I was effected by post natal mental health due to being very ill during my 2nd pregnancy and my baby having to be born at 35 weeks and was very ill too. My baby was in the Special Care Baby Unit for 6 weeks.
They call it the baby blues
I also suffer mental health from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I didn’t feel it was recognised enough as it was called the ‘baby blues’ and to me that wasn’t what it was. I felt no attachment to my son because I couldn’t hold him but my heart broke and I wanted to be next to him always. The bonding was very difficult.
I was offered pills then left to suffer alone
The PTSD was a big thing for soldiers (and rightly so) but not so much for civilians. For my post natal depression I got no help. The Dr suggested pills! I was left to struggle alone. I was ill myself, I had a 15 month old and a new born. I sat most days and cried. I didn’t cope well at all. I think now I still have all that in my head too. As for the PTSD the NHS weren’t sure how to deal with this. I got passed from pillar to post and eventually someone ‘talked’ to me and tried to get me to open up! I ended up saying I will pay to go private before they finally found me a counsellor who specialises in all mental health issues and helped me work through everything from day one (the age of 15).
My advice would be…
My advice would be, please don’t sit and think your alone. Speak out. Push for help. Don’t feel isolated and low when the help is out there. It’s horrible that you have to fight for it and sometimes you don’t have the energy but please don’t sit and hide it. Talk, to anyone….please. My life has been hell from the age of 13 due to being seriously ill. Age 15 is when the black dog arrived and the help for teenagers/young mams is appalling. You have to reach ‘criterias’ which is wrong! People out there are suffering (my 14yr old being one of them) and all she gets is ‘it’s prob just hormonal and she will snap out of it’ that is NOT the answer!!!!
