WHY you are feeling what you are feeling. In this tip, I’m advising you to use your words to uplift yourself.

Self-talk works wonders, but I’m not saying affirmations here.

Go to a mirror, look at yourself, and start stating facts of the GOOD in your life.

FOR EXAMPLE:

• I am in good-health

• I have a warm home and bed to sleep in

• I have an abundance of food in my kitchen

• I am alive and well

Simply stating facts brings to consciousness the little BUT AMAZING things we have in our life that make us capable to go and live the life we want, like health and a roof over our heads.

This exercise isn’t to make you feel shameful of your pregnancy emotions, but IS to balance your emotions a little and help you get out of that head-space a little by looking at the bigger picture of your life.

Because most times, if there is a reason you are feeling a certain type of way during pregnancy, it might be because you are magnifying it rather than looking at it as part of the bigger picture that is your life.

Displaying this gratitude through factual evidence grounds you, and helps calm any intensity of emotions you might be feeling.

You don’t even need to smile, just simply bringing to your awareness how much you HAVE in your present self.

• 3. REST - but not as you think!

Sounds OBVIOUS, right?

Well, if you are like me: pregnant and working on my Blog to not have maternity stop me from achieving my entrepreneurial dream of making a full-time income from my Blog, then it can be easy to forget to rest sometimes.

I touch-on this, in my recent blog post, in how I stayed consistent for the last 6 months Blogging!

Tuning into what your energy is (not only in terms of tired vs energetic; BUT in terms of inspired or uninspired) can dictate how you should self-soothe or what following steps to take.

FOR EXAMPLE:

• You are feeling sluggish and have sat down to write another blog post.

  = Well, if you are feeling sluggish, you might need a pick-me-up. Instead of getting straight into your content creation, take 30-minutes to make a matcha, pour it in a cute glass, and drink your matcha by the window so you can just people-watch and air-out your mind a bit. You’ll be recharged once you sit back at your laptop to start creating incredible blogging content!

• You are feeling irritable, and you are about to wash some dishes.

  = Rest in this sense might be simply taking 10-minutes to sit, and watch some comfort Youtube to give yourself a mental break from choirs, to then get back to your choirs.

• You are feeling annoyed with overwhelm from your 9-to-5, staying on-top of your Blogging goals AND pregnancy.

  = Maybe instead of proceeding with whatever other to-do list tasks you have on your checklist or planner, you could take 1-hour to just invest in some fun! This could be a walk in a calm local area, playing some videogames, going to a café and having pastry, baking some brownies, putting on a face mash and doing your nails; …the options are endless!! Prioritising fun will make you happier than you originally were.

Of course, you could just take “rest” as sleeping, but I wanted to rewire your perspective on resting. Since, chances are you have a lot going on in your life that you DON’T WANT TO GIVE UP on because of pregnancy and maternity.

Reshaping the way we view rest, by implementing some self-care, some fun, tuning into how we feel and honouring those needs; can drastically increase our feelings of wellness and have our pregnancy emotions be a lot more vague or non-existent in-all!

• 4. Have low-maintenance HOBBIES set-up

We talk a lot about maintenance when it comes to self-care, beauty, fashion, general aesthetic, which I love and think is amazing as girlies who want to always be feeling themselves, or try to most of the time!

But one of my prime tips to help manage pregnancy emotions is to have some low-maintenance options ready for fun!

As ambitious, driven women, it can be easy to forget to schedule-in some fun or hobbies. Or even if we do, it might be something you intentionally plan and takes some time ahead of doing the hobby.

However, I think it is one of the most life-changing GIRLIE HAPPINESS hacks to have low-maintenance hobbies ready-available for you to do whenever!

Specially, when you are pregnant and are a busy girlie, working on your Blog, and working 9-to-5, it is a GAMECHANGER to take this on!

FOR EXAMPLE:

• Videogame consoles: I’m not a gaming girlie, but growing up I was ALL about my Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii. I love Mario Kart, Super Mario and Crash Bandicoot (if you know, you know!!!). I recently found I still had my childhood Nintendo DS, and I now CONSTANTLY have it on my bedside table for whenever I want to tap-into my inner child, even if it’s only 10-minutes before sleep or after dinner. It’s also baby pink, so it’s super cute and girlie, which I absolutely ADORE and makes me happy just looking at it(!).

• Ready-to-bake goodies: Baking is super comforting, and is yummy too! However, baking from scratch is not always the one when you don’t have much energy or might need to go and buy ingredients. So having ready-to-bake goodies in your freezer, ready for you to use is such a rewarding and wholesome activity! My personal favourites are croissants and cookie dough. An extra BONUS to make it feel like you put a lot of effort WITHOUT doing anything, is having some cute cookie-shape cutters at home, to have adorably-shaped cookies. I have a set from Flying Tiger with stars, and hearts, and it fills my heart to see the aesthetic, and smell the oven-baked goodies cooking up!

• Word Search books: having these laying around is a gem! I used to only buy these at the airport, to do on the airplane if I got bored, but I recently discovered how fun these can be even at-home! Instead of scrolling on social media, which doesn’t feel the best always, I start doing word searches for a few minutes, with a cup of tea and my favourite Youtuber (Tam Kaur or Fernanda Ramirez) on TV, and it is SO RELAXING!

• Puzzles: but the KEY is to make sure your puzzles are not too hard! I bought a puzzle box that I thought was super cool, that made-up a photo of the ‘Friends’ cast, except I didn’t realise 1000 pieces was TOO MUCH ahaha. Make sure your puzzles are easy-enough to enjoy, personalised with a theme-related to something you like, and have the box accessible to you, so you can easily start mindlessly puzzling and listening to some music, or watching a movie in the background as a super fun and soothing hobby!

There are MANY more low-maintenance hobbies you could adopt like drawing, doodling, colouring-in books, the above four hobbies are my personal favourites, since it doesn’t require much post-hobby clean-up, is easy to get started, doesn’t require much planning, and is very intentional to keep you mindless, in moments you have less energy, but want to make time for some joy.

All 4 tips are to help you feeling happier, more joyful and more relaxed in the chaos that can be pregnancy emotions.

Sometimes, we just need to remind ourselves that we need to breathe, rest, and take a break from adulting to have some fun and tap into our inner-child.

♡

I hope this has been a useful and comforting read for you, as a fellow girlie also going through the pregnancy emotions during my second trimester, and making the most of trying to be as much in my wellness so I can live as much of a happy, fulfilled life according to my girlie dreams, but also according to my boss girl ambitions.

Living out my vision board dreams comes with learning how to regulate my emotions, so I can be at my most optimal self for business, girlhood, and LIFE.

Comment if you have anything you specifically do to make yourself feel better managing pregnancy emotions, and any questions you may have for me, pregnancy-related, blogging-related, or GIRLHOOD-related!

Own your Womanhood. Own Your Time.

♡

I’ll be logging updates throughout this whole journey as a mother-to-be, working to be an entrepreneur, but to also still preserve the girlhood within, to try and be her best self, and live her happiest life, so keep-up with me through the blog!

I release a new blog post every Friday at 1pm! (UK-time)

Let me know if you’re in a similar headspace (pregnant or not), being in our 20s is confusing, and taking control of our story is the only way we can take ownership of our happiness and live out our dream life.

I document my unwanted pregnancy journey at 25, taking control of my narrative, figuring out being a girl in my 20s, chasing my dream life, and conquering my boss babe dream of becoming a self-employed, entrepreneur / Blogger!