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PPD - or just overwhelmed with life? Please help if you can.

1 reply

galen · 13/12/2008 10:54

Hi! I am posting this in the hope that some of you will share your opinions or experiences. I have 6 children. The youngest is 8 months. The others are 10. 9, 6,4,and 2. I am a SAHM, DH works fairly long hours. We have no other family or freinds nearby. Financially we are struggling. And the problem is I am feeling totaly overwhelmed.But I don't know whether this could be some degree of PPD , or just life. I have had PPD before after the birth of my 4 yr old. It took me ages to amit it, and seek help. Eventuslly I was put on citalopram which worked REALLY well. Everyone who knew me commented on how much less stressed out I seemed even though they didn't know I was on meds. I felt so much calmer and more able to cope. I wasn't on it for long , and was fine when I came off it - till now. I feel so low, overwhelmed and totally stressed out and snappy all.the.time. The house is a total mess and I just haven't got the motivation to tackle it. I feel so bad cause I so want to have fune with and enjoy my kids, and instead I just snap at them and shout at them continuously. The baby was breastfed till very recently but I have just weaned him on to bottles as he was such a bad sleeper - he needed to feed about every hour in the night, if he didn't my supply dropped and he was tarving. I was so exhausted - so on bottles he is now sleeping a good 6 - 7 hour stretch which is briliant, but at the same time I am so devastated and tearful at giving up breastfeeding. I feel like I've given up on himm and let him down.My 4 year old is also extremely challenging - we suspect she may have some form of sensory processing disorder.
I am tempted to go to the doc to see about going back on meds. But part of me wonders how much of it is just all I have to cope with. Life is SUCH a struggle, and maybe meds wont change that .
If you read this far thanks. I have no one IRL I can discuss this with so would love to hear any views. How dod you decide if you had PPD as oppose to just having a tough life?!

OP posts:
dustystar · 13/12/2008 11:03

I have also been confused in the past about whether my low feelings were due to depression or just the everyday stresses of life. You certainly have a lot on your plate at the moment so its no surprise that you are feeling low. You say that ADs worked in the past for you so if things are really that bad I think you should talk it over with the GP and follow their advice.

I have been through this situation twice - both times I decided to go back on ADs. The first time they made me feel better so I knew that depression was involved; the second time they made very little difference so after 2-3 months I came back off them as i figured it wasn't depression that time.

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