3 Signs of Postpartum Depression That Don't Look Like Sadness

Transcript

Let's talk about three sneaky ways that postpartum depression shows up that don't look like sadness. Hi, if you don't know me, I'm Dr. Jana. I'm a licensed psychologist who specializes in moms. The first way postpartum depression can show up that does not look like sadness, I call over-functioning. And if a mom is over-functioning, it often looks like she is super put together. Her nails are done, her hair is done. She's walking into my office looking super cute, baby is perfectly dressed, and inside, she feels bad. She feels like she's falling apart. And often these moms are surprised when I tell them, hey, I think this is postpartum depression because they're not reporting sadness necessarily, but they are just working really, really hard to over function. It's coming with the cost. Number two is kind of an emotional numbing. Some people describe it as like a fog over their life. Some people describe it as like looking at themselves through a window, but overall it's kind of a disconnection from yourself and your feelings. Not necessarily sadness though, and that's where it can get really tricky is because these moms don't necessarily feel sad or teary, but they don't feel like themselves and they feel disconnected from everything and everyone. Number three, I would say irritability. Sometimes we call that postpartum rage. These moms report getting really, really irritated at small things and it just doesn't seem like their norm. And then they feel really, really guilty afterwards. And it's not sadness, but all of these things kind of fall under the umbrella of postpartum depression, but they don't have sadness as the primary symptom. So if you recognize yourself in any of these things, you are not alone. I work with moms in over 40 states You can check the link in my bio and as always follow along for more honest conversations about motherhood and mental health