\n\tBy the time Anna* realised something was seriously wrong, she no longer recognised herself.<\/p>\n
\n\tNow 23 and on what she describes as \u201cthe other side\u201d of postpartum depression, the young mother is speaking out in the hope that more families will recognise the warning signs of a condition, she says, too many women suffer through in silence.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIf I could go on a mountain and scream out how important it is … I still don\u2019t think it would be enough,\u201d Anna told\u00a0THE STAR. \u201cPeople, even your family, don\u2019t understand how bad it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBefore becoming pregnant, the Manchester native described herself as confident, outgoing and ambitious. At 19, she was pursuing a bachelor\u2019s degree, and said life was on track.<\/p>\n
\n\tAlthough discovering she was pregnant during her third year of university in 2021 was overwhelming, she said she coped well throughout the pregnancy.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI managed pregnancy well,\u201d she recalled. \u201cPostpartum is where everything hit me like a log.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tPsychiatrist Dr Brian Kazaara of Bellevue Hospital explained that postpartum depression is a form of depression that develops after childbirth, often marked by a persistent low mood lasting more than two weeks.<\/p>\n
\n\tSymptoms can include loss of interest in activities, sleep disturbances, poor appetite, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and, in severe cases, thoughts of self-harm.<\/p>\n
\n\tFor Anna, the illness robbed her of the joy she expected to feel after welcoming her daughter.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cTwo months after having my baby, I was questioning why I wasn\u2019t feeling the excitement I felt during pregnancy,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel like I loved her… I felt nothing. I was numb.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAlthough she sought medical help and received a hospital referral, long waiting times and limited understanding of the condition caused her to delay treatment.<\/p>\n
\n\tDr Kazaara said difficulties bonding with a baby can occur in more severe cases of postpartum depression, but stressed that most women recover and develop healthy relationships with their children once they receive appropriate care.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt is a very treatable condition,\u201d he said. \u201cEspecially when treatment starts early, we see favourable outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAnna returned to work at a call centre four months after giving birth, hoping life would return to normal. Instead, the added stress, night shifts and sleep deprivation worsened her condition.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cEverything just started to go downhill,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\tHer physical health also deteriorated rapidly.<\/p>\n
\n\tShe lost nearly 50 pounds, neglected basic self-care, and began experiencing hallucinations.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI wasn\u2019t showering. I wasn\u2019t brushing my teeth … I was seeing shadows, hearing voices.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tDr Kazaara noted that while hallucinations are not considered a core symptom of postpartum depression, they can occur in severe, untreated cases.<\/p>\n
\n\tRelief eventually came through counselling sessions provided by her employer\u2019s mental health programme.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI maxed out every session,\u201d she said. \u201cI was just crying for help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tEven so, the emotional burden remained heavy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By the time Anna* realised something was seriously wrong, she no longer recognised herself. Now 23 and on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":804025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":["post-804024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/804025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}