Postpartum depression is a lot to deal with, for both moms and dads.
While it can affect your marriage there is a lot more that can happen. You may not know whether or not it’s just the blues, or real depression. We’ll go into the truth about postpartum depression, what it is, and how you can get the help that you need.
More than Just Fleeting sadness
For most people, when they have a baby, they can feel joyful, or a little bit anxious and scared, because of this new responsibility.
There also may be “baby blues” which include having mood swings, periods of crying, trouble with sleeping, or even anxiety. This is a temporary thing, and may happen for about 2 or so weeks.
But postpartum depression is more than just feeling sad for a bit. It’s actually a mood disorder that shows up after the baby is born.
What you need to understand though is that you’re not sad or weak, but it’s a depression that happens because the baby is gone. You may feel “empty” but there are ways to treat it.
Trouble with the Baby
Sometimes, postpartum depression shows up in having trouble taking care of your baby.
You may have symptoms that interfere with your ability to help the child, and you may not want to do much about it.
This may involve feeling depressed or crying a lot, or even struggling with eating and sleeping. You also may feel guilty or inadequate after having the child. Shame is another feeling, and worthlessness is also common as well.
What can Happen
When you suffer from this, you may go through various mood swings.
You may also notice that you’re not really bonding with the baby either. You may not want to, or there isn’t much of a connection.
You also may feel tired, and feel fatigued in a lot of cases.
Interests start to also fade away, creating a feeling of emptiness, and you may not find things that you enjoyed in the past as enjoyable anymore. Those things that you liked to do a lot, are now things you’re just whatever about, which I again, another common symptom of not just normal depression, but postpartum too.
It also may show up in the form of panic or anxiety as well. Panic attacks and severe anxiety are all too common with this, especially when you’re feeling restlessness too.
It also may get severe, creating thoughts of suicide or death, and in some cases, it may become almost excessive turning into psychosis in a few ways.
For those severe instances, it may cause obsessions over your baby, anger and energy that’s excessive, delusions, and major sleep issues. You also may feel paranoid too.
Can it Happen in Dads too?
Of course!
It isn’t just women who go through this. New fathers may feel this too. They may be sad, or feel fatigued, or even anxious and overwhelmed, and they may feel struggle with eating or sleeping as well.
If a father has a history of depression or anxiety, then they are also at risk for this.
The problem however, is that it can be seen as a negative thing in fathers, rather than with mothers.
But remember that both men and women can feel depression and anxiety when it comes to a pregnancy. It’s okay to get help, whether you’re man or woman, that’s for sure.
What you can do
The best thing for you to do is to get help if you need it. There are many different treatments for postpartum, and you can click here to learn about what you can do.
Understanding that getting help is important. You might feel reluctant to do so, but if the symptoms persist for more than a couple of weeks, you should definitely seek out help.
Remember, you have to take care of your kid too, and it’s important to get help as well if you’re struggling with these symptoms, and you need a means to properly handle them, especially if they’re interfering with your life.
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