My dear virtual friend at Heir to Blair just spent a little time in a psychiatric hospital for treatment of postpartum depression with psychotic features. She has openly shared her experience in a couple of places and I really wanted you to see this. Why? Because hospitalization is not the end. It’s a beginning. Having experienced it myself, I realize it’s no day at the beach. There are other, better places we’d all prefer to be. But it won’t kill you, and it can help you get better.
I’m so proud of her for being willing to take all the steps necessary for her to get better.
Heir to Blair: “How I Spent My Spring Break”
Blogging for PPD Awareness, Day the Last: Blair’s guest post on the blog Not Super … Just Mom(while you’re there you can check out some of the other great posts written by survivors last week)
Oh, and if you’d like to read about my experience in the psych ward, click here for “Straight Talk About Hospitalization & Postpartum Depression”.
I wish she would write more about this. She is so inspirational. I was never hospitalized but I lost everything including myself. I couldn't be near my baby. It was so heartbreaking. We need to write about this stuff, all this stuff. Tell it like it really is. Thank you!
I just discovered this blog very recently and was thrilled to find it – although reading through has made me very uncomfortable – but I suppose in a good way. I suffered with severe PPD after the birth of my son five years ago.(In fact, it was through reading this blog that I discovered I actually suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder after my son's birth and not psychosis as I once believed. Such a relief!) I wrote about it on my own blog and even shared my hospital stay story in this entry – http://lovemydox.blogspot.com/2006/05/notes-from-… I stopped writing about 2 years ago – not sure why. I completely lost myself after my son's birth and never felt the same about my blog after – even though I must say writing was a good therapy in the aftermath. I am beginning to think I should start again soon, but don't even know where to begin.
That being said, I am now 6 months pregnant with our second son and began doing a little research about a month ago – wondering if I'll be dealing with the same demons in the aftermath, when I found this site. Surprisingly, after five years of being on a cocktail of psych drugs constantly, I am currently on NO meds and have never felt saner in my entire life! It's a very strange and wonderful feeling (since I had been on prozac for over 10 years) and one I don't want to ever end. Am wondering if they could somehow test my hormones now, figure out exactly what's pumping in there, and somehow recreate it after the baby is born. I would be willing to do self-injections!!
I'll admit my hospital story isn't the most positive one, but . . . it's my story. Just thought I would share and say thanks for providing this wonderful resource on PPD.