6 Tools To Help You Feel Supported & Understood Through PPD -postpartumprogress.com

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:

Was it helpful?  EVERYDAY!!!
Was it what you expected?  IT WAS MORE!
Overall, do you feel it helped you through this past year? MOST DEF.  I remember waking up at times doubting certain things and Daily Hope had those answers and helped get me through my day.

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.