At the Root of Postpartum Depression
“Postpartum depression” describes a depressive episode that begins within a year after giving birth.
Symptoms can include:
Persistent or intense sadness/low mood
Feeling numb
Loss of motivation or interest in activities you usually enjoy or are usually excited by
Feeling hopeless
Low self-esteem, feeling like a failure, feeling constantly/excessively guilty or ashamed
Sleep issues like insomnia or oversleeping
Fatigue
Trouble concentrating
Moving or speaking very slowly, or the opposite - being unusually fidgety, restless, worked up/agitated
Appetite changes (major increase or decrease)
Thoughts about harming yourself or wanting to die
Various factors can contribute to postpartum depression (for example: the massive postpartum hormone shift, frequent physical pain or discomfort, sleep deprivation, nutrient depletion, dealing with high levels of stress in managing parenting tasks, relationship changes, temporary or long-term bodily changes, sense of identity loss, feeling unable to keep up with demands/expectations associated with the mother role, not enjoying the parent role…). However, there is a major factor that is often present at the foundation of postpartum depression and adds continual fuel to the symptom fire: unhealed psychological trauma.
“Trauma” describes the lasting emotional, mental, and/or physical impact of a highly stressful, frightening, or upsetting experience. Trauma - even from past experiences that seem totally unrelated to your motherhood journey - can become fuel for postpartum depression. Here are some reasons why:
Trauma creates a dysfunctional, hyperactive “fight-flight-freeze” response (your body’s self-protection mode!). When your stress response system is overactive because trauma has made it feel that you’re never safe, your overactive “freeze” response to stress can look like shutting down, withdrawing, and numbing.
Because trauma makes your mind-body system believe that you’re constantly unsafe, the constant feelings of despair and helplessness can make you feel hopeless or stuck, which are very common experiences in depressive episodes.
Holding unhealed trauma in your body makes it difficult to manage emotions in general, making it tough to cope with stress and change. This can lead to extra intense feelings of sadness, anger, or irritability (common components of depression) amidst the stress and changes in the postpartum period.
Trauma causes your brain to develop and cling to negative false beliefs about yourself and your life - and those beliefs tend to be very “all or nothing” or “black and white,” like:
“I’m a bad person”
“I’m not good enough”
“I’m not worthy”
“I’m not safe”
“I’m not loved”
“I’m a failure”
These underlying beliefs can contribute to low self-esteem, excessive feelings of guilt and shame, hopelessness, feeling unmotivated, or not wanting to be alive anymore.
Whether the traumatic experience happened during your perinatal season (during preconception, conception, pregnancy, birth, or postpartum) or the event happened during another time in your life, tending to those underlying psychological wounds directly with the help of a trauma-focused perinatal mental health specialist can be a powerful approach for finding relief from postpartum depression.