We want to make sure all of the mamas out there (and the therapists and MDs and others who are looking for great stuff to support mamas) know about the different kinds of support and tools Postpartum Progress offers. Our goal as a nonprofit serving women’s mental health is to get you great information, connect you to good help, and provide you with comfort and support from the community of women who have been through perinatal mood and anxiety disorders like postpartum depression.
Six Tools for Feeling Supported Through PPD
1) Specialists: Still looking for someone to help you who actually seems like they know a little bit about postpartum depression (PPD), postpartum anxiety, postpartum OCD, postpartum bipolar, postpartum psychosis, birth trauma or depression or anxiety during pregnancy? We’ve got a list of more than 400 specialists that are Warrior Mom™ approved. You can find them all here (and be sure to check back because we add to it all the time): Maternal Mental Health Specialists.
2) Postpartum Progress Private Forum: Newly diagnosed? Not sure if you have a maternal mental illness and trying to find out if you should seek help? Live in a place where there’s no in-person support group to attend, or just can’t get out of the house? Our private forum hosted by Smart Patients is a place where you can hear from other moms who are currently struggling, ask questions, or share your own story. It’s free, and you can remain anonymous if you’d prefer. We pride ourselves on maintaining a community there that is positive, embracing, and non-judgmental, and now more than 3,00 women strong. You can sign up here: Postpartum Progress Private Forum.
3) Downloadables: Need a free checklist you can download to help you start a conversation with your doctor? Use our New Mom Checklist for Maternal Mental Health Help. All you have to do is enter your name and email and we’ll send it to you in PDF form. Want a nice clean and pretty handout version of the Symptoms of Postpartum Depression and Anxiety in Plain Mama English to share with a patient or maybe a not-so-sure family member? Get it here. We’re creating new tools all the time to help you navigate through the thorny forest of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and find your way back to yourself.
4) Social Media: We are everywhere you are on social media. Well, except maybe Snapchat. Or Vine. But anyway…
Facebook: Have you liked our Facebook page yet? We help you keep track of Postpartum Progress events and share the latest news so you know what’s happening in the maternal mental health world.
Pinterest: If you think you might need an inspirational quote to pin to your bathroom mirror to help remind you that you really ARE going to make it through this, we’ve got that! Just follow our PPD Hope Pinterest Board and you’ll join more than 2,000 others who are looking for some inspiration too!
Instagram: Yes, we finally launched an Instagram account. Follow Postpartum Progress on Instagram and see what women who go through perinatal mood and anxiety disorders look like. (Hint: A lot like you.)
Twitter: Follow us on Twitter at @postpartumprog!
5) Warrior Mom Playlist on Spotify: Sometimes you’re having a super crappy day—or, let’s be honest, during PPD (or related illnesses) a LOT of times you’re having a super crappy day—and you need some music to pick you up. The Warrior Mom™ Playlist on Spotify features two hours worth of music to get you through, all selected by moms who’ve had the SAME crappy days. Sign up for a free Spotify account and then access it here (or just search for “Warrior Moms Playlist”).
6) Daily Hope: If a quote or two from our Pinterest board isn’t going to cut it and you’re thinking you really need daily reminders that you WILL get better, then Daily Hope is for you. I wrote every single message myself and you can get them delivered each Monday through Friday to your inbox for a year. Here’s what one subscriber recently told us about her experience with Daily Hope:
You can sign up for Daily Hope here.
Also, once you’ve had some time to get care of yourself, get the treatment that’s right for you and start down the road of recovery, you might consider the following:
7) If you want to keep an eye out for our announcement of the dates for the Warrior Mom™ Conference, or be one of the first people to join a team for the Climb Out of the Darkness, well then you probably want to sign up to get our newsletter and keep up to date on all the latest happenings. And don’t worry, we don’t send it out that often because we don’t want to overwhelm your inbox. We know you’re overwhelmed enough as it is!
8) Ready to volunteer to pay it forward and help at least one other mom? Join our Warrior Mom Ambassador program, moms just like you who know how important it is for women with PPD or anxiety or OCD or psychosis or depression or anxiety during pregnancy to feel understood and not alone. Learn more about our Warrior Mom Ambassadors, and apply today.
9) Show your Warrior Mom pride (or have your babies’ show theirs) with something from our Warrior Mom™ shop. Would you believe we’ve already sold out of the first run of our kids’ tees and moms’ tank tops?
As always, there’s more on the way. We’re excited to keep innovating every year so that we can make sure you know you are not alone and that maternal mental illness is temporary and treatable with professional help.
I live in Germany and there are many Doctors who cannot even speak English. At the moment I cannot even find a therapist who has dealt with PPD or PPOCD patients who can speak English. The only therapist I went to who spoke English didn’t help but made it a lot worse. I wish we had the same help here, a climb out of the darkness here. I would join at the drop of hat. Thank you for all the support you give to all of us who suffer with PPD!!!
Marissa
Are you form the US originally Mo? We can try to see if there’s a therapist who is willing to do it over the phone for you. Not that that would be cheap, of course, but it’s an option.
I’m originally from South Africa but we now live in Germany. Like Jessica says, money is a problem for me as well because my husband has been unemployed for over two years. I don’t think we would have the finances to telephone a therapist there, we barely have the money to telephone my family back home…
Jessica, for me, I think the site is good, it is real moms who have been there and who wanted to provide support to other moms like us because maybe they found no support during that time either…it must be hard though, reliving the experience each time you read another moms story…that is probably why there are others who answer to our stories, etc. I find that it is comforting to know that there are other moms out there with the same problem as us, that we are not ‘bad’ or that you are not a ‘mental case’. I care about you and I am sorry that you find yourself in such a tough situation but we need to stick together and support each other! I do not see a therapist yet but I do feel that the medication helps me to cope better and reading up on different topics on this site has helped me to understand my condition better and to better explain it to my husband and children. It is not easy but there are hundreds of moms out there that are in our situation…you can do it! They have done it! They have succeeded and so can we! I know that maybe you are having a bad day and that taking yourself out of the picture seems to be the only way out right now, I know that feeling, it comes and goes, but your children love you and need you! You are important to them! One day, they will be able to understand… and one day, you will be over your PPD if you get the right help even if it means just being on meds. Meds and time – that is what my doctor tells me but that is what I have seen in someone else. After the birth of my first child, I started having symptoms of PPD but managed to keep it covered hoping that they would pass and an older friend of mine looked into my eyes one day and told me that she had PPD with both of her children, that she wanted to kill both herself and her children but mostly herself. I never expected that of her because she was mostly bubbly, outgoing and happy. She told me that she took medication and after a few years, it went away but that it was the worst period of time of her life. At the time, she was staying with her son and his wife and I remember thinking to myself how close their relationship was…Don’t give up!!!! Jessica, it will go away, it IS temporary….do not make a permanent solution for a temporary problem. This is my hope and it burns like a fire inside of me and I hope that you will have hope too!!!!
It’s all a load of crap! There is no real help here, everyone has their hand out. The approved providers in my area charge $135-150 per session, full charge for missed appts w/o 24 hours notice, $35 per text or email. Want to join a support group? $45 per session, no missed sessions, must have childcare arrangements in place, must commit to 8 weeks. WTF? I’m such a mess – I can barely get dressed. Therapy costs PLUS childcare costs with no flexibility? I’m broke, I can’t work. What TOTAL BS! I am never going to get better. My life is over. Hopefully I will die soon so at least my daughter will have a chance in life if she’s not raised by a mental case. NOBODY CARES, its all about money
Everything we provide (with the one exception of Daily Hope) is free Jessica. But you are right that it can be so very difficult and expensive to get help. This is a major concern of ours. I’m so sorry you are going through us. If you’d like to send us an email at help@postpartumprogress.org and tell us the area you live in we’ll try to see if we can find you more affordable (or even free) options. Hang in there mama.
I am so thankful that I found this website! I am 17 months postpartum and while I’ve never been happier or more fulfilled, I’ve also never felt more alone, misunderstood, or quite frankly like I’m losing my mind. I recently went to a psychiatrist for treatment and was diagnosed with bipolar and PTSD, but the diagnosis has always felt wrong because I don’t have psychotic episodes and my symptoms didn’t get bad until I had my baby. After reading your website, I truly believe that I have postpartum anxiety and OCD. I have never heard of the disorder and don’t know anyone who suffers from it but it describes me to a T. I am going to another psychiatrist for a 2nd opinion, and hope that this time it will finally get me out of this dark place. It can be very hard to be taken seriously when it comes to perinatal mood disorders, but I’m determined to get healthy. Thank you for your support and information. Katherine, if you have email or a way to talk, I would love to discuss postpartum OCD with you and learn about your experience.
Melissa, I’m so glad to hear that you feel like you are on the right path to recovery! You are brave and have such good insight. Thank you for sharing your story. There are so many posts here about OCD. I hope you find so much you can relate to and that helps you. Hang in there, mama. You’re on your way…