There is a story in the news today that is really too horrible to repeat but I thought I would write something briefly about postpartum psychosis. I would really discourage people from searching for the story.
In my first pregnancy I did actually believe that my baby was “infested” with demons. I had someone pray over them to remove them but do not remember being satisfied that they were exorcised. It was only years later in reading accounts of postpartum psychosis, thinking back on those days, and thinking to myself “you know, there wasn’t a whole lot of evidence for that demon thing,” that I realized that my view of the world, which I held so firmly to be true, really wasn’t true at all. You simply live in another reality.
I know this is a natural health website and seeking help from mental health professionals and taking pharmaceutical drugs is anathema to many people who read this blog. However, the infanticide story that is in the news is a reminder that there are things far worse than Zoloft. I realize that a famous case involved a mom on psychiatric medication but my core point is that we need to find some way to become stable first and then do what we need to do to get better from that point.
Any approach that helps you become stable is good. You need to be monitored closely until you become stable.
In my second pregnancy I actually arranged for the director of a county mental health agency to serve as my personal case manager. I knew if things got real bad, I would get conventional psychiatric treatment. I look back on those psychotic moments with my first baby and I know that what very likely makes me different from people who have made the news is simply dumb luck. I was lucky with my first child that in response to a supposedly demon-infested baby, I attempted to have him exorcised. It could have been far worse. There is really no particular reason it wasn’t.
Technorati Tags: postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis, Zoloft
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