Just stumbled upon this site where young women talk about when they knew they were getting better from postpartum depression and anxiety.
Very inspirational and it's helping me today:
I Knew I Was Getting Better From Postpartum Depression & Anxiety When …
Jackie K. – when I was able to smile with my baby, laugh with my husband and enjoy my family.
Jade R. – when I could enjoy my children.
Anna P. – when I didn’t have to try so hard to act “normal.â€
Tara S. – when I looked forward to leaving the house.
Candace E. – when laughing didn’t feel forced.
Kate S. – when my mom told me I was a delight to be around again.
Erin B. – when I could lay down for the night and be excited about the next day.
A’Driane D. – when I could laugh as my 18-month-old was screaming and refusing to let me wipe his nose.
Tempest B. – when I finally felt that surge of love for my daughter that had been lacking.
Jenna S. – when I could enjoy the moment with my toddler and see the world through his eyes.
Alicia H. – when I started enjoying the little moments with my baby boy.
Jennifer L. – when I was able to sleep without any help from medicine.
Amy R. – when I didn’t cry for a whole 24 hours.
Jennifer F. – when I felt like I was in control instead of the depression.
Kristina G. – when I realized the day had passed by without me having to worry and plan each moment.
Mary L. – when I finally saw the light and felt a huge weight off of my shoulders.
Crystal B. – when my kids hugged me and told me they were glad I wasn’t mad anymore.
Alice M. – when my husband was gone all day and I didn’t feel panic at being alone.
Nadia M. – when I started talking about my experience with postpartum depression in the past tense.
Brooke P. – when a week went by and I didn’t have a depressed day.
Sara M. – when I didn’t dread the next day.
Janna H. – when everyone started saying Janna’s back because I started singing out loud at work and making people laugh again.
Shannon S. – when I felt like myself and had emotions.
Kristen H. – when I had a day in which I mostly felt like myself, and I was too excited to fall asleep because of how good I had felt that day.
Stephanie P. – when I looked at my son and saw the blessing God placed in my care.
Crystal B. – when I didn’t wake up in a panic from the nightmares and I felt rested for the first time in ages.
Jennifer C. – when I was excited to come home from work at the end of each day and see my daughter.
Melissa B. – when I was able to believe that it was okay to cry and that it wasn’t a sign of weakness or failure.
Stacey P. – when I woke up in the morning and didn’t immediately wish it was time to go to bed; hours, minutes and seconds were no longer my enemy.
Elizabeth C. – when I realized I love my baby.
Melissa D. – when I no longer wandered the aisles of Target at midnight.
Emily L. – when I admitted I had a problem.
Allie B. – when I felt excited to hear my twins cry. They were awake and wanted mommy love.
Laura R. – when I stopped hating my daughter.
Alicia S. – when I could go back to sleep when the baby did.
Elizabeth R. – when my baby started smiling at me and I realized he was smiling back at me.
Amy T. – when it became okay to go to bed at night without going through the OCD ritual I created to protect myself from dying in my sleep.
Deanna D. – when I started laughing my head off instead of crying when both my boys were have giant meltdowns.
Laurie S. – when I was able to start my morning without a massive panic attack about something stupid like cleaning bottles or packing the diaper bag.
Becky P. – when I finally felt that “connection†with my son.
Stacey H. – when I became excited to rock my baby boy to sleep.
Amanda K. – when I was no longer obsessed with the number of hours of sleep I got each night.
Amanda L. – when my daughter’s cry didn’t cause me to go into a full blown panic attack.
Jennifer L. – when I started to enjoy food again.
Ann Marie W. – when my OCD thoughts of harming were not 24/7 and didn’t give me anxiety any more.
Claire P. – when I could be alone with my baby and not panic about it.
Iri Z. – when I could look at a pregnant woman and not feel sick or sorry for her.
Cristi C. – when I asked for help.
Allyn O. – when I felt happiness instead of dread when my baby called me “mama.â€
Lauren P. – when I could finally say “this is my son,†and not feel like a complete and utter fraud and failure.
Anne R. – when I slept 8 hours in a row consistently.
Vanessa B. – when I realized I didn’t need people around me 24/7.
Sarah O. – when I enjoyed playing with my son for the first time.
Theresa M. – when my negative emotions stopped controlling me.
Roxanne W. – when I no longer wanted to give my daughter away to a complete stranger.
Danielle P. - when I could congratulate someone else on their pregnancy/attend a baby shower for a friend.
Jennifer G. - when I felt joy in just being with my husband and daughters.
Dara K. - when the thought of leaving my house didn’t make me feel sick to my stomach.
Laura. - when I could drive the route to the hospital without crying.
Katherine S. – when I looked at my son’s first portrait from nursery school and thought, “That’s my boy!â€
Quinn – when I held both of my boys and didn’t want the moment to end.
Kim - when I wanted to take care of myself, and my home, again.
Anne – when I could look at pictures from the hospital after my daughter’s birth.
Ashley – when I stopped cleaning the kitchen floor obsessively.
Liz. C. – when I could imagine a day alone with my children without drowning in a sea of panic and anxiety.
Melissa- when the baby crying didn’t make me want to crawl out of my skin.
Suzanne – when I didn’t cry every day.
Leelah O. – when I wanted to be a part of things again.
Lauren H. – when I could laugh again.
Mirjam R. – when I laughed instead of crying when something went wrong.
Nicole M. – when I could leave the house with my son without being overwhelmed by anxiety.
Christina – when I FELT the sun, not just saw it. It was warm. It felt like life, finally
