Transcript:
It is estimated that one out of every six women experiences depression and/or anxiety following the birth or adoption of a child. The number is even higher for women who are new immigrants, living in poverty, teenagers, or otherwise vulnerable.
Linda : I wasn’t functioning, I think that was really the most important part was that I was, I was feeling debilitated, I felt like my panic attacks would lead to me being frozen and not being able to do anything and all I could do was just run to my bed and hide in my sheets right and just hide form the world and not want to deal or cope.
Postpartum depression and/or anxiety doesn’t just affect mothers. An estimated 10% of fathers will experience it themselves.
Allen : I lost who I was, mentally. And physically I was just exhausted. .. .. and it’s a time when I thought I knew who I was, but and I, and I really didn’t know who I was. And it’s a time of change, I would say it’s a time of change. And for myself, emotionally. it was a time of change. That’s how I would describe my postpartum experience.
Seeking help with postpartum depression and anxiety can seem overwhelming to those affected, but it is often the first step toward recovery.
Pacific Post Partum Support Society helps with that crucial first step.
Robin: I definitely think that the beginning of the healing was, was the post- the Pacific Post Partum Support Society and that, you know, I’d had a day when I just was, I was just crying and I just, nothing was working, I couldn’t, I was not functioning, I couldn’t even get myself up and I, so I just picked up the phone and I made a phone call and .. talking about how I was feeling for the first time .. things changed in that moment. You know, just because I hadn’t talked about it at all, at all, none of it.
And I hadn’t, I hadn’t talked about being afraid of, of, of, I hadn’t talked about being afraid of my, you know, things might happen to my children. I hadn’t talked about even how isolated I’d felt, I hadn’t I never spoken of the struggles that I was having. So the minute that I started talking about that I feel like that was the beginning of it
Pacific Post Partum Support Society offers online and print resources, community outreach, and training…But our highest impact services are our support groups for mothers in the Lower Mainland and toll-free telephone support for new parents across the province.
Maria: I immediately felt safe in the Group. I felt very, very welcome. I felt very .. .. I don’t know how to say this in English, but like you’re, you’re safe here, we are going to take care of you. We are going to treat you well, we’re not going to judge you. We’re not going to say anything that you may mention here. This is just a safe place for you and your babies.
Brianna: The other thing I found that I was really craving, actually, was the support of other women who’d had similar experiences. Going to the psychologist was necessary for my, my mental health getting better, but having a group of women who just know, I think was just as crucial for me.
Linda: Because what, what I gained out of it was a sense of release, I felt like at least I wasn’t being judged hear and whatever came out of my mouth somebody wasn’t going to think I was crazy. And also being about to just sometimes just sit and listen to other people even if I didn’t want to talk. And being able to nod and say, you know, like we all understood each other, we all acknowledged where it all came from.
Robin: With the support group, having time to myself with two hands, sitting with a cup of tea was like a moment of self-care that I hadn’t had in, in months and months. And, and being able to listen and hear other women tell their stories and it, each story was different but inside of each woman’s story was a piece of my story. And so hearing those stories being told, I didn’t even have to talk and those things I, it was, it, I started feeling better in those moments.
Left untreated, postpartum depression and/or anxiety can have lasting consequences such as marital breakdown, attachment issues, and suicide.
With support and treatment, families can overcome PPD/A and thrive.
Sheila: So, you know, that’s one of the things that we do at Pacific Post Partum is really look at all of those things with the mum so she can start to discover and figure out, you know, what are the, the key pieces in her journey to get better.
Robin: I think seeing, you know, meeting other women who had come through what I had come through, or I was in the middle of, and seeing that they had gone through it and were on the other side of it and were, were saying: I’m ok. And, and, you know, you can get better and knowing that, that it does get better, was really enlightening and important for me to see.
Pablo and Maria: For me the Post Partum Depression Society has been, like I could describe it like the hand who saw me falling down and they went and picked me up and brought me back to life, to a real, happier life.
Pacific Post Partum Support Society offers help and hope to new moms and dads affected by postpartum depression and anxiety, as well as to the people who love them.
We have been supporting families for over 40 years.
You can help continue this vital work.
Make a tax-deductible donation today.
604.255.7955
