Basic Ways To Fight Postpartum Blues
My friend came up to me crying and said, 'I am not motivated anymore. I get angry easily. I lash out at my husband who obviously has done nothing wrong and I don't want to take care of the baby. I just don't want to do anything.' She just had delivered recently and it has been her feelings since the delivery. This is typical of postpartum depression. Some postpartum depressions are transient, meaning they disappear on their own. But some other would become so overwhelming and could last for a period of time. I assured her that I understand her feelings completely after listening to her ranting.
Fighting postpartum blues is never an easy task. Some cases would become too severe requiring professional help though seeking it could also prevent the depression from worsening, a double edged sword that is. However you could fight it yourself and there are several basic ways to do it.
I am by no means a psychiatrist but I didn't sit twiddling my thumbs in the three years I spent in the college of medicine either. Having seen many cases of postpartum depression would give ideas on how to confront it.
1. Have someone to talk to. May it be your husband or someone close to you is alright as long as you are sure they can stand up to your emotional ventilation and not get carried away. But having your husband as the second person in the story is better to help him understand what's going on with you. Believe me; husbands are clueless to the rage of hormones after delivery.
2. Cry it all out. Except sheer violence, you can do whatever you like. Say what you like and shout if it will help ease the burden in your heart. This is the exact reason why you need someone who can stand up to you rage. Getting it all out from you is beneficial rather than shutting it all up inside you. When you do this you are not only making things worse and affecting those around you, you are also leading yourself to destruction.
3. Keep yourself busy. If you don't normally do the laundry because you are used to having house help, do it yourself now. Clean the whole house. Fill the empty fridge with groceries. Cook. Fix the lawn. Whatever you do is up to you as long as you are busy.
4. Avoid your room and being alone. It's about time you start knowing everyone from the neighborhood.
5. If looking at yourself makes the feelings worse, avoid the mirror and don't ask people how you look unless of course you are ready to hear it. Your body is undergoing changes so don't expect this to change back to normal overnight. It took nine months before the baby was fully matured enough to be born and during those times your body has accumulated extra deposits so it will take time before this goes back to normal. Don't worry it will.
6. And finally, don't let the depression take over your will. Things will be over soon. This is what you always have to remember. People care about you and your family loves you. If you keep that in your heart, there's no way the depression can win over you.
These are just few basic things to fight postpartum depression. Of course, there are a lot of things you can do and discover them yourself and with the help of your husband, you can be on track. Not all undergo postpartum depression; I've been to three consecutive Caesarian deliveries but did not experience one however this does not mean that I don't know how it really feels to be so helpless.
James Brown writes about Destination Maternity key code, MaternityCard.com key code and BabyDirect.com key code