Here are common symptoms which sufferers experience with PNI:

• Panic attacks and anxiety
• Constant tiredness, irritability and even anger
• A fear of illness in yourself and or others
• Thoughts that you will harm your child or another member of your family either accidentally or deliberately
• Fear or thoughts that you may sexually or physically abuse either your newest baby or your other children
• Feeling physically ill and having physical symptoms that are unusual for you such as chest pains, breathing problems, headaches, dizziness, many minor illnesses and stomach upsets
• Worrying constantly about the health of yourself your baby, your other children or family and friends
• Obsessive thoughts or repetitive, chanting thoughts or voices
• Many women with PNI describe a feeling of having ‘foggy’ vision or a ‘mussy’ head
• Having worries that everyday objects such as knives, stairs, play equipment, even your car or the bus are dangerous and could harm your child, yourself or your family; and you could also experience ‘what if’ thoughts about what could happen if they did
• Low self esteem, feelings that you are a ‘bad’ mother or a ‘bad’ person
• Obsessions about either your own health, your childrens / partners – fears that you or they will die
• A constant feeling of doom or dread – as if something really horrible will happen any minute
• Having a constant need to discuss and revisit the birth because it was so traumatic and you felt things to be out of control. Or not being able to think or talk about the birth at all
• A feeling of great sadness and a feeling that since the baby, life isn’t worth living and nothing gives you joy, not even your new baby
• A feeling that if you just disappeared out of your families life everything would be OK for them – that you are causing your family unhappiness by just being around
• A feeling of numbness and lack of emotion – which also might extend to a lack of feeling for your baby
• Hiding how you feel and putting on a ‘brave face’
• If it is part of your life: Feeling that you have ‘lost your faith’ and you will never get it back
• Actual self harm or feeling you would like to harm yourself; that you either never felt before or did before and has come back
• Difficulty getting to sleep, or waking up in a panic or feeling ill – either in the night or early in the morning
• Feeling overwhelmingly weary / tired all the time even when you do get enough sleep
• Misusing Alcohol, Drugs and / or Prescription Drugs to a worrying extent.

We are here for you!

Our Website and Forum is run by sufferers and past sufferers (survivors) of Post Natal Illness (PNI).

There are no experts here… But we can all offer to share our personal experiences, based on having been there too.