Postpartum Depression and Anxiety - Jade's Story

Postnatal depression & anxiety effects 70-80% of women in the United States alone. Thank you @jade.postpartum for speaking out & letting us know we are not alone.

Jade's Story:

“It is so easy to lose your self when you become a mother. Babies are completely dependent and need us so intensely that often our own physical and emotional needs are not met.

Sleep deprivation, lack of support and isolation are the perfect breeding grounds for mental illness.

I was the 1 in 5.
Postnatal depression and anxiety consumed me.
Every day was filled with intense worries and aching loneliness.
I felt like I wasn’t cut out for being a mother, even though it was all I ever wanted.
I thought that this would be the happiest time of my life, but in reality there were days I felt so low that I just didn’t want to be alive any more.

I called a perinatal mental health hotline when my son was about 6 months old.
That was the first step on my journey of recovery.
From there I started seeing a psychologist and later started on medication.

Nearly 2 years on, I consider myself “recovered”. I still have ups and downs, healing is not linear. The difference between now and then is that I am able to pick myself up when I fall- instead of lying on the floor for months on end.

In the thick of it I felt that things would never get better. But they did, and they can for you too. It is imperative to get help when experiencing mental illness. We cannot do it alone.

I started this Instagram account to surround myself with other mothers who were going through the same struggles as me. It is my hope that those following along will feel the support, validation and solidarity that they need ❤️”