Postpartum depression (PPD) is more common than you think. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 1 out of 9 women are effected by it. I wish I had known more about PPD prior to having my son because then maybe I would have been able to recognize that how I was feeling the weeks after giving birth were symptoms of it.

I have found that postpartum depression is not something most people talk about, so when you are going through it, it can be hard to recognize that you need help. I don’t even remember if I knew what it was before I got pregnant. In the weeks after having Joey all I wanted to do was be with him. That was normal, but what wasn’t normal was that I didn’t want to get dressed, didn’t want to leave the house even for a walk on a beautiful June day, I had no desire to see anyone, and I was sleeping way too much, even for a new mom.

Now that I work very closely with new moms who are trying to get back to their old self after pregnancy I am finding that so many of them are describing exactly how I felt. I want them and you to know how to recognize that you need help and learn how to get that help for yourself.

There is no single known cause of postpartum depression but it is defined as depression that occurs after the birth of your child. Some symptoms of PPD are:

~Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or crying more than normal or for no apparent reason
~Feeling overly anxious or worried
~Experiencing mood swings or irritability
~Becoming angry or enraged
~Not eating enough or too much
~Sleeping too much or not able to sleep at all
~No interest in things you normally like doing
~Having trouble remembering things or concentrating on tasks at hand
~Physical aches and pains
~Feelings that you are not capable of caring for your baby or feeling extremely overwhelmed
~Thinking about harming yourself or your baby

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms you should contact your health care provider right away. They will be able to tell you if you are suffering from postpartum depression or if your symptoms are being caused by something else. If you do have PPD, your doctor will be able to tell you what treatment options are best for you.

I, however, was not diagnosed with PPD. At my 6 week postpartum checkup I did not answer the questionnaires truthfully. I didn’t recognize that I had PPD, but looking at the questionnaires I could figure out what answers they were looking for and that’s what I put. I was afraid they would take my baby away if I answered honestly. That goes to show you what little I knew about PPD and how to seek help for myself if I even had it. Because like I said, I didn’t tell anyone how I was feeling.

I was very lucky to be able to bring myself out of it, but that is not the case for everyone. At the time I was frustrated with how hard breastfeeding was and I was very uncomfortable in my own skin. I was not used to the extra weight I was carrying around and how tired and unhealthy it was making me feel. Thankfully at 12 weeks postpartum, and with some encouragement from my now husband, I started a healthy eating and workout routine with Insanity Max:30. It was the best thing I ever did. I was eating healthy, getting my strength back, and taking off the extra weight that was slowing me down and bringing me down mentally. Just the fact that I was taking care of me and doing something for myself made me feel better and after completing one round of the 8 week program I felt even better than I did before baby. I was in the best shape of my life and I was healthy and happy. Also at that time, the lactation consultant that I had been seeing had completely rectified the issues I was having with breastfeeding and I was finally completely enjoying my life with my new beautiful baby. Fast-forward to almost two years later and my cute little terror is causing a whole new level of turmoil in my life =) but I wouldn’t change it for the world.