Hi Sam I suffer from postnatal depression my baby is 6 mouths old and I can’t seem to cope with her please help me
Hi there,
Postnatal depression can affect women after they’ve given birth. It’s a condition that can affect anyone and people can experience it in different ways. There’s support and treatment available for people with postnatal depression. You don't have to try and cope with things alone.
Lots of women feel tearful, anxious or have low mood for a couple of weeks after giving birth. This is so common that it’s called the "baby blues" and it’s normal to expect some change in emotions after giving birth. Both prenatal and postnatal depression are mental health problems that affect women in pregnancy or who have just had a baby. And they’re different to the “baby blues”.
Signs of postnatal depression can be if you lose interest in everything that you used to enjoy, feeling sad or low for a long period of time or have trouble sleeping and eating. Some people might also find it hard to bond with their newborn, feel like they don’t want to look after the baby or start having thoughts about hurting themselves or their child. All of these symptoms are serious and you should speak to a doctor about them.
There are some things you can do right away that might help you begin to recover. Firstly, don't try and do everything yourself. If close family are offering to look after the baby and help out, be sure to accept as much of this help as you can. Use this time to do things to look after yourself - get some "you" time and do things you enjoy. Avoid drinking alcohol as this can make feelings worse and get plenty of rest.
Your GP or health visitor should be making appointments with you in the weeks after you give birth. It's really important to talk to them about how you're feeling and what's been going on for you. There is help for women with postnatal depression and you can recover from it with the right support.
A good place to start looking for advice is the NHS page about postnatal depression. There are also some more specialist organisations they suggest talking to in order to get help. You can always talk to one of our counsellors if you're feeling low and need to talk about anything at all.
I hope this has helped, thanks for sharing this with me.
Take care.
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
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