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Postpartum Depression
DarcyLongfellow
member
Apparently the doll needed a time out...
Met with a counseler today...(first post here)
DarcyLongfellow
member
Hi ladies. This is my first post over here, although I've lurked a few times trying to decide if I should get help.
I just wanted to tell someone that I met with a counselor today, and I thought it was really helpful. She felt like I definitely had PPD. I'd like to avoid medication if possible, and she said she thought that was possible.
She wanted me to start exercising every day because it will help fix my brain chemistry. I know I need to do this, but I'm going to have to force myself to find the time.
She also said that I should take fish oil because that can help with mood also. Does anyone take fish oil? Is mercury a concern if you're nursing?
Also, she said that based on what I was saying, I've likely had some mild OCD for my whole life. She said that OCD is an anxiety disorder, so my increased anxiety now is sort of that OCD magnified. I thought that was interesting.
Anyway, just wanted to say hi.
Apparently the doll needed a time out...
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Met with a counseler today...(first post here)
Hey lady! Interestingly, I have just been diagnosed with PP OCD as well. I also likely had a mild form of it pre-baby, but it's been magnified since DD arrived. I'm not sure what form yours takes, but mine is mostly obsessive/intrusive thoughts and less actual compulsions. I started seeing a psychologist and will be doing cognitive behavioral therapy, which is really successful in treating OCD. I'm also on a low dose of Zoloft, so we'll see how that works as well.
My therapist really recommends this book if what you're coping with is mostly intrusive thoughts.
Sorry we're both dealing with this!
what you said about the OCD is so interesting and mirrors what my experience was. I always considered myself a very laid-back, easygoing person, and was really shocked with the intensity of my OCD behaviors and thoughts when i was in the middle of my PPD. I came to realize through it all that i definitely DO have anxious and obsessive tendencies with some things, and that those tendencies are there (and always have been) even when i'm mentally healthy.
I think being aware of that kind of thing is really good, and will help you through your treatments.
Hey there!
Sorry we're both over here, but it's nice to see a familiar face.
That's so interesting that we were both diagnosed with PP OCD. I never even knew such a thing existed. Mine is definitely like yours -- intrusive thoughts. I just sit there and can't stop thinking about something happening to DD. I'll even have thoughts of "what if I dropped her?" "what if I moved her head too violently when latching her on to nurse and I broke her neck?" As well as nearly constant worry about SIDS and other things that could happen to her.
How is cognitive behavioral therapy different from regular counseling? I'm wondering if it's something I should bring up.
Thanks for the book recommendation -- I'll definitely check it out.
If you don't mind my asking, what sorts of OCD behaviors and thoughts did you have when you had PPD? Was it mostly thoughts of the baby being hurt/dying?
I'm just trying to separate out and sort of categorize all the stuff I've been feeling lately.
It was seriously like a light bulb went off when the counselor today told me that some of the things I've been doing all my life (and just assumed were normal or at least not weird) were, in fact, mild OCD behaviors. It was like it all suddenly made sense. What she explained was that OCD was an anxiety disorder, so it made sense that when I was under increased stress, my depression would take the form of anxiety.
no mine were kinda the opposite, and i noticed i was in the minority with my thoughts when my support group talked about this. instead of being concerned with the baby being hurt or away from me, i obsessed about going back to work, giving him away/up for adoption, and what he and other babies were doing at various age/stages. I had to ask every person i encountered with a little one how old their baby was and I watched to see what their baby could do. I couldn't wait for mine to grow up and grow out of the newborn neediness -waiting for him to interact with me was like torture.
I couldn't sleep at night because i anticipated him waking up before he actually did, every noise i heard just set me on edge - my heartbeat would literally pound with every noise or cry. i was convinced that having him was a huge mistake and i couldn't get past it. when my parents came to visit, i was totally content for them to take him all the time so i could go do dishes and clean the house because i didn't want to be around him...i was never concerned for his or my safety.
this will sound weird but i became obsessed with cloth diapers. i still do cloth diaper, but i found that it gave me an outlet, something baby-related but not HIM directly to think about. I researched brands, calculated costs, thought about fabric, colors, etc, ALL the time.
When I read more about OCD, it appears that the disorder 'goes after' those things most important to you, so it makes sense that the intrusive thoughts would be about your baby. The trick with intrusive thoughts, though, is that the more we try **not** to have them, the scarier we find them, etc. the more likely they are to perpetuate themselves. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy seeks to take the power away from these thoughts and teach our brains to dismiss them. My understanding is that you need to work with a psychologist to receive CBT vs. a counselor (I was diagnosed by a psychiatrist, who I will meet with periodically about medication, but the therapy is with a great psychologist).
I found out that virtually **everyone** has "weird" or intrusive thoughts, but people with OCD give them greater significance and therefore have them much more often and are caused much greater distress by them.
Anyway, I'd encourage you to ask about CBT as it's been established as the best treatment course for OCD/intrusive thoughts. You might want to read up a bit online as well--I found some interesting articles about PP OCD and the typical kinds of thoughts women struggling with it have. I know for me this helped with a lot of the guilt I was feeling over having these types of thoughts.
Like you, I had a major lightbulb moment when diagnosed. So much of my past periods of anxiety suddenly came into focus for me: I have always obsessed about stuff to some degree, but because I never had overt compulsions, OCD didn't occur to me as a possibility. It wasn't until learned that compulsions can be cognitive did it click into place.
Sorry for writing a novel! I am here if you ever want to talk about this stuff. I hope we both get relief soon--it's stressful worrying so much/thinking about terrible things happening!
Hi! I'm not taking fish oil, so I'm no help there, but I have to say, exercise has done wonders for me! Whenever I'm having a bad day I try to get on the treadmill or take a walk outside. It's hard to find time, but if I do something at least twice a week, I find that I feel better physically and emotionally. And now that the weather is turning nice, it's really helping me get motivated to get out and move a little!
GL!
Thanks so much, everyone, for sharing your experiences.
Jenny -- your experience sounds a lot like mine. I constantly think about the horrible things that could happen to DD, and I have trouble stopping. I KNOW my fears aren't rational, but that doesn't stop me from having them.
I'll definitely look into CBT. Thanks!