Personal Story: My Journey with Postpartum Depression
When I had my son at 24 years old, I had a difficult time understanding my body. I loved my son so much, my family and I even saw him as our savior. I was so happy to have him, but as time passed I stopped taking care of myself. I stopped showering, being able to cheer up, wanting to have family moments, and I stopped watching shows that I liked before. I would cry and have evil thoughts against myself, but as these feelings continued I knew that it was important for me to start talking to my therapist. My psychiatrist suggested that I needed my medication dose to go up. As time kept going my medication dose kept going up, but this is not what I wanted at all. I decided that I wanted my dose to go back down, so I asked my therapist to work with me on my thoughts. I realized that each of my negative thoughts had different emotions attached to them. For example, one thought made me cry, another made me not want to shower, and others made me stop wanting to do activities that I enjoyed. I started to learn how to cope by accepting those emotions and processing them. I stopped working myself up and, instead, let them guide me. I also started to let others know how I was feeling. Some of the people that knew me would tell me how strong I was, but I would tell them “I don’t feel strong”. Over time I started feeling much better with the help of my therapist and the support of people around me.
Tips for dealing with postpartum depression:
- Get a therapist before having the baby.
- Take your time with any emotions you’re having.
- Let your family know if you need their help with the baby or with yourself
- Don’t rush yourself on getting better. Healing and recovery take time.
- Try doing what you enjoy or come up with new activities.
- Write each day what you did to get through the day. This will help you see your progress.
--Nathalea Sky, YUP! Young Parent and YAC member
