Depression and Pregnancy:
How to overcome being depressed during or after pregnancy
Some women who are pregnant and experiencing depression feel guilty, but there is no need to compound your feelings. See there's alot of hormonal changes going on in your body, and your body is experiencing radical changes.
If you are depressed and pregnant, don't feel bad - about one in ten women actually get depression during pregnancy.
Take comfort in knowing depression happens to other people too, and the symptoms you may be experiencing like sadness, anxiety, high irritability, sleeping issues and tiredness are just part and parcel of the depression itself.
The thing is, you may know you're depressed, but that probably doesn't help you feel better, and you probably don't want to be depressed if you had the choice, so what can you do to try and lift the cloud that is hanging around?
How To Overcome Depression During Pregnancy
Depression and pregnancy are not fun to experience together, so in order to seperate the two from each other, firstly you need to identify what is triggering your depression.
If you can sort out the cause of why you are feeling this way, than you are halfway home! The trouble is, for alot of women, they may not conscientiously know why they are feeling the way they are, so you might need to some serious soul searching, but here are some common reasons people get depressed:
- their job (or lack of job)
- lack of finances, or trouble budgeting
- stressful life events (such as a death of someone you love, moving house, losing a job)
- pregnancy problems (this can be from having morning sickness through to feeling anxious because you may have miscarriaged before, or maybe you are just having some complications in your pregnancy
- history of depression (perhaps you have suffered bouts of depression before, and maybe it even runs in your family?)
So if you can work out what is making you feel the way you are, you can then identify and try to put in place a coping mechanism.
Here's what you can do to lower your depression:
Depression and pregnancy is not a fun combination, so how can you alleviate the feelings you are experiencing to make your pregnancy more enjoyable?You can start by trying to relax a little. Don't overload yourself with things to do. Try to chill out or kick back. Do relaxing things like reading a book, chatting with a friend, going to the beach or a park and enjoying a picnic... easy stuff that won't rattle you and bring a feeling of goodness back into your soul.
Try to exercise. Exercise releases endorphins which are bursts of feel good energy into your body. It's hard to feel depressed when endorphins are pumping through your body. Who knows, it might just make you break a smile for the day!
Communicate with your partner. Let them know how you feel and allow them to try to help you. They might not know the right thing to say, but they want to help you feel better, so feel the intention behind what they are trying to do for you.
If you find your depression is deep-seated and hard to budge, perhaps booking an appointment with a councellor might be your answer.
Depression and pregnancy just aren't a good mix and some problems are just to hard to shift, and it's really in your best interest to try to de-stress yourself. Keeping depression to yourself is the worst thing you can do.
If you can't afford to see a councellor, talk to someone you know and trust, maybe your parent, friend or relative.
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