I'M 4 MONS. POSTPARTUM AND STILL FEELING VERY DEPRESSED

[MUMMOFTWO]

HI,
I'M A WIFE & A MOMMY OF A 4 MONTH BABY BOY AND ALSO HAVE A 3YR. OLD BOY. I'M 26 YRS OLD AND I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA.

I DON'T HAVE MUCH SUPPORT FROM ANYONE INCLUDING MY HUSBAND. BOTH MY PARENTS PASSED AWAY IN 2007 AND 2009. I'M A ONLY CHILD AND I DON'T REALLY ASSOCIATE MUCH WITH FRIENDS.

I FEEL EXTREMELY DEPRESSED AND ALONE. I'M CURRENTLY TAKING MEDS. FOR MY DEPRESSION. SINCE TAKING THE MEDS, I HAVE SOME GOOD DAYS BUT I STILL FEEL DEPRESSED 5 OUT OF 7 DAYS. I DON'T SLEEP AT NIGHT. I FEEL LIKE I AM CHEATING NOT ONLY MYSELF BUT 2 BOYS FROM MORE HAPPY MOMENTS WITH ME. I BRAKE DOWN AND CRY SEVERAL TIMES. I DON'T LEAVE THE HOUSE MUCH CUZ I DON'T HAVE NO WERE TO GO. I'M EMOTIONALLY AND PHYSICALLY DRAINED. I FEEL LIKE THE GOOD TIMES I DO HAVE DON'T OVER COME THE SAD TIMES. I WANT TO GET BETTER FOR THE SAKE OF MY BABIES.

I REALLY MISS MY PARENTS SO MUCH. I FEEL I HAVE THIS BIG HOLE IN MY CHEST.

I NEED HELP....

I'm sorry to hear that you feel this way. Maybe go back to your doctor and explain how you feel? They might change your dosage / meds for you.
Try venturing on to the chat board where there is a little more traffic, and get involved in posting there or on the relationships board. You can find a great deal of help and support on here. [Thanks]

Agree you should try re-posting on one of the other boards here which gets more traffic. Either _chat in the 'general' section or maybe parenting in the 'being a parent' section.

Agree that going back to your doctor to discuss your medication is a good idea. I also wonder if you might benefit from some sort of counselling alongside your meds? Not sure how it works in theUS but over here in the UK your family doctor can often refer you for CBT counselling which can be really helpful for PND.

I also notice you said you don't often leave the house...when I was suffering with PND I was advised to try an get out of the house once a day if possible...the fresh air can be realt good to help clear your head...can you strap the baby in the buggy and walk the 3yo to the park? Or put 3yobin buggy and baby in sling and just walk round the block a few times/to the shop every day? I used to invent reasons to walk to our local supermarket every day just to get out the house and to speak to an adult and I think it did make me few a bit better.

Realy hope you get the help you need - you can beat this illness.