Sunday, September 13, 2015

Do I Have Postpartum Depression?



One of the reasons postpartum depression can go under the radar is that a new mother may think that how she feels is just how it is to be a mom. Often moms with PPD know that something is wrong and share how they are feeling with a health care practitioner and are told that is a normal part of adjusting to being a mom.  The difference is that new mom adjustment passes but PPD just gets worse.

Also, if there has been no prior history of depression, a person may not be able to fathom that what is going on is indeed a depression and think they can just snap out of it.

Some of the symptoms I encountered were:
1.   loss of appetite
2.   lack of joy and pleasure
3.   difficulty swallowing
4.   difficulty sleeping
5.   anxiety about my baby getting enough to eat
6.   inability to make decisions like what to buy at the grocery store
7.   feeling like a shell of myself
8.   wanting to sleep all the time
9.   disconnecting from friends and family
10.  emotional numbness

It took me a long time to realize and accept that it was postpartum depression.

What symptoms have you experienced?
At what point did you realize you had postpartum depression?