Postpartum Mental Health

If I could make it to the bridge, the pain would stop. I just had to make it to the bridge, and the hopelessness would end. It became a refrain, running over and over in my head as I raced down the highway. Make it to the bridge, and the pain will end. It's hopeless. Just wanna die. Make it to the bridge.

I'm Listening: A Guide to Supporting Postpartum Families teaches concerned, caring individuals how to help people struggling with pregnancy and/or postpartum depression (PPD) in person, over the phone and by email. In this revised edition, you’ll learn how to respond to all sorts of people: distraught women, upset husbands and partners, anxious relatives, and those just seeking information about PPD.

I am not claiming my illness has been cured for it would seem that once one’s nervous system is damaged there is always a slight chance of a relapse, but at least these days I rarely get pulled into that fearful darkness and when I do usually it only lasts a few minutes, whereas in the past sometimes my depression would haunt me for months before I was able to struggle back to the surface of life. Having successfully used these methods it is my hope that others dealing with the ravages of depression, physical pain, emotional torment and/or chronic illness might also gain some benefit.