Postpartum anxiety looks like...

by Katy Huie Harrison, PhD

07/05/2023

We hear all the time about the baby blues. How do we know if what we're feeling is common or something we should seek help for?
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I don't want to call myself lucky for having anxiety, but in a weird way, I am. Because when postpartum anxiety crept into my life when Jack was a mere 2 days old, I recognized it.
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💔I knew the darkness
💔I knew the panic
💔I knew what it felt like to be completely out of control in my own body and mind
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And because of all this, I knew that when others didn't understand what I was experiencing when they assured me, "It's normal to worry as a new mom."
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I needed help. Serious help. It would take me two years, extensive therapy, medication, and a lot of hard work to fully climb out of that darkness. (Though much thanks to modern medicine, I somewhat improved within mere weeks.)
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But as much as I was robbed of by postpartum anxiety, I'm so thankful I knew what was happening. I'm abundantly grateful that I knew to seek help and where to get it.