2008 Walk/Run Results
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Support Group Meeting - LOCATION CHANGE
Beginning May 7th, 2009, we will meet at
The Church of the Holy Cross
299 Seven Farms Rd
Daniel Island, SC 29492
For directions, please visit the Support Group page
Postpartum depression is defined as the emotional and physical reactions occurring any time within the first year after the birth of a baby and is characterized by feelings of sadness, despair, hopelessness, and discouragement.
The symptoms of postpartum depression, or PPD, include:
Baby Blues (Not considered a disorder)
 | Symptoms are mild and usually go away within 2 weeks. | ||||||||||||
| Symptoms include:
|
Depression and/or Anxiety
| Excessive
worry or anxiety |
| Irritability
or short temper |
| Feeling
overwhelmed, difficulty making decisions |
| Sad
mood, feelings of guilt, phobias |
| Hopelessness |
| Sleep
problems (often the woman cannot sleep or sleeps too much), fatigue |
| Physical
symptoms or complaints without apparent physical cause |
| Discomfort
around the baby or a lack of feeling toward the baby |
| Loss
of focus and concentration (may miss appointments, for example) |
| Loss
of interest or pleasure, lower sex drive |
| Changes
in appetite; significant weight loss or gain |
| Suicidal thoughts |
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
| Intrusive,
repetitive, and persistent thoughts or mental pictures |
| Thoughts often are about hurting or killing the baby not to be confused with psychotic thoughts |
| Tremendous
sense of horror and disgust about these thoughts (ego-alien) |
| Thoughts
may be accompanied by behaviors to reduce the anxiety (for example, hiding
knives) |
| Counting,
checking, cleaning or other repetitive behaviors |
| Suicidal thoughts |
| Episodes
of extreme anxiety |
| Shortness
of breath, chest pain, sensations of choking or smothering, dizziness |
| Hot
or cold flashes, trembling, rapid heart beat, numbness or tingling
sensations |
| Restlessness,
agitation, or irritability |
| During
attack the woman may fear she is going crazy, dying or losing control |
| Panic
attack may wake her up |
| Often
no identifiable trigger for panic |
| Excessive
worry or fears (including fear of more panic attacks) |
Psychosis
| Visual
or auditory hallucinations [not the same as intrusive thoughts] |
| Delusional
thinking (for example, about infant’s death, denial of birth, or need to
kill baby) |
| Delirium
and/or mania |
| Suicidal thoughts |
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
| Recurrent
nightmares |
| Extreme
anxiety |
| Reliving
past traumatic events (for example, sexual, physical, emotional, and
childbirth) |
Used with permission from “Beyond the Blues” (2006 issue) by Shoshana S. Bennett, Ph.D. and Pec Indman, Ed.D., MFT published by Moodswings Press.