How long does postnatal depression last?

[user242526]

Hi,

10M postpartum and I feel as though I'm still going through 'postnatal depression'... how long is it supposed to last on average? Anyone had medication to help with it? How did that go?

Thanks

Bump

Hi, mine lasted about 18 months, I took sertraline from about 8 weeks pp, which helped substantially. Please go and ask your gp for some help, you don't have to just suffer through it.

Thank you for your response @katmarie will the GP see me as an unfit mother if I was to ask for help 10 months in?

Absolutely not. In fact the opposite. It can be difficult to ask for help but I had a male GP who was extremely understanding and sympathetic. Sertraline made a huge difference.

Please do ask for help, lots of people take antidepressants. They helped me be a better parent and i wasnt on them long.

How long does it take to see a difference? I took ADs years ago and they just made me feel completely numb

The sooner you open up and talk to people the easier it will get and the more help you can take.

talk to you GP, your midwife, health visitor, ring mental health charities.

This does not make you an unfit mother.

It means you’re struggling with your mental health and need and deserve help.

Sometimes it's just finding the right meds. In retrospect I had depression symptoms before kids but having the responsibility for them forced me to get help. For me taking medication makes me the best I can be.

It is really important that you get help. Postnatal depression can have an impact for years if you don't get treatment. But if you do get treatment that will give you the tools to help prevent it happening again.

I have a friend who had post partum psychosis and ended up in a mother and baby unit. As you might imagine she was very concerned about what might happen if she had another baby but her psychiatrist helped her put together a plan to ensure she had sufficient support and that her husband and family knew what signs to look out for in case she became psychotic again. She had a much more positive experience with her second baby and did not get PND.