Guest Post: Parenting During Depression

The blackout shades on the windows mostly kept the sun at bay, and the dry Cheerios I set on the table mostly kept my two- and four-year-old kids at bay. I slunk back under the heavy comforter, head on the wet pillow, and returned to the weight of sleep. Today I wouldn’t end my life, but I would try as hard as I could to pretend I didn’t exist.

Even now, three years later, I blush as I confess this to you.

I am so ashamed at what a terrible mother I was, what a terrible wife, what a terrible housekeeper. I had no idea what was wrong with me, only that I was failing at everything in my life. Previously a strong and capable professional, I was losing clients because I couldn’t bring myself to call them back. Formerly an energetic new mom, I could barely feed and clothe my children.

The sun finally broke through one day when I got an official diagnosis of clinical depression. Sitting in our counselor’s office, my husband burst out excitedly, “You’re not lazy! You’re just depressed!” as if the confusing puzzle of our lives finally made sense.

The diagnosis was a revelation for both of us. It was freedom. Now that we knew what was wrong, we could begin to fix it. Months of counseling for me, my husband, and our marriage. Two years on antidepressants. Slowly, I stopped crying, started smiling, and began coping with life again, began parenting properly again.

Depression is not a physical disability, but it’s a disability all the same. It can affect a person’s ability to work, care for children, and even take care of herself. Parenting with any disability requires doing things differently than normal. Success requires community, assistance, and support. Parenting through depression is the same: you’ll have to do things differently for a while, and you’ll need help.

The first step to getting that help is acknowledging there’s something wrong. It’s not normal or healthy to sleep all the time (or have trouble sleeping at all). To cry often and be overwhelmingly sad for an extended period of time. To lose interest in all the activities you used to enjoy. To think about hurting or killing yourself.

If you have depression symptoms, tell someone trustworthy – a friend or family member who will take you seriously. Be extremely honest about all your symptoms and experiences, no matter how embarrassed you feel. If you have had suicidal thoughts, you absolutely must tell someone so that you can get help.

Ask your friend to help you make the necessary appointments to work toward getting a diagnosis, because you may not have the energy to do it alone. You can start with your general practitioner and get a referral to a psychiatrist, or start with a psychologist or licensed counselor. If you’re a woman, your OBGYN or midwife can probably refer you to the right psychiatrist, especially if you’ve had a baby in the last year (then it’s likely you’re dealing with postpartum depression). The combination of therapy, emotional support, and medication can literally make a life-or-death difference in major depression.

While you are still trudging through the dark of depression, ask for help, even though that may seem like the hardest thing in the world. Depression is not as easy to see as a wheelchair, and people won’t know you’re struggling unless you tell them. Ask family members or neighbors to check on you, to keep you company, to bring meals, to help around the house. You need them and so do your kids.

I am so thankful that I—and my family—survived my battle with depression. If you are struggling too, I hope so much that you’ll get the support you need to succeed as well.

Becky is a writer and editor focused on helping women make better lives. She’s an American expat living in Maastricht, the Netherlands.
She blogs about women working toward their dreams while raising their kids at beckycastlemiller.com

You can read more about her journey through depression on her blog:

 

7 thoughts on “Guest Post: Parenting During Depression”

  • This is gut wrenching. It’s hard when people deny, minimalize, mock or criticize your condition. It’s even hard when they spiritualize it. But this is good advice. Keep seeking help. If no one else is supportive, the medical community will be. Help yourself by making the first phone call.

  • I
    wish I could have read something like this back when I first had PPD
    after my 2nd child was born. It took loosing my breast milk because I didn’t
    even have the energy to nurse my child, and her losing weight
    because she was starving and her Pediatrician bringing up PPD for me to
    realize that was what was going on. My daughter went on formula and instantly
    started gaining weight. It was hard for me, but I started opening up to my husband and my parents about the kind of dark thoughts I’d been having,
    as well as my total lack of energy. I’ve read it described as the world
    losing color (it’s life, it’s appeal), but it wasn’t like the world no
    longer had color to it. It was that it had color, and I couldn’t CARE
    LESS. It was hard admitting all this. REALLY hard. I hate asking for
    help, and I’d been hiding how bad off I was so effectively that my husband
    really had no clue how bad things were for me. It was the darkest time
    in my life. And I live in the knowledge that it can happen again, and
    complete honesty with those I trust is the best way to protect myself
    and my family if there is a next time.

  • Postpartum psychosis is a separate mental health disorder which is sometimes erroneously referred to as postpartum depression. It is less common than PPD, and it involves the onset of psychotic symptoms that may include thought disturbances, delusions, hallucinations and/or disorganized speech or behavior. The prevalence of postpartum psychosis in the general population is 1—2 per 1,000 childbirths,-^..`

    Head to our new internet site as well
    <http://healthmedicine101.com/index.php

  • Hello,

    I’m Elena Grace. I came across your site sarahkovac.com while searching for blogs. Are you currently accepting guest posts? If so, I would love to take the opportunity and submit an article.

    Please let me know, what do you say?

    Awaiting your response,

    With Regards,
    Elena Grace.

  • Depression is a very common problem that many people have to cope with on a daily basis, and it’s easy to assume that a depressed person is lazy. Although depression is the result of a hormone imbalance, there are many different causes and ways to treat it. For me, it was exercise and family support, but for others they might need medication and years of therapy. I hope you are doing well now, thanks for sharing your story on depression.

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