Do I wish I had never endured postpartum depression? Absolutely. But to deny the experience is to deny who I am.
Parenthood always comes as a shock. Postpartum blues? Postpartum panic is more like it. We set out to have a baby; what we get is a total take-over of our lives.
The very damaging, frightening part of postpartum is the lack of perspective and the lack of priority and understanding what is really important.
I suffered from a mild case of postpartum depression after my second child and the physical challenge of maintaining an overnight shift at CBS, a marriage, and two in diapers made the symptoms worse and everyone in the house paid the price.
When you study postpartum depression, there is a very clear understanding that in communities where you see more support, there is less depression.
Postpartum depression is a very real and very serious problem for many mothers. It can happen to a first time mom or a veteran mother. It can occur a few days... or a few months after childbirth.
This is a serious, serious condition that is also called postpartum psychosis. And that's where, literally, you get so bad that you end up either hurting the baby or killing yourself.
With both kids, I started working out again at 16 days postpartum, but I treated myself with kindness, doing mild workouts, because my fitness level was lower.
I deal with postpartum feelings by reaching out to mom friends. I became very close with some of the women in my prenatal yoga class.