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Moms go through a lot after having children, both physically and mentally. The postpartum period often comes with anxiety, depression, and burnout. Too often, we go on with our day-to-day without taking care of our mental health. Between our career demands and household responsibilities, it just takes a back seat.
If you aren’t feeling like yourself, you may be wondering if you have ‘the baby blues’, anxiety, depression, or another mood disorder. It’s hard to know what’s “normal” and what steps you can realistically take to feel better. I have Dr. Sarah Pospos on today’s episode to answer all of your questions.
Dr. Pospos completed her psychiatry residency as a chief resident at UCLA Kern as a perinatal psychiatrist and mom of two under two. She is devoted to helping moms and moms to-be with burnout, depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric challenges associated with preconception planning, IVF, pregnancy, postpartum, breastfeeding, and more. Dr. PosPos also empowers moms who often juggle multiple responsibilities to optimize and balance their lives by incorporating exercise, nutrition, sleep, stress management, efficient time management, and other sustainable lifestyle changes. She offers telepsychiatry appointments across California and for non-California residents.
In today’s episode, we discuss postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression, and burnout in motherhood. Dr. Pospos shares practical ways to reduce stress and anxiety in our day-to-day lives, as well as when to seek help from a psychiatric provider.
In this episode we discuss:
- Postpartum anxiety, depression, and other perinatal mood disorders that women experience.
- What burnout is and how it differs from depression.
- The common symptoms of anxiety and how to recognize when you need to seek help.
- The benefits of exercise, and different types of exercises to try postpartum.
- What burnout is and how we can overcome it.
- Embracing the ‘good enough mom, good enough parent’ concept.
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Questions:
- Are some people more at risk to develop depression than others?
- Are you more likely to suffer from postpartum anxiety if you have postpartum depression and vice versa?
- What are the common symptoms of anxiety?
- Are there certain coping techniques for those who experience days of increased stress and anxiety?
- What are your thoughts on evidence-based practices like exercise, meditation, and cold water immersion?
- Is there science that backs up the recommendation of 30 minutes of exercise per day?
- Have you seen an increase in anxiety and depression when women wean from breastfeeding?
- What can we do when we feel burnout all the time?
- What do I do if my postpartum anxiety has turned something into a phobia?
- How can I stop feeling like I’m failing at being a mom?
