You’ve had a child either recently or in the past few years and you notice your mood isn’t the same. You don’t feel like the same person you once were, and it might not just be the shift into caring for this new life, it feels deeper.
Imagine you know what symptoms could be postpartum depression or anxiety and are able to care for yourself through it. You have the coping skills, the communication strategies, and the plan in place for what to do when postpartum depression or anxiety happens. Therapy can be helpful in navigating this change whether it is your first child or your sixth.
1: Not Sleeping From Fear After Having A Newborn
You may notice you can’t stop staring at either your baby as they sleep or the monitor. You keep checking to make sure they are breathing, sometimes even waking them up to check on them. Maybe you wake up in panic attacks
They say sleep when the baby sleeps but you are awake with worry about them, will they get too hot, will they roll over, and so many other things occupy your mind in those moments.
Having trouble sleeping from fear of something happening to your child is usually a pretty clear indicator of postpartum anxiety and that you may need help.
2: Struggling To Get Anything Done In Postpartum
You want to keep up with your house, cook, or do just about anything other than sit on the couch but somehow you just can’t get up. You feel like you are drowning without a life preserver in sight and want so badly to be productive and feel like you again. Maybe your limbs feel heavy or you are struggling to have the energy to complete even the smallest tasks. This can be a sign of postpartum depression and how depression can stop us from getting anything accomplishes.
3: Suddenly Irate And Filled With Rage Post Having A Baby
You never had a problem with anger or rage before having a child but suddenly you get irritable at the drop of the hat. You yell at your child, your partner, or even the dog. You just can’t stop feeling so angry at even the smallest of things and feel like you can’t control that anger even if you wanted to. This can be a sign of postpartum rage which changes in hormone, lifestyle, and your emotions can all play a factor. Therapy can help give you coping skills to handle postpartum rage. Postpartum rage can coincide with postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety. Almost 1 in 4 women will experience postpartum rage so you are not alone.
4: Withdrawal From Your Partner, Family And Friends In Postpartum
You find yourself struggling to get out of the house, possibly struggling even to reach out or respond to your family and friends. Maybe you worry about being judged based on your parenting, or not being able to voice how hard being a parent can be. You might be withdrawing from your husband and having challenges in communication about discipline with him, parenting, or any discussion with him. Perhaps you have so much anxiety over the baby getting sick or just the challenges to get out of the house. You may feel overly worried about situations that aren’t dangerous.
5: Struggles To Bond With Your Baby
You find yourself struggling to bond and connect with your baby. You may have really wanted them and now you don’t know why or how you’ll make it through raising this child. They feel like a stranger to you. You feel exhausted and overwhelmed and have no idea how to keep coping which could be stopping you from forming that bond. Maybe they had significant, unexpected health problems or you are struggling to learn how to calm them. These can be signs of a deeper postpartum issue and a need for increased support.
6: Physical Symptoms Of PostPartum Depression And Anxiety
You might have physical symptoms of postpartum anxiety or depression as well.
Physical symptoms of postpartum depression and anxiety include:
Sleep changes include difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much
Stomach ache or sore stomach
Slowed movements or speech
Panic attacks or anxiety attacks
Increased heart rate
Nausea
Dizziness
Muscle tension
When To Get Help For Postpartum Challenges
Having a baby naturally comes with a lot of different emotions and feelings. Your hormones are coming down, you are sleep-deprived, and you are trying to navigate a whole new world. You may wonder–when do I get help? Can I pass my anxiety down to my child?
Baby Blues can occur from days 2 to 35 after you give birth and can last for 2 weeks.
If those feelings last longer than 2 weeks or if you were struggling with mental health before having a baby, it is worth reaching out and getting into therapy to have a safe, supportive place to talk about the current changes, learn coping skills to help, have helpful resources you can use, and help you be the best parent you can be.
If you are in crisis and need immediate support, please contact:
Suicide and Crisis Hotline at 988
or
National Maternal Mental Health Hotline 1-833-TLC-MAMA (852-6262)
If you are not in crisis and do not need immediate support, Postpartum Support VA does offer a warmline with free support, information, and resources for all parents and their family members. The line is staffed by volunteers or staff who either have lived experience or professional experience with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Warmline Volunteers validate experiences, share coping strategies, and offer support and encouragement. Our therapist, Mary Willoughby Prentiss, has been trained by Postpartum Support VA to provide perinatal mental health treatment.
Mary Willoughby Prentiss is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Virginia who provides online therapy for Willow Tree Healing Center. She enjoys transforming the lives of women, college students, kids, tweens/teens, and families through providing communication strategies, coping skills that work, allowing a safe space to be heard, and actively working towards helping you with your challenges. She is certified in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (ages 2-7) and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, counsels substance abuse in teens and adults, and practices Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy.
Comments