The most common mental illness problems in the world are anxiety and depression. About 7% of the entire population of the United States above the age of 18 suffers from depression at any given time. That is more than 17 million people!
After giving birth to a new child, many parents start to suffer from parental postpartum depression. If they do not know very much about parental postpartum depression, they may not realize they have it. They may become confused and attribute their depression to a wide variety of potential causes.
This can cause a lot of unnecessary stress and delay receiving appropriate treatment. Learning more about parental postpartum depression is essential as the time approaches for giving birth to a new child.
So what is parental postpartum depression, and what should you do about it? Read on to learn all about the most important things to understand about parental postpartum depression and how you can manage it!
What Is Parental Postpartum Depression?
There are many kinds of depression. However, many people start to experience depression in the immediate aftermath of having a new child.
This is common enough that it forms a striking pattern and deserves a special name for it. In fact, as many as one in seven people will have parental postpartum depression after having a new baby.
What Is Postpartum Anxiety?
Although it is somewhat less common, some people also experience parental postpartum anxiety. It has many of the same symptoms as more general anxiety disorders. However, it is marked by the fact that it starts right after giving birth to a new baby.
Different Kinds of Postpartum Depression
Parental postpartum depression can affect both mothers and fathers. Depression in men after having a new child is somewhat less common, but it is still a normal occurrence.
At the same time, there is some reason for the fact that many people think of postpartum depression as something that happens to mothers. Although about one in seven new parents might experience parental postpartum depression, at some point, more than half of new mothers will experience a more temporary form of depression.
For one or two weeks after delivery, it is not uncommon for mothers to find themselves experiencing crying without any apparent cause. They may also experience chronic sadness and anxiety. After a brief period of support, these “baby blues” tend to resolve themselves.
On the other hand, parental postpartum depression lasts for much longer. It can affect both fathers and mothers, and in some cases will last as long as a year.
Who Is More Susceptible to Postpartum Depression?
One in seven may seem like a lot, but it still means that the vast majority of people will not suffer parental postpartum depression after having a new child. However, there are a number of factors that can affect how probable it is that you might suffer from postpartum depression at some point.
For one thing, if you have had parental postpartum depression before, there is a much higher chance that you will have it after having another new child.
If your family has a history of experiencing general depression, that can also increase your risk. That goes double if your family has a history of experiencing parental postpartum depression in particular.
Many people find that other difficult life circumstances trigger parental postpartum depression after having a new child. That means that you may be at risk if you have a limited amount of social support. The same applies if you are having difficulties in your close relationships.
On the other hand, people are also much more likely to experience parental postpartum depression if they are a single parent. Having a new child when you are younger than 20 can also increase your risk.
Some people are not sure they want a new child when they give birth. In such cases, it is more probable that they develop parental postpartum depression.
Last of all, you will be at higher risk if you have a pregnancy or baby with unusual complications. Anything that can make pregnancy or child care for a new infant more difficult can increase the probability of developing parental postpartum depression.
Strategies for Coping With Depression
In some cases, diagnosing parental postpartum depression is the hardest part. Once you know what is going on, you can take steps to manage your symptoms.
In some cases, resolving this kind of depression is as simple as speaking with your doctor. The appropriate use of the right medication is sometimes enough to manage parental postpartum depression on its own.
On the other hand, you may also need to learn some new coping skills to improve your depression treatment. Many people develop depressive patterns of thought.
They can learn to notice these patterns of thought. By altering them, they can eliminate the symptoms of depression.
Other people find that they need to adjust their lifestyle. As we already discussed, anything that makes caring for a new infant more difficult can increase your risk. Likewise, finding ways to decrease your stress can help resolve depression.
Depression in men and women can be improved by finding ways to get enough sleep. This may require finding someone to help take care of the infant.
Depression treatment also succeeds more when people find ways to get proper nutrition. Not every treatment strategy is available to everybody. But applying the strategies you can is often enough to resolve parental postpartum depression.
Understand How to Manage Parental Postpartum Depression
Once you know more about parental postpartum depression, you will see why it is such a priority that people know how to manage it when they experience it. Caring for a new child can be difficult enough, so untreated parental postpartum depression can make things much more stressful. On the other hand, with a diagnosis and treatment, people can diminish their symptoms and enjoy their new child.
To learn more about the symptoms and treatment for parental postpartum depression, reach out and get in touch with us here!
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