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Tag: postpartum depression

  • Gwyneth Paltrow On Postpartum Depression: Antidepressants Were Not For Me

    Gwyneth Paltrow On Postpartum Depression: Antidepressants Were Not For Me

    “It was really shocking to me because I never thought that I would be a person who got postnatal depression.”

    Actress Gwyneth Paltrow rejected medication when it came to treating postpartum depression (PPD). Instead, she opted for a more holistic approach.

    While the wellness guru, who began building her lifestyle brand goop in 2008, says that while she doesn’t reject the effectiveness of prescription medications, they just weren’t for her.

    In a special edition of the goop Podcast, Paltrow described feeling depressed after the birth of her son Moses in 2006. She said it was a different experience than the birth of her daughter Apple, now 14 years old. “I was so euphoric when Apple was born, and I assumed it would happen with Mosey and it just… It took a while. I really went into a dark place.”

    But when she was offered medication to treat her depression, she opted for a more holistic approach—true to her brand. “A doctor tried to put me on antidepressants and I thought, if I need them, then yes, I’ll come back to it,” she said.

    “I thought, well, what if I went to therapy and I started exercising again, and I stopped drinking alcohol and I just gave myself a period of regeneration and I slept more? I really broke out of it,” she said.

    While Paltrow acknowledged that medications “are lifesavers for certain people for sure, she was able to pull herself up without them. “It was really shocking to me because I never thought that I would be a person who got postnatal depression,” she said.

    In a 2011 interview with Good Housekeeping, Paltrow credited then-husband Chris Martin with helping her see the problem. “About four months into it, Chris came to me and said, ‘Something’s wrong.’ I kept saying, ‘No, no, I’m fine.’ But Chris identified it, and that sort of burst the bubble,” she said at the time.

    Ultimately, Paltrow discovered that there was more to PPD than she realized.“The hardest part for me was acknowledging the problem. I thought postpartum depression meant you were sobbing every single day and incapable of looking after a child,” she said. “But there are different shades of it and depths of it, which is why I think it’s so important for women to talk about it. It was a trying time. I felt like a failure.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Tess Holliday On Postpartum Depression: I Wished I Could Disappear

    Tess Holliday On Postpartum Depression: I Wished I Could Disappear

    The model has been open about her struggles with postpartum depression on Instagram.

    Plus-sized model Tess Holliday opened up about her battle with postpartum depression to Cosmopolitan UK.

    The 33-year-old, who launched the body positive movement (#effyourbeautystandards) in 2013, struggled with postpartum depression after giving birth to her son Bowie, which lasted from January 2017 to the spring of 2018.

    “It felt like the water was boiling over and things were coming to the top again,” she recalled in a May post on Instagram. “I remember very vividly driving in the car with Bowie and I thought to myself, ‘I wish I could just disappear. I wish I could vanish.’”

    Holliday also confessed on Instagram, “I’ve never had suicidal thoughts, or self harm, but the thoughts of just wanting to stop hurting and feeling helpless were new and frankly overwhelming. I’ve been open about my struggles with Postpartum Depression, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized I had extreme PPD.”

    Holliday was afraid to turn to her family for help because she didn’t want to burden them. “I felt at that point like I was causing everyone around me so much pain,” she continued. “It felt like a never-ending black hole. I was so tired of hurting… I just didn’t want to be here any more.”

    Yet it was with the help of her family and antidepressants that she finally got out of the black hole. “Ask for help, talk to someone, find a support group or hell, message me. You aren’t alone and you don’t need to suffer alone.”

    Holliday confessed she still has tough days. “Some days are still filled with sadness, anxiety and helplessness,” she adds. “As I write this, I’m in the bath, crying to my life coach via text wondering how my life is so full of so many amazing things, but the good bits seem hard to reach… Moms are expected to ‘bounce back’ physically and emotionally. We are expected to ‘stay strong’ for the family. Yet most of us (myself included) still have days where we feel like a stranger in our bodies.”

    Holliday concluded, “I’m grateful to have support in my life, friends to talk to, but it got so bad that I had to take action and by doing so it potentially saved my life.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Serena Williams Gets Candid About "Postpartum Emotions"

    Serena Williams Gets Candid About "Postpartum Emotions"

    By being open about her issues, the tennis star is bringing awareness to postpartum depression that she says is needed.

    Tennis champ and new mom, Serena Williams, is shedding the shame of struggling with “postpartum emotions.”

    The 23-time Grand Slam champion is in the midst of a rocky comeback after giving birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr last September.

    In July, Williams lost the chance to win her 24th Grand Slam title after ending this year’s Wimbledon tournament as runner-up. And she pulled out of the Rogers Cup in Canada (August 4-12) citing “personal reasons.”

    But in a Monday Instagram post, the tennis star shared that she was struggling with postpartum depression (or PPD).

    “Last week was not easy for me. Not only was I accepting some tough personal stuff, but I just was in a funk. Mostly, I felt like I was not a good mom,” Williams wrote in the caption.

    “I read several articles that said postpartum emotions can last up to 3 years if not dealt with. I like communication best. Talking things through with my mom, my sisters, my friends let me know that my feelings are totally normal.”

    PPD is a type of depression that occurs in women after giving birth. According to one study, postpartum depression affects about 1 in 7 women.

    “It’s totally normal to feel like I’m not doing enough for my baby,” Williams continued on Instagram. “We have all been there. I work a lot, I train, and I’m trying to be the best athlete I can be.

    “However, that means although I have been with her every day of her life, I’m not around as much as I would like to be. Most of you moms deal with the same thing. Whether stay-at-home or working, finding that balance with kids is a true art. You are the true heroes.

    “I’m here to say: If you are having a rough day or week—it’s ok—I am too! There’s always [tomorrow]!”

    Williams has been candid about the challenges of being a new mom. Many of the commenters on her Instagram post are fellow moms who can relate.

    By talking through her issues, the tennis star is bringing awareness to postpartum depression that she says is needed. In a June interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, she said, “I think people need to talk about it more because it’s almost like the fourth trimester, it’s part of the pregnancy.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Serena Williams Discusses Postpartum Depression

    Serena Williams Discusses Postpartum Depression

    “I think people need to talk about it more because it’s almost like the fourth trimester, it’s part of the pregnancy.”

    Tennis champ Serena Williams said she struggled with postpartum depression after giving birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.

    “Honestly, sometimes I still think I have to deal with it,” she said in a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK. “I think people need to talk about it more because it’s almost like the fourth trimester, it’s part of the pregnancy.”

    The pressure of wanting to be a good mom, maybe to a fault, weighed on the new mother. “I remember one day, I couldn’t find Olympia’s bottle and I got so upset I started crying… because I wanted to be perfect for her,” she said.

    The tennis superstar endured a complicated birth, which began with an emergency C-section, followed by more surgery for a pulmonary embolism and a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in her abdomen.

    But now that she’s recovering—already winning matches in the French Open before she withdrew from the tournament due to a pectoral injury on Monday (June 4)—she’s putting family first, ahead of tennis, and working on being a good role model for 9-month-old Alexis Jr.

    “I hope I am, and I’m going to strive to be the best mom I can be,” she said.

    Part of what makes her a good role model is her healthy attitude toward body image—something that didn’t come easy. Williams, who started competing professionally as a teen, endured a lot of body shaming for much of her career.

    “It was hard for me. People would say I was born a guy, all because of my arms, or because I’m strong,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “I was different to Venus: she was thin and tall and beautiful, and I am strong and muscular—and beautiful, but, you know, it was just totally different.”

    She said in another interview, “People are entitled to have their opinions, but what matters most is how I feel about me, because that’s what’s going to permeate the room I’m sitting in. It’s going to make you feel that I have confidence in myself whether you like me or not, or you like the way I look or not, if I do.”

    The 23-time Grand Slam champion is more focused on her daughter’s happiness. “I can show Olympia that I struggled, but now I’m happy with who I am and what I am and what I look like. Olympia was born and she had my arms, and instead of being sad and fearful about what people would say about her, I was just so happy.”

    View the original article at thefix.com