POSTNATAL DEPRESSION. HOW TO OVERCOME IT

That multifaceted joy of the birth of a long-awaited child has come. The expectation of the birth of a child is already behind, and ahead is only a feeling of endless spiritual harmony and the great happiness of motherhood! Day after day flies by quickly, and this little baby in her crib is already ready to smile in response to the smile of her family and, first of all, to the pleasant voice and mother's smile.

But mom lost her feeling of happiness and had a lot of WHY:

WHY don't want to smile at all?
WHY there were periods of low mood, loss of interests and pleasure from life, increased fatigue, even with little effort, lack of activity, feelings of self-doubt, self-blame and a pessimistic vision of the future?
WHY was sleep disturbed and appetite decreased?
WHY time passes, and experiences deepen more and more, becomes more difficult, despite the acquired experience of life with a baby?

The answer to these WHY is quite simple: BECAUSE the young mother developed postpartum depression.

WHAT IS POSTNATAL DEPRESSION AND WHY DOES IT HAPPEN?

Postpartum depression is a mental disorder that affects 10-15% of women after childbirth. Such a mental and behavioral disorder associated with the postpartum period is almost always stressful. The causes of depression are very diverse and in the most general form can be divided into biological causes (features of the metabolism of the brain, hereditary predisposition to depression) and, of course, psychological causes (mental trauma, peculiarities of thinking and behavior of a woman, her relationship with close and surrounding people, etc.).

There are a number of behavioral and thinking errors that can lead to excessive stress and trigger the development of postpartum depression.

THE MOST COMMON BEHAVIORAL ERRORS ARE:

A tendency to "black and white thinking", when the world is seen only in black and white, and a woman who has become a mother begins to think in terms of "all" or "nothing" and considers herself a complete "inept" in caring for and child.

On the basis of isolated negative family situations, a woman formulates a global (and not particularly confirmed) conclusion: nothing works, I can’t do anything, everything is bad. The so-called "spyglass effect" is created when good news is understated and bad news is exaggerated: a young mother pays attention only to the negative aspects of life, while stubbornly ignoring the positive aspects.

A woman makes inadequate, excessive demands on herself, other people and the world as a whole and makes incredible efforts to fulfill these requirements, often using the words “I must, I must”; for this reason, excessive psychological stress will surely increase, which after the birth of a child will affect the onset of depression.

HOW TO HELP YOURSELF?

The most important condition is diverse employment. Take a diary and plan tomorrow and the next days, even if these are the simplest activities - feeding the baby or cleaning the room. Only plan what is doable. This will give you back the feeling that you are capable of something and that you are in charge of your own life.
Do what gives you pleasure every day, be it a good meal, a warm bath or socializing-play with your own child.
Love yourself and reward for any successes.
Do not carry worries in yourself - try to express what is in your soul, close people you trust.
Do not be alone and do not be ashamed of your tears .
Do not try to drown the sadness with a glass of wine - it will only make it worse.
Always remember that this painful state will definitely pass.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CLOSE PERSON IS IN DEPRESSION?

In no case try to ridicule or mock such a state - a person in depression is vulnerable and defenseless;

Don't give advice like “get the crap out of your head” or “pull yourself together” - this only increases the feeling of guilt in those suffering from postpartum depression.

Express sympathy, but only in a simple and short manner.

If you see that a young mother again and again returns to the same depressive thought that fills the entire space of her consciousness - seek help from a specialist!

REMEMBER!

Mental harmony is a vaccine against depression!