*This post is sponsored by RWJ Barnabas Health and NJMOM. All thoughts and opinions are my own.* I recently had the pleasure of touring the Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder Center at Monmouth Medical Center. I was accompanied by NJMOM to learn what the center offers for new and expecting mothers. Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are a group of symptoms that can affect women during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Postpartum depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, OCD, and psychosis all…
Postpartum Depression
A letter to my daughter about my postpartum depression.
November 22, 2017Dear A, When I go through the first two years of your life in my head it plays like an old movie projector displayed across the walls of my mind. And each memory holds an emotion I can still feel throughout every inch of my body when it’s transported for display. What will one day be a distant memory, lingers like the shadow that follows behind on a sunny day. And although you won’t remember what has happened I know…
The PPD Chronicles – THERAPY
August 23, 2017My postpartum recovery has been a journey I was not prepared for, and for the longest time I told myself this would be a solo trip. I convinced myself that I was strong enough to do it all on my own. For a while I was fine-eating well, exercising, spending time with friends, and getting my life back in order. I made time for myself and the things that made me happy. I was under the impression that…
My postpartum depression – 2 years later.
May 24, 2017It’s been a while since I’ve written an update on my postpartum depression recovery, but with a big change approaching I figure now is as good a time as any. Two years ago today A was 22 days old, and I had just spent my first few weeks with her. I remember not feeling the PPD symptoms as strong the first month, honestly because I was exhausted, but as time went on things slowly got worse. And now here…
To the women who came before me.
March 23, 2017When I first told my grandmother I was diagnosed with postpartum depression I could hear in her voice that she already knew. She then proceeded to tell me of her experience. She talked about what she felt after having every child, and the pain she was told to hide. My grandmother had my mother at the age of 16, and had 3 more children in the years proceeding. Her last child, my uncle, was diagnosed with epilepsy and spent the…