My wife and I are expecting our first baby next May.
- Somedays it feels like I’m caught in a perpetual whirlwind.
I’m not sure if I’m ready to have children, but I don’t have a choice anymore. I have to mature as quickly as possible, especially so my wife isn’t bearing all of the responsibility for taking care of our child. Getting therapy in the past year has helped tremendously. It’s helpful when you start to understand your last and how it all coalesces to inform your day to day psychology. I never realized until embracing therapy that I had a chronic anxiety issue from early childhood that never improved. Like many people, my mental health issues increased with age. My early 20s were rife with substance abuse and struggles in college to maintain my grades. I got a grip on my academic troubles eventually, but it took a few years to quit self-medicating with alcohol. The therapist gave my information to the in house psychiatrist so the doctor could prescribe me an antidepressant for my anxiety and depression symptoms. Now I finally feel like I’m getting readier to be a father. My wife on the other hand is struggling with her pregnancy. Even if we keep the temperature on the air conditioner below 66 degrees in the house, she still gets hot flashes at random times. I don’t mind running the air conditioner this low as far as the electricity bill is concerned, but I’m freezing so much I have to wear a thicker sweater around the house. My wife tells me to turn up the temperature when she sees me shivering, but I insist that I can put on more clothing to get comfortable while she’s still hot even if she’s naked.