Perhaps you expected that the birth of your children would bring changes, but you weren’t expecting it would turn your world completely upside down. Indeed, if you have postpartum depression, it can be a terrifying and overwhelming time. Your routine and sleep schedule are disrupted, you may cry and feel emotional, and you may even feel as if you’re unfit to be a mother. A therapist can understand what you’re going through and how you can take steps to turn things around.
One Out of Five Women May Experience Postpartum Depression
If you or someone you know is struggling with postpartum depression, you are not alone. Over one-fifth of all women experience depression during their first year postpartum. Undoubtedly, having a baby can trigger a wide range of intense emotions, from excited to joyful, hopeful to happy, stressed to overwhelmed, and anticipatory to anxious.
It’s a biological fact that women face physical and hormonal changes while they are grappling with their new responsibilities of caring for a child. These changes can contribute to intense emotions and the risk of postpartum depression. Having had a prior episode of depression increases the risk of postpartum depression, and those symptoms are often already present during pregnancy.
Understanding the Signs and Symptoms of Postpartum Depression
It is critical to know and understand the signs and symptoms of postpartum depression. Symptoms of this depression are the same, whether the woman is currently pregnant or postpartum. Depression during this period has a unique impact on both the mother and the mother-infant relationship. It may also impact the youngster’s emotional and cognitive development.
Postpartum depression can affect women in several different ways. The following are some of the common signs and symptoms:
- Low mood that lasts longer than one weel
- Feelings of being overwhelmed
- Feeling trapped
- Feeling it is impossible to cope
- Feeling as if you’ve been rejected
- Profuse crying
- Guilty feelings
- Frequent irritability
- Panic and anxiety attacks
- Stomach aches, headaches, and blurred vision
- Little or no appetite
- Loss of libido
- Persistent fatigue
- Low motivation
- Concentration issues
- Sleeping problems
- Lacking self-care or self-interest
- Feeling of inadequate
- An unexplained lack of interest in the newborn baby
- No desire to meet up or connect with friends
Postpartum depression is not the same as baby blues, however. Baby blues affects new parents for a few days after the birth of their child. However, these people resume their daily routines after it all settles in.
Psychological Counseling Can Help Women with Postpartum Depression
It can be terrifying to have feelings of depression while you’re trying to care for a helpless infant. However, it’s helpful to remember that you are not alone. As many as 1 million new mothers in the United States are impacted by postpartum depression each year.
You can also seek professional help. As a knowledgeable and experienced counselor knows, many effective depression treatments in Palatine, IL are available, ranging from talk therapy to self-help strategies to medication. Treatment may not only help the mother’s symptoms, but it can improve the mother-child bond and support the baby’s emotional and cognitive development, as well. You can find out more by scheduling an appointment with a compassionate and qualified clinical psychologist.
Thanks to Lotus Wellness Center for their insight into counseling and postpartum depression.
