Postpartum depression, also known as PPD, is a form of depression that happens after childbirth. Postpartum occurs between 6% and 20%of women and typically sets six weeks post childbirth.
There are several ways to combat PPD, including anxiety counseling and lifestyle changes. However, no matter which route you take to recovery, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone.
What Is Postpartum Depression?
Postpartum depression is a form of depression that occurs after childbirth. The symptoms of postpartum can vary but typically include anxiety, mood swings, and crying spells.
Baby blues and postpartum depression often get mixed up; however, they are very different. The main difference is the timeline in which they occur.
Postpartum can occur short term and long term. It can last anywhere from four months to a year. Baby blues usually occur within a few days after birth and typically disappear after about 7-14 days.
Baby Blues Symptoms
- Difficulty sleeping
- Irritability
- Mood swings
- Loss of appetite
- Inability to concentrate
- Feelings of overwhelm
- Sadness
Postpartum Depression Symptoms
- Feelings of hopelessness
- Feeling restless
- Panic attacks
- Easily irritated
- Anger
- Inability to stop crying
- Withdrawing from loved ones
- Fears of not doing well as a new mom
- Loss of appetite and energy
- Mood swings
- Overeating
- Recurring suicidal thoughts
- Thoughts of harming your baby
- Trouble bonding with your baby
- Trouble concentrating
- Feeling shameful or guilty
- Experiencing insomnia
- Withdrawing from hobbies or interests
A horrible symptom of postpartum depression is that it can interfere with taking care of your baby. It’s also easily mistaken for baby blues since it can start a week or two after giving birth.
If left untreated, postpartum can turn into postpartum psychosis. Although it’s rare, it’s essential to know the signs and symptoms, which are usually severe.
- Paranoia
- Trouble sleeping
- Experiencing delusions or hallucinations
- Feeling upset
- Attempting to self-harm
- Having an abnormal amount of energy
- Trying to harm your baby
- Having obsessive thoughts about your baby
Postpartum psychosis can lead to life-threatening behaviors. Therefore, it’s critical to seek treatment right away upon noticing any symptoms.
Recovery Process
Postpartum impacts everyone differently. Therefore, the recovery process will look different for everyone. Although recovery differs per case, some parts of the process can help you properly heal despite severity levels.
Get Enough Rest
In order for the body and mind to properly recover from anything, it will require lots of rest. Not getting enough rest can result in even more health problems while worsening symptoms.
A lack of rest can result in sleep deprivation. This condition can further cause your depression, anxiety, and restlessness to increase in severity.
Ultimately the immune system will become negatively impacted, which can also lead to other illnesses and conditions.
More rest means you’re allowing your body to get into a relaxed state. A relaxed state means it can heal itself. So rest is crucial during any recovery, especially postpartum recovery.
Eat a Balanced Diet & Exercise
A balanced diet and exercise are essential to anyone’s mental health and well-being. It’s especially critical for women recovering from postpartum depression.
A bad diet can impact your lifestyle all the way down to your mood. For example, foods high in sugar and fat can cause you to become sluggish and encourage the development of certain diseases and conditions.
However, a balanced diet of fruits and vegetables can improve your bodily functions and your mental health. A bad diet will also worsen any symptoms you’re feeling from your postpartum depression.
Getting daily exercise is also important. Working out can help release endorphins which can help you feel happier.
So, getting at least 30 to 60 minutes of exercise each day can significantly impact your recovery and your long-term health.
Practice Self-Care
It may be challenging, but it’s critical to practice self-care during recovery. This area of recovery is critical as it contributes to your mental and emotional healing.
Some great forms of self-care include journaling, meditation, praying, yoga, and deep breathing techniques. You can also listen to positive podcasts and practice daily positive affirmations.
These methods will help motivate you and help you remain centered. Ultimately, the main goal is to decrease stress and increase relaxation.
Keeping your stress levels low will help heal your symptoms and decrease anxiety while you recover.
Keep Communication with Your Doctor
If you’re on the road to recovery and you experience great improvement with your postpartum, it’s still ideal to remain in contact with your doctor.
Anything can change at any given time, and it will benefit you to be able to update your doctor as soon as you notice any changes. This open communication will allow your doctor to continue to keep a close eye on you and make treatment changes as needed.
Coping Mechanisms
Learning how to cope with PPD is critical when it comes to recovery. Here are some ways you can cope in a healthy and effective manner.
Therapy
Therapy can help you learn coping skillsduring recovery. Therapy also allows you to talk to someone professional who can help you properly work through your emotions.
Track Emotions
Postpartum depression causes an emotional rollercoaster. You will likely experience anxiety, sadness, mood swings, and several other symptoms.
Taking note of how you feel can be a useful way of keeping track of your emotional state. Also, this can give you even more understanding of the severity of your PPD.
Sharing these notes with your doctor is best as this can further help them guide you during treatment.
Self-Care
As previously mentioned, self-care is essential to working through postpartum. Therefore, setting time aside to do things that will help ease your mind is of utmost importance.
Even activities where you’re spending time with family, friends, or even trying new hobbies all count as self-care. Doing these things can help provide a semblance of normalcy while you get through this difficult time.
Manage Expectations
Dealing with postpartum to get back to feeling like yourself as soon as possible is harder than it seems for many.
It’s important to remain patient about recovery. It’s also essential that you surround yourself with loved ones for support.
Make Connections
Connecting with others when you’re going through a rough time is imperative in any situation. But, unfortunately, when dealing with postpartum depression, it’s very easy to feel as though you’re alone.
It’s important to understand that you don’t have to go it alone. Keeping contact with your loved ones and updating them can allow them to provide proper support.
Also, offline and online groups are a great way to connect with others who are going through the same situation.
Final Thoughts
So we’ve covered postpartum depression and all its symptoms. Hopefully now you better understand the condition and can move forward with treatment. Talk with a specialist at Alvarado Parkway Institute if you have more in-depth thoughts and questions about postpartum depression.
