Treating Postpartum Depression In Men
Untreated, postpartum depression can cause marital and family problems. It can even affect the childs growth and development. Fortunately, it can be treated.
Treatment for men is the same as for women: medicine, such as an antidepressant, and/or counseling. Treatment may focus on the cause of a mans depression. For some, being a parent may feel overwhelming and they wonder if they are up to the task. Teaching parenting skills may boost dads confidence and reduce their depression.
New dads can also seek help at UPMC Central Pa. behavioral health. Call them at 717-231-8360.
Strategies For Coping With Postpartum Depression
Make healthy lifestyle choices. Although it is definitely a challenge to focus on yourself with a new baby, its important for people who have postpartum depression to take time to do things like eating healthy meals, exercising, getting enough sleep, and avoiding alcohol, which can exacerbate mood swings.
Practice self-care. Enlist a partner, friend, or other family member to watch the baby or hire a sitter, then get out of the house and do something for yourself.
Set realistic expectations. Treatment can help, but it may take some time before you feel like yourself again. In the meantime, dont feel pressured to check off everything on your to-do list.
Say yes to caregiving help. Take people up on their offers to help. Your friends and family members can help around the house, watch the baby so you can sleep, run errands, or be there to listen when you need to talk.
Avoid isolation. Talk with your partner, friends, or family about how youre feeling. You may want to join a support group with other mothers whove experienced postpartum depression and can share experiences and coping skills.
Are There Natural Remedies For Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression is serious and not something you should attempt to treat without a doctors input.
Along with medical treatment, natural remedies such as exercise and getting the right amount of sleep can help improve symptoms. Massage, meditation, and other mindfulness practices may help you feel better. Maintain a diet high in nutrients, but low in processed foods. If youre not getting the nutrients you need in your diet, ask your doctor to recommend the right dietary supplements.
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A Closer Look At Procrastination Beliefs
- You may have certain assumptions about yourself and how your life should be.
- For the most part, they might be helpful if they are accurate and flexible.
- But you may also have certain beliefs that are unhelpful because of their inaccuracy.
- Your tendency to procrastinate may be governed by some of these assumptions.
- An effective way to combat this is to become aware of your unhelpful assumptions.
- This will help you fight against the tendency to put off tasks and procrastinate.
Postpartum Mood Disorders: What New Moms Need To Know
Bringing a baby home is supposed to be one of the most joyful times in a womans life, but for many, the experience isnt always so rosy.
In fact, most new moms will get the baby blues, where hormonal changes cause anxiety, crying and restlessness that goes away within the first two weeks after giving birth. Also called postpartum blues, the baby blues are actually a mild and temporary form of depression that goes away once your hormones level out.
For other women, its not just about a mild case of the blues. As many as one in five new moms have their time with a new baby marked by postpartum depression, a more serious but highly treatable condition.
Lauren Osborne, M.D., assistant director of the Johns Hopkins Womens Mood Disorders Center, explains what women need to know about baby blues, postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.
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How Depression Affects Fathers
According to a 2010 studyexternal icon using data from 1993 to 2007, approximately 4% of fathers experience depression in the first year after their childs birth. By a childs 12th birthday, about 1 out of 5 fathers will have experienced one or more episodes of depression. Younger fathers, those with a history of depression, and those experiencing difficulties affording items such as a home or car were most likely to experience depression.
A Closer Look At Hot Air Balloon
- Anxiety helps you deal with a threat through a series of changes in your body.
- For instance, your muscles tense up, pulse increases, and breathing becomes shallow.
- These physical changes can actually make it hard for you to feel calm and in control.
- You might also find yourself preoccupied with negative thoughts that worsen anxiety.
- This exercise can counter these negative effects by triggering a relaxation response.
- It uses visualisation to enable you to disconnect from your worrying thoughts.
- It also diverts your attention away from your anxiety thus making you feel calmer.
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Is This True To Is This Helpful
If you need to go to the grocery store regardless, its not helpful to spiral about what might happen there. Instead, thinking about how your thoughts can help you gain insight and strategize. In this case, a thought can be more helpful than anxiety-inducing if you use it to plan ways to mitigate risk when you go shopping.
A Closer Look At Beliefs About Loneliness
- Loneliness is linked with negative thoughts about spending time with yourself.
- If you hold negative or incorrect beliefs, your self-esteem is likely to suffer.
- You might develop these negative beliefs based on your interactions with others.
- They may also be the result of inaccurate or poor knowledge about being alone.
- The first step to change is therefore to identify such negative beliefs.
- You can then challenge these beliefs and replace them with more accurate ones.
- Repeatedly thinking about the positive beliefs can help you feel better over time.
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What Causes Postpartum Depression
More research is needed to determine the link between the rapid drop in hormones after delivery and depression. The levels of estrogen and progesterone, the female reproductive hormones, increase tenfold during pregnancy but drop sharply after delivery. By three days postpartum, levels of these hormones drop back to pre-pregnant levels. In addition to these chemical changes, the social and psychological changes associated with having a baby create an increased risk of postpartum depression.
If you have had any of the following symptoms, please notify your healthcare provider right away:
- Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby.
- Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.
- Depressed mood for most of the day, nearly every day for the last two weeks.
- Feeling anxious, guilty, hopeless, scared, panicked or worthless.
- Difculty thinking, concentrating making decisions, or dealing with everyday situations.
- Loss of interest or pleasure in most of the activities during the day nearly everyday for the last two weeks.
If you do have any of the previous symptoms, your healthcare provider may ask you the following two questions:
If you answer yes to either one, your healthcare provider will administer a more in-depth depression screening.
How Can Family And Friends Help
It is important to understand that depression is a medical condition that impacts the mother, the child, and the family. Spouses, partners, family members, and friends may be the first to recognize symptoms of perinatal depression in a new mother. Treatment is central to recovery. Family members can encourage the mother to talk with a health care provider, offer emotional support, and assist with daily tasks such as caring for the baby or the home.
Support or advocacy groups can offer a good source of support and information. One example of this type of group is Postpartum Support International others can be found through online searches.
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Myths About Postnatal Depression
Postnatal depression is often misunderstood and there are many myths surrounding it.
These include:
- postnatal depression is less severe than other types of depression in fact, it’s as serious as other types of depression
- postnatal depression is entirely caused by hormonal changes it’s actually caused by many different factors
- postnatal depression will soon pass unlike the “baby blues”, postnatal depression can persist for months if left untreated and in a minority of cases it can become a long-term problem.
- postnatal depression only affects women research has actually found that up to 1 in 10 new fathers become depressed after having a baby
These factors are equally true of antenatal depression.
Symptoms Of Postpartum Depression
How often postpartum depression symptoms occur, how long they last, and how intense they feel can be different for each person. The symptoms of postpartum depression are similar to symptoms for depression, but may also include:
- Crying more often than usual.
- Feelings of anger.
- Feeling numb or disconnected from your baby.
- Worrying that you will hurt the baby.
- Feeling guilty about not being a good mom or doubting your ability to care for the baby.
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Postpartum Depression In New Mothers By Ethnicity/race
The following data displays the percentages of women with symptoms of postpartum depression among various different ethnic groups.
Additionally, postpartum depression doesnt only affect new mothers.
Studies have found that:
- Approximately 10% of new fathers experience symptoms of depression during the postpartum period.
- Half of men who have partners with postpartum depression will go on to develop depression themselves.
Some studies have shown that rates of postpartum depression in adoptive parents can be comparable to rates in biological mothers. The stressors that adoptive parents face are different than those faced by biological parents. Because there is still a societal stigma around adoptive families, the rates of PPD could be higher in adoptive parents, as many suffer in silence with their symptoms.
- One study found that roughly 8% of adoptive parents experienced severe PPD compared to biological mothers in the same study, who experienced PPD at a rate of 16.5%.
How Can I Get Omega
Currently, the proposed adequate intake of DHA for pregnant and lactating women is 300 mg. per day. The current recommendation is 450 mg of DHA daily throughout pregnancy and a more balanced blend of EPA and DHA, roughly 625 mg of DHA and 410 mg of EPA, during lactation.
The energy demands on a mothers body during the initial period of lactation is greater than during the latter part of pregnancy, especially if she is taking care of other children. EPA and DHA occur together in nature and work synergistically together. An excellent way to meet your need for these essential fatty acids is in Prenatal DHA by Nordic Naturals during pregnancy and Nordic Naturals Arctic Cod liver oil during lactation.
The production of breast milk requires an additional average of 640 calories per day. Optimal milk production requires a total caloric intake of at least 2,000 calories daily. One of the primary energy sources for lactation is from fat storage from the diet.
This requires an additional 500 calories from fat a day, just for the formation of healthy breast milk. A reserve needs to be left over for mom so that she can maintain her own levels of Omega-3s for mental clarity and tissue integrity. Fish oil supplementation is rapidly becoming an essential part of a healthy, balanced diet for both mom and baby.
Compiled using information from the following source:
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A Closer Look At Signs Of Procrastination
- It is normal to avoid engaging in tasks that are unpleasant from time to time.
- However, chronic procrastination can strongly impact the quality of your life.
- Repeatedly putting off tasks can make you feel stressed and overwhelmed.
- This also prevents you from achieving your goals and reaching your full potential.
- An effective way to overcome this is to understand the signs of procrastination.
- This will help you identify problematic behaviours that are affecting your goals.
- Becoming aware of your signs will also help you avoid distractions and stay on track.
What Can I Do About It
While postpartum depression may seem like a never-ending struggle, there are things you can do to help:
- Counselling: Group therapy, individual therapy and/or marriage or family counseling with a qualified therapist can help you get back on track and help you realize that you arent alone and this isnt your fault.
- Many women find they benefit from a type of counselling called cognitive-behavioural therapy. In this kind of therapy, you work with your counsellor to change the thoughts, feelings and behaviours that are harming your mental health.
- There is also a type of counselling called interpersonal therapy that deals with the way you interact with others and identifies any problems in your relationships that may be contributing to your depression
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Risk Factors For Depression
Experiences that may put some women at a higher risk for depression can include
- Stressful live events.
- Being a mom to multiples, like twins, or triplets.
- Being a teen mom.
- Preterm labor and delivery.
- Pregnancy and birth complications.
- Having a baby who has been hospitalized.
Depression can also occur among women with a healthy pregnancy and birth.
A Closer Look At Visualisation
- Depression can often lead to anxiety and worrying thoughts that play in your head.
- This can make it difficult for you to ease your mind or even feel relaxed.
- You might even experience physical symptoms such as sweating or rapid breathing.
- Visualisation protects your body from damage by triggering a relaxation response.
- This technique guides you to direct your attention to calm and positive images.
- It can help you experience a sense of peace by giving you some time to unwind.
- As a result, this technique can let go of your worries and even boost your mood.
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A Closer Look At Act It Out
- Having low self-confidence can make you fearful of engaging in various activities.
- You might find it hard to deal with situations that can make you the centre of attention.
- This may cause you to engage in unhelpful behaviours such as avoiding situations.
- An effective way to combat this is to practise a technique called role-playing.
- Through role-playing you can prepare for challenging situations by acting them out.
- This will help you understand how such situations will play out in real life.
- You can also try and identify how others might react in such instances.
- As a result, you will feel confident to tackle difficult situations in real life.
Depression During And After Pregnancy Is Common And Treatable
Recent CDC research shows that about 1 in 8 women experience symptoms of postpartum depression. Additionally, a recent analysis by CDCexternal icon found the rate of depression diagnoses at delivery is increasing and it was seven times higher in 2015 than in 2000.
Having a baby is challenging and every woman deserves support. If you are experiencing emotional changes or think that you may be depressed, make an appointment to talk to your health care provider as soon as possible. Most people get better with treatment and getting help is the best thing you can do for you and your baby.
Effective depression treatment can include a combination of medication therapy, counseling, and referrals. is talking to your health care provider. After your visit, make sure to follow-up on all referrals and treatment that he or she suggests. When discussing medications with your provider, let her or him know if you are pregnant, thinking about becoming pregnant, or breastfeeding. You and your provider can decide if taking medicine while pregnant or breastfeeding is right for you. Read Medicine and Pregnancy for more information.
If the situation is potentially life-threatening, call 911.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention LifelineExternalexternal icon at 1-800-273-TALK for free and confidential crisis counseling available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TTY: Dial 711 then 1-800-273-8255. Online chatExternalexternal icon is also available 24/7.
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Causes And Risk Factors Of Postpartum Depression
Hormonal fluctuations that occur after birth can play a big role in a new mothers mood changes. During pregnancy, estrogen and progesterone levels increase to fortify both the uterus and the placenta. But delivery alters the levels of those and other hormones.
After giving birth, hormone concentrations drop by 100-fold within a matter of days, says Katherine Wisner, MD, the director of the Asher Center for the Study and Treatment of Depressive Disorders at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. The sudden plunge may create disturbances in mood, particularly in women who have prior histories of depression or anxiety, as noted above.
Periods of hormonal fluctuation, such as menstrual cycles and perimenopause, are associated with major depressive episodes, says Dr. Wisner. It could be that the fluctuations that occur during and after pregnancy may affect certain neurotransmitters or brain function in other ways.
This massive drop in hormones, along with the initiation of breastfeeding, disrupted sleep, and adapting to motherhood all contribute to the risk for developing depression, she adds.