Almost all men and women in America have heard of postpartum depression, or PPD. Many of us know someone who has been affected by postpartum depression in one way or another. Women who are pregnant or who have recently given birth or miscarried are often educated on the basic signs and symptoms of postpartum depression. Unfortunately, most women are not educated about the lesser-known condition of postpartum anxiety.
Anxiety and depression often run together in the same psyche, but anxiety symptoms are very different than the main symptoms. sadness Any type of depression, including postpartum depression, can leave someone feeling tired, lethargic, disconnected from society, inexplicably sad for no apparent reason, and even thinking or trying to bring about death. Symptoms of postpartum anxiety, in turn, include rapid pulse and heart palpitations , anger, paranoia, restlessness, and pain. and other symptoms associated with anxiety disorder.
Since the major focus of medicine for so many years has been on postpartum depression, and the symptoms associated with postpartum anxiety that do not include feelings of depression, they are often overlooked or explained away as part of postpartum depression. It is important to distinguish between these two very different disorders so that treatment options can be well evaluated. Medications for depression and anxiety, although similar, act very differently on the human body.
Depression is often treated with drugs that give the patient a “high” so that the patient can “feel” more active in everyday life. On the other hand, anti-anxiety drugs act more depressingly on the patient’s system, to help prevent feelings of panic, rapid pulse, anger, restlessness. Treating a woman who is suffering from postpartum anxiety with an anti-depressant can make the symptoms exponentially worse. And it can be disastrous to ignore or misdiagnose postpartum anxiety symptoms and completely fail to treat the patient.
I speak from experience when I repeat how dangerous the impending symptoms of postpartum anxiety are in the absence of depression. I am the mother of five beautiful children, and I first experienced the symptoms of postpartum anxiety when my first child was a few months old. Because my doctors only ever taught me the symptoms of postpartum depression, I didn’t understand what was happening to me.
I have experienced anxiety panic attacks sometimes the phone rings or there is a knock on the door. I was constantly feeling like I wasn’t doing enough. I was angry at the smallest things, and the work in the new marriage was a big part of my mind. I am not sad; I did not cry all; I wasn’t thinking of hurting myself or others…no classic symptoms of postpartum depression. My doctor felt that since my attitude seemed to be more withdrawn than depressed, than I was in the clear, and that I did not need treatment for the emotional experience.
I conceived again relatively soon after my first baby, and the “passions” were also seen during the day. my pregnant I felt much calmer and generally more content with my life. Unfortunately, as with postpartum depression, if you experience postpartum anxiety after the birth of your baby, you are at greater risk and may experience symptoms when and each consequence of pregnancy.
I was on track and going on a six-year rollercoaster of pregnancy, followed by postpartum anxiety with no help to be found. During these years I was calm and content while pregnant and up to three or four months postpartum. After that time I experienced increasing symptoms of postpartum anxiety until I got pregnant again. During these times of postpartum anxiety my marriage almost ended many times, I treated my friends and family members badly and badly he would almost regret it. I used to “joke” that my husband was “much nicer” when I was pregnant than when I wasn’t!
Finally, after giving birth to my fifth child, I had tubal ligation and I knew there was no future. the womb “even my hormones”, as I reported. I finally noticed the lifestyle patterns that I was cycling and tried to talk to my doctor to see if I should consider any medication that could prevent me from going through the same dangerous cycle over and over again. My doctor went through the symptoms of postpartum depression, expressed that he thought I was “beautiful” and that there was nothing he needed to do to help me.
I accepted that answer for several months until feelings of extreme anxiety struck me again. I finally went to see another doctor to evaluate all the symptoms I had. Finally, I had someone talk about the symptoms of postpartum anxiety, which really explained what had happened to me over the years and what I was experiencing now. He started me on a low dose of Lexapro, used to treat, which drove me crazy for about six months. I could hardly believe the difference it made in my life. I felt like a happy, normal person who could be content with his life as a wife, mother, friend, student, career woman, and all the other titles and positions I hold. I experienced greater joy and peace in my marriage, and I continued to do so as I gradually got off the drug.
I strongly encourage any postpartum women who have anxiety rather than depression to ask a doctor about treatment for postpartum anxiety. Medical science is slowly starting to recognize this disorder as big as postpartum depression, and my hope is education. For both serious disorders, this will continue to improve so that women everywhere can get the help they need to feel whole again.
