I finally had a chance to mosey on over to Momversation to see their new video and discussion on overcoming depression. The 6-minute video features bloggersHeather Armstrong of Dooce, Alice Bradley of Finslippy, Mindy Roberts of TheMommyBlog.net and Danny Evans of DadGoneMad. They share their feelings on what it's like to suffer from depression.
The video is fantastic.I love it. Wish there was more of it. I was moved by all of the speakers, particularly by Mindy Roberts, who has been through postpartum depression 4 times.
FOUR TIMES!!!!!! Great Caesar's Ghost! as grandma would say.
Regardless of their specific mental illness I know you will definitely connect with their observations. Those of you currently suffering will benefit most of all. As I stated in my comment on Momversation:
"Despite the progress we've made on public communication to erase stigma and ensure people feel safe reaching out for help, I still hear from women each and every day with a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder who are:
- given erroneous information about postpartum depression and related illnesses (its causes, its symptoms, what to watch for, its treatments, etc.)
- deeply hurt by the reactions of those around them who don't understand what serious illnesses these are (friends, spouses/partners, clergy, employers, doctors)
- made to feel afraid to take medication or seek counseling
- convinced they are alone and there is nowhere to turn
It's just awful and it makes we want to pull my hair out on a daily basis. As the little people in the town of Whoville shout from the tuft in Horton Hears A Who!: We are here! We are here! We are here!"
Okay fine. It wasn't a tuft. It was a small speck of dust. But still … We are here!!
Four times, yeah, how's that for being so messed up you don't even know to get treated? If my mother could hold me down and remove my uterus, she'd do it ("You can keep the ovaries, it's the REST I'm worried about!"). She doesn't think I'd survive another baby, but I think it would be different on medication. Not that I need another child. My boyfriend and I have six under eleven between us.
I wonder sometimes how life would have been different had I not waited until three months after the fourth started. I'm sure that listening to my ex and his family had a lot to do with it – he had me convinced that I was just feeling sorry for myself and whining. Bottom line: I needed to exercise or at least keep it to myself.
This was an important episode – the outpouring of comments and emails from others suffering or living with someone suffering has been astounding. It just isn't talked about enough. Not nearly enough. I felt a bit sorry for the producers because they had to keep it to a few minutes, and my raw footage wet fifteen minutes at least, not counting what the others did!
Thank you for noticing it, and for reposting it. We've got to do another episode. Thank you, thank you.