Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMAD’s) can look different from woman to woman. They can even look and feel different from day to day.

 

Maybe some days you’re making it, even feeling okay.

 

But then the other days come, and sadness or anxiety or intense and scary thoughts take over, and you feel as if you have a one hundred pound brick on your chest.

 

You feel alone. Maybe you also feel guilty for not feeling happy. Then, you feel ashamed for not feeling happy. And, you wonder: What is wrong with me? Am I not cut out for motherhood? Is this postpartum depression?

 

But then you tell yourself: It’s not so bad. This will get better, just give it some more time. I have something (a baby!) that many women dream about… Who am I to be so overwhelmed?

 

And so you keep white-knuckling it. Each day, day in and day out. Just surviving on hope that things will get better on their own. You don’t have to keep feeling this way. And you don’t have to keep surviving on hope alone.

 

PMAD’s are characterized by feelings of hopelessness, severe sadness or emptiness, withdrawal from family and friends, and more.

 

These emotions can begin two or three weeks after birth and can last up to a year or longer if it goes unrecognized and untreated.

It can be really hard to reach out for help.

 

Especially if you think your feelings make you a bad mother. Unfortunately, these thoughts keep women just like you from getting the help they need, and PMAD’s remain severely under-diagnosed.

 

If it has been more than two weeks after delivery and the “baby blues” just aren’t going away, you may be in the twenty percent of moms that experience PMAD’s.

 

This is the result of chemical changes within your brain, not something that you are doing wrong and not because something is wrong with you.

These chemical changes in your brain need to be addressed in therapy.

 

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Soul Song Counseling: Trained in Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder Treatment

 

You can feel better, and I can help. I create a safe space where it’s okay to talk about your experience. Together, we’ll come up with a plan to help you adjust to and thrive within your new normal.

 

We’ll figure out what’s working and what’s not, and I’ll share tools to help you navigate difficult moments and feelings. I am a Postpartum Support International (PSI) and Seleni Institute trained therapist, and a mother that has recovered from PMAD’s with the help of therapy.

 

Research-based best practices will guide our work, and I also bring first-hand experience of this challenging life transition. You can feel better, and and you can find joy in motherhood. I promise. You just have to take the first step and reach out to someone who knows how to help. Call me at 303.217.3688 or click here and we can get started on your journey towards a happy, healthy motherhood.

Here for you, Becca.