Tired Moms Podcast: Postpartum Depression



Irma Jackson: I asked and I prayed that God gave me some clarification why I might be going through this and I just wanted to get better. And it's always been my prayer to get better. But, you know, the mental illness, it's a chronic disease. So some days you have good days, some days you have bad days. There's always going to be a trigger within your life that can bring it back again.



If I didn’t have the Church or if I didn’t have God, I would have been lost a long time ago. I wouldn’t have been able to control this on my own. 



Mariel Gutierrez: Hello, welcome to the Faith and Family podcast hosted by the tired but inspired moms. We are four Christian moms from the Church Of Christ, Iglesia Ni Cristo. I'm Mariel Gutierrez and joining me on this podcast are my very good friends. 



Bernie: I'm Bernie Rosquites.



Emirick Haro: I am Emirick Haro.



Jewell:  And I'm Jewell Buenavista. 



Mariel Gutierrez: Today we're going to talk about postpartum depression. It's a thing. Many of us go through it, some milder than others, but it's real. And it happens. 



Bernie: How are we going to hold hands together virtually, like this social distance holding hands as we talk about this? 



Everyone: Yeah. 



Bernie: On this podcast, you will learn about the ways to cope with it, how to support someone who's going through it, then we'll also hear from a mom of two who fought her way through it with professional help, prayer and her faith.



Jewell: You know, sometimes this is called baby blues, and it's normal. About one in five women experience this. I was always happy, I was always a positive person growing up. And with my first child, I remember having these crazy, crazy thoughts that it would make me cry. And then I finally read, you know, I would keep it to myself, because they were such horrible thoughts. I didn't even share it with my husband,  Harmony. 



Jewell: But one day I was reading that book, um, “What to Expect in Your First Year” and it said in there, if you have thoughts, something along these lines, if you have thoughts of maybe throwing your baby out the window or something, it is completely normal. When I read that I was just like, Oh my gosh! I started crying because I was having these crazy thoughts like, ... why would I have these kinds of thoughts? You know, and, um, I shared it with Harmony. I was crying to him. And I didn't realize that maybe I did have postpartum depression and not realize it. But it definitely was. I was definitely not myself.



Emirick: I wasn't sure if I had that either. Okay, I didn't really realize if I was depressed, but I'm looking here at the symptoms now and maybe, let me see if I could check off these symptoms. It's been a while but you know, it is a vivid memory of when I was a first mother. So, experiencing low mood, or being restless. 



Everyone: Okay. Yes, yes.  (laughs)



Emirick: Being sad or overwhelmed. Feeling guilty or worthless. Check maybe, yep. Easy fatigue, easily fatigued, or being irritable. Check.



Jewell: Irritable!



Emirick: Ok, crying easily and too often. Withdrawing to staying away from family and friends. Wow. Okay.