Postpartum depression

I spoke to my health visitor who suggested speaking to my GP about anti depressants and I have referred myself for talking therapy (in your red book there is a page on maternal mental health and there is a QR code which links you to a page to find talking therapies in your area). Best of luck, it's not easy asking for help, I also struggled on for way too long and it was a relief finally asking for help. x

@Claire thank you! How did you go about speaking to your GP. I have no idea what to say when booking an appointment, don’t want them thinking I’m silly

Hello, perinatal therapist here. I want to say PPD is very very common and is nothing to be ashamed of. If you have insurance, I would suggest contacting them and seeing if mental health services is part of your plan (a lot of insurances loop MH with medical) and they can provide a list for providers in your area who are covered with your insurance. You could also search yourself by using psychology today or mental health match. Hope this helps and so proud of you for being brave to put yourself first for you and your baby. Also, nobody will think you’re silly for seeking help.

I opened up to my physio as I was struggling to relax to be able to the the work. They contacted my GP and asked for them to get in touch with me about what was going on. Maybe your health visitor could do the same for you? In my area there is something called OXPIP which is a mental health service for mums of under 2s

@Bree thank you. I’m in the UK and you can be waiting months and months on a waitlist for any form of therapy and I can’t afford the extortionate prices to go private with being a single mum working part time

Oh my, that’s so unfortunate. I have no idea about UK policies. I wish you the best of luck getting connected with care. In the meantime, I would suggest trying to do things that make you happy. When baby is napping or asleep taking time for yourself. If you enjoy self care, pampering yourself etc.

When my daughter was around 8 weeks old, the health visitor asked me a series of questions and, based on my answers, said I was showing signs of having PPD. I was told I'd be referred by them, but after not hearing anything for months, I spoke to someone at a breastfeeding clinic who advised me to contact my GP. Once I was referred, I was matched with a counsellor and had sessions virtually, which lasted around 30 minutes for 8 weeks. My sessions were focused on guided self-help. If you're based in the UK, you can also self refer yourself here - https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/ I hope this helps! If you need someone to talk to, you can also message me privately x

I just explained my situation and what I wanted, it helped that I have been to the GP about depression before but they were helpful. Not every GP is great when it comes to mental health but if they make you feel worse or you don't feel listened to, you can request to be seen by a different GP.

https://www.mind.org.uk I self referred to mind and they were amazing, really quick to get in touch with me and only discharged me when I was 100% ready. Hope this helps!