My Experience with Postpartum Depression and Anxiety

I have an update for you regarding my experience with postpartum depression and anxiety.

Here's where you can find me:

Blog - https://sarastrives.com/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarastrives/

Intro and Outro Music:

Summer Vibes by Simon More https://soundcloud.com/user-73416670

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_summer-vibes

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/FTUkaPnYdLU

Transcript

WEBVTT

0
00:00:09.500 --> 00:00:11.400
Welcome to the me myself and you podcast.

1
00:00:11.400 --> 00:00:15.300
My name is Sara and I'm your host and I'm really glad to have you here today.

2
00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:22.500
I want to talk about my experience with postpartum depression and anxiety.

3
00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:25.300
Now, I made an episode.

4
00:00:25.300 --> 00:00:26.600
I don't know a month or two ago.

5
00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:28.900
Now probably closer to two months.

6
00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:36.900
I'm not sure honestly the passage of time during this pandemic y'all is crazy, but I'd kind of talked about you know, I don't think I'm

7
00:00:36.900 --> 00:00:43.500
really experiencing it and all that and How I was having trouble with breastfeeding and definitely experiencing some of that.

8
00:00:44.200 --> 00:00:46.200
I can't remember the acronym for it.

9
00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:56.000
But some sadness around breastfeeding for whatever reason and when I recorded that episode that's where I was at and funny enough.

10
00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:01.600
It was literally like a day or two later and things started going downhill pretty quickly for me.

11
00:01:01.800 --> 00:01:11.500
It got bad and it was scary and overwhelming and so frustrating to be back at A spot where I felt like I needed help again.

12
00:01:11.500 --> 00:01:20.600
If you guys are familiar with my story at all that I was on antidepressants for a while to help with anxiety as well as like an as needed

13
00:01:20.600 --> 00:01:31.700
medication for anxiety for about a year and a half and I went off it shortly after my husband and I got married that was 2017 and I had

14
00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:34.900
been off of meds completely until now.

15
00:01:34.900 --> 00:01:40.900
So it was definitely really hard for me to be like Oh, okay.

16
00:01:40.900 --> 00:01:45.100
Well, maybe I'm not in such a good place anymore and maybe I do need help.

17
00:01:45.500 --> 00:01:47.800
That was honestly so tough.

18
00:01:47.800 --> 00:01:48.800
It was such a tough week.

19
00:01:48.800 --> 00:01:57.400
There was a lot of tears and I say tough week in that sounds super silly, but I it was really like I went from okay.

20
00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:06.800
I'm not in a great spot to just like I'm in a really bad spot and I need help now spot and I think my past experience definitely prepared

21
00:02:06.800 --> 00:02:15.000
me for going and knowing When it was time to get help, which I think is why I went to get help so quickly, which is good.

22
00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:18.700
So I guess to give just like a brief explanation.

23
00:02:18.700 --> 00:02:21.300
I really don't want to be triggering for anybody.

24
00:02:21.300 --> 00:02:31.500
So I want to be cautious with how I say this what I do share but I was experiencing definitely some not necessarily Suicidal Thoughts but

25
00:02:31.500 --> 00:02:41.500
things like I think if you're a working Moms fan Frankie the character and work in Mom's talks about how She just wants to escape just

26
00:02:41.500 --> 00:02:46.200
like freak accident kind of Escape for a little bit and that's where my mind was.

27
00:02:46.200 --> 00:02:49.100
So I very much related to her in that way.

28
00:02:49.700 --> 00:02:51.700
It was just like I just need a minute.

29
00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:55.900
I need a break and I need to not feel for a little bit.

30
00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:59.200
I was having a lot of anxiety around silly things.

31
00:02:59.700 --> 00:03:08.100
I was having a lot of just like I don't know brain fog is the right word, but I was definitely not in a as healthy of a spot with

32
00:03:08.100 --> 00:03:09.000
processing things.

33
00:03:09.200 --> 00:03:18.200
Is that I was frustrated with even with work stuff where it was like, okay, this particular thing is really frustrating and I'd gotten to

34
00:03:18.200 --> 00:03:19.700
a spot was like, okay, we're managing it.

35
00:03:19.700 --> 00:03:28.200
Okay, but now it's like oh, this is really crappy and I can't and I don't know how to respond or how to do this and blah blah blah, and it

36
00:03:28.200 --> 00:03:38.400
just this vicious cycle not a vicious cycle and it just started balling up and getting worse and I was just anxious and depressed and I

37
00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:39.100
wanted to sleep.

38
00:03:39.100 --> 00:03:45.000
A lot to just escape the feeling and I was just not me.

39
00:03:45.200 --> 00:03:50.500
I did pretty quickly make an appointment to go speak with my OB.

40
00:03:50.900 --> 00:03:59.100
Well actually saw that nurse practitioner just they usually try to save the like OB appointments for pregnant patients, which I think is

41
00:03:59.100 --> 00:04:09.400
interesting but I actually had such a positive experience with this nurse practitioner, which was a complete contrast to my Last

42
00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:15.700
experience being on medication and having being treated for depression anxiety stuff.

43
00:04:15.700 --> 00:04:16.800
She listen to me.

44
00:04:16.899 --> 00:04:26.000
She truly listen to me and talked through it with me and validated my feelings and it was great and you know, she listened to my concerns

45
00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:28.400
one of my big things was on the last medication.

46
00:04:28.400 --> 00:04:36.500
I was on I gained weight and had struggled to get it off and I ultimately was in the process of losing that weight when I got pregnant and

47
00:04:36.500 --> 00:04:39.000
we're back at square one, but that's okay.

48
00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:47.500
I had such a positive experience with her and started on medication and a lot of times you have to adjust as you go and kind of figure out

49
00:04:47.500 --> 00:04:48.700
what's going to work best for you.

50
00:04:48.700 --> 00:04:55.500
And so far I've been on this dose for like a month and a half is she think and it's been great.

51
00:04:55.500 --> 00:04:57.000
I feel good.

52
00:04:57.100 --> 00:05:00.300
So that's been that I don't know.

53
00:05:00.400 --> 00:05:02.600
I feel like that was a pretty simple explanation.

54
00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:09.000
I guess my whole point is that I did struggle with this partum depression and anxiety which isn't all that shocked.

55
00:05:09.200 --> 00:05:13.100
In considering my mental health history, but it was still tough.

56
00:05:13.300 --> 00:05:16.000
And I think there's a lot of guilt that comes with it.

57
00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:23.200
I know for me the medication I started I had to stop breastfeeding completely, which I had already kind of stopped because I was having

58
00:05:23.200 --> 00:05:30.000
such a hard time with it mentally, but I didn't have the option to do it anymore because I needed to start a medication that I couldn't

59
00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:31.200
take while breastfeeding.

60
00:05:31.700 --> 00:05:36.800
So there was definitely some guilt there, and there was some guilt with not just feeling happy or not.

61
00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:39.000
Just feeling I don't know I guess happy.

62
00:05:39.100 --> 00:05:47.700
Oh and there was a lot of fear a lot of fear of having this feelings and frustration with having those feelings and feeling like I was

63
00:05:47.700 --> 00:05:51.400
going backwards from where I had been I guess that was my experience.

64
00:05:51.400 --> 00:05:58.100
I don't know that I have anything particularly helpful to share beyond go get help as soon as you can.

65
00:05:58.400 --> 00:06:05.000
I think it's important to be really open about your feelings when you're dealing with postpartum the postpartum period in general

66
00:06:05.300 --> 00:06:14.200
regardless of if you think your experience experiencing postpartum depression, Anxiety be open with your feelings and especially with your

67
00:06:14.200 --> 00:06:18.400
spouse or your significant other and be aware.

68
00:06:18.400 --> 00:06:20.700
It's a tough period of time it's a big transition.

69
00:06:20.700 --> 00:06:26.100
There's a lot of hormonal stuff going on and I care about each and every one of you and I want you guys to be.

70
00:06:26.100 --> 00:06:26.600
Okay.

71
00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:34.100
So hopefully my experience at least reminds you a little bit of postpartum depression doesn't have to start right away and getting help is

72
00:06:34.100 --> 00:06:37.700
good and it's okay to have those feelings all of that good stuff.

73
00:06:37.700 --> 00:06:43.700
I don't know I feel Feel out of focus today, but I did want to share this experience with you.

74
00:06:43.700 --> 00:06:51.300
So that is all I guess if you liked this episode follows, subscribe share it with a friend all that good stuff.

75
00:06:51.300 --> 00:07:00.300
It really does help me for you guys to share my episodes and just subscribe and all that stuff to get more ears on these podcasts.

76
00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:03.400
I hope you enjoyed and I will talk to you again soon.