Mind Over Mother: Every mum's guide to worry and anxiety in the first years

by Anna Mathur

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'With conversations on Maternal Mental Health on the rise, and more women speaking up about the way they feel, Anna Mathur's insight as a psychotherapist AND mother make her someone you feel you can trust. She offers little nuggets of gold while reminding us to point some of our kindness and love inwards.' Giovanna Fletcher, bestselling author of Happy Mum, Happy Baby 'Anna is breath of fresh air - relatable, funny and wise' Sarah Turner, bestselling author of The Unmumsy MumBaby-proof the house; panic-proof the mum.Do you overthink what you said to the mum in the supermarket queue? Is your internal dialogue more critical than kind? Perhaps you wake to check your baby is breathing, or the sight of a rash sends you down an internet search rabbit hole. Whatever your level of anxiety, however much it impacts your life, this book is for you.Anxiety is making motherhood a less pleasant, more fraught and pressured experience, and we do not have to accept joy-sapping worry and energy-draining overthinking as part of the motherhood job description. In Mind Over Mother, Anna Mathur, psychotherapist and mum of three, explains how Understand anxiety, why it affects you and what to do about it* Make your mind a kinder, calmer, happier place to be* Transform your motherhood experience by addressing your thinkingThe most powerful tool Anna has to communicate this isn't the letters after her name, it is the fact that she is open about her own experience of maternal anxiety. By sharing her journey, she gives you the confidence to reframe yours. Mind Over Mother is full of light bulb moments of realisation. It will have you learning, laughing and loving yourself through the journey of motherhood. You will learn to address the most important conversation you'll ever have - the one inside your head, because investing in your mental health is the best gift you can offer yourself and your child.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

263 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 14, 2020

Reviews

[Jessica Fear · Rating 1 out of 5]

For me: an entirely forgettable read. It’s real Anxiety 101 stuff so, unless this is your first time reading on the topic of anxiety (whether applied to motherhood or generally), you will probably find this book repetitive in terms of the advice it offers.

I read it because I wanted to get a glimpse into how my anxiety might change were I to get pregnant, but I came away knowing very little. I don’t think this book gets into the motherhood aspect quite as thoroughly as it might have done, exploring, for instance, the link between anxiety and PND. It’s also written from a very middle class, nuclear family normy perspective (“My husband came home from work and I hadn’t done the laundry. I fee like such a failure.” - that kind of thing) and so fails to account for the far more complex difficult issues low-income and/or single mothers, for example, might face. Breathing exercises and positive self-affirmations can only get you so far...

(Also, I actually listened to this as an audiobook and I found the narrator’s voice very grating. She likes to put emphasis on every. Single. Adverb. It’s “SO”... annoying.)

[Madeleine VB · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read, chatty and familiar, like having coffee at a baby group. Not unenjoyable, but a little superficial. I found it a decent overview of how anxiety might manifest during motherhood, and some of it was helpful and comforting, such as the examples of health anxiety and intrusive thoughts. It provided some reassurance and practical tips (breathing exercises, for instance) but I'm not sure it will have a lasting impact on me. That said, I don't struggle with anxiety regularly, maybe if I did it would help more. It was a gift which I enjoyed, and I will pass it on to another mum now that I've finished it.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am seeing a therapist because of a generalized anxiety disorder and still this book helped me a lot. As my therapist is not a mom herself this alone was a much needed addition, but also to help me have an overview of what is all connected to it, what affects my mentality and to have some additional tools and techniques to help me change how I see myself and my anxiety - I would highly recommend this book for people with anxiety disorder. Yes it starts with the obvious and if you flick through it you might not see its worth but if you invest the time to read the book from start to finish and think about the prompts at the end of each chapter, if you do the work to try the techniques she teaches then this book can be an immense help for too.

[Bethanna Hobbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great tool for working through current anxieties or worries but also for being aware of how to cope and manage for any future anxiety to come. Loads of helpful techniques and question points to help you fully understand and get to the root of how you feel in this season of life. Thoroughly enjoyed reflecting on that for myself and having a little time to journal through the questions. Great book.

[Natalie Dosanjh · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a first time mum and sufferer of anxiety and PND I found this book wonderfully helpful. Lots of great tips to help you get on top of things. I particularly love her take on gratitude. I’ve implemented it in my day to day and really found it’s made an impact. Great tips of self care too. I follow Anna on Instagram and she’s amazing; so relatable.

[Atiaf Alwazir · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think every new mom experiencing anxiety should read this or listen to the audio version. The last few chapters were especially helpful on my sleepless anxious nights of early postpartum days. Thank you Anna!

[Kerry]

Abandoned a third of the way in. I don’t need anxiety explaining to me. I could understand the first chapter being a run down of anxiety but I picked this up expecting a bit more and I don’t have the time to keep reading to see if it gets deeper.

[Amie Caswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every mother needs to read this

I wish I had found it sooner. This book has changed my outlook entirely and helped me out in to place everything I needed to help myself and my child

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. It’s warm and conversational in style and full of helpful information and insights into anxiety. At the end of each chapter there are tips and questions for reflection. It’s a book I will definitely come back to and work through.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a great book! Thank you Anna!

[Candice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely helpful

[G MoJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been an absolute game changer for me. Cannot recommend enough.

[Mary Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful tips I have to use now and stored away for the future!

[Alanna Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review here: https://theresnoenjoymentlikereading....

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminds mums (and any parent) that you need to fill your own cup before helping others. Being a parent is a very selfless act and this was a good reminder to be you before being a mum

[Milene Teixeira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This helped more to understand my head and anxiety than the IESO online therapy that I was assigned to when I finally reached out to the health visitor and was diagnosed with moderate depression and severe anxiety… only wish i had found this book at the beginning of my struggles instead of 12 months down the line!