A high-risk pregnancy and a NICU stay are wrought with countless moments of the unknowns.
You may not know what will happen a few weeks from now or even a few minutes from now.
The natural instinct is to create our own answer to the unknowns, often times imagining the worst.
Our mind is incredibly powerful at getting our bodies to believe what we're thinking is true. (Tweet that!)
So when you're scared or anxious because you don't know what to expect, you start imagining the worst case scenario.
And your mind convinces your body that something bad is happening right now.
You imagine a painful delivery, your baby coming early, your baby unable to tolerate kangaroo care or bad news at your doctors' appointment.
Your stomach drops, your heart rate (and blood pressure!) shoot through the roof. You get stomach cramps and you can't sleep.
All because of what you're imagining could happen.
If this sounds familiar, here's what you can do.
The next time you start worrying about how a test or exam will go or what your birth experience will be like, take a moment to close your eyes, take a deep breath and visualize.
Whatever the thing is that’s scaring you, picture it in full detail.
Imagine what your doctor’s exam room looks like. Imagine what the OR looks like.
Who’s in the room? What does it look like? What colors do you see? What smells do you smell? What do you hear going on around you?
Imagine that moment that you're afraid of in detail and then visualize everything going well.
Whatever going well means to you. Go through that whole experience in your mind.
Do that over and over and over.
This will give you a sense of control, which is what's missing and is the reason why you feel so anxious and worried.
The more in control you feel the more likely you will go into a scary moment feeling confident. (Tweet that!)
And when you’re confident you’re going to be able to get through it with less pain and anxiety and you're going to be present and beable to focus during that moment.