My aunt has never paid me a single compliment, but she’s always been quick to dole out negative commentary. One particular statement that stands out is when she told me, “I hope you never have kids.” More on that later.
That said, there was one thing I was good at in her eyes—writing. After helping her daughter with her college admission essay, my aunt offered me the closest thing I’d heard to a kind statement: “I hope you do something with this one day.”
Why am I sharing this story? Well, contrary to her wishes, I did go on to have kids—two of them, in fact. Yet, behind the bright image of motherhood I’ve painted on social media lies a darker truth, which is that I battled crippling postpartum depression.
Postpartum depression can initially be dismissed as “the baby blues.” Maybe you did a quick Google search after your own delivery to find out why you were crying at the drop of a hat and read an article or two about it. Most likely just hormones, the articles say; they’ll level off soon.
But what happens when instead of tapering off, they snowball? When someone tells you you’re not adjusting well to motherhood, or when you’re told your baby is “so easy” after a person has one brief interaction with him when he had cried for 18 hours straight the day before?
In my experience, you withdraw. Outside interaction only reinforces your fear that you’re doing it wrong. You put your colicky baby in a carrier, and you walk back and forth down the hallway, welcoming your partner...
Read Full Story: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/posted-happy-pics-social-media-110742548.html
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