Afraid of Postpartum Depression?
The growing awareness of Postpartum Depression is a great thing for new parents (yes, it affects Dads too!). Early diagnosis is important to prevent risks to both parents and babies. A new book by a cognitive behavioral therapist suggests that PPD can be traced to a parent's internal thinking patterns, perhaps even before symptoms of the depression become visible to others. In her new book, After The Stork: the Couple's Guide To Preventing and Overcoming Postpartum Depression, Reproductive health psychologist Sara Rosenquist, Ph.D outlines ways of keeping tabs on your psychological state through the radical transition to parenthood. With that in mind, she offers five potentially problematic ways of thinking that may lead to depression in new parenthood. If you notice yourself feeling this way frequently, you may have the opportunity to stop yourself from embarking on the road to a postpartum mood disorder.
More On Being Pregnant: 25 Things That Will NOT Help a Woman With Postpartum Depression
I've interpreted three of Rosenquist's ways of thinking below, as I think they apply to pregnancy and new parenthood:
1. Global Thinking: Overly inclusive, black-and-white thinking that overlooks nuance and context
In the chaos of new parenthood, it's easy to hang your hat on the idea that there's a right and wrong way to do everything. But there's another side to that coin-one that can leave you feeling like a failure if you don't do things "right". The reality is that there is a huge range of ways of doing things, and your own personal situation should be a factor in your own individual decision. What's right for your family is right for your family, and it's not necessarily right for everyone.
2. External Locus of Control: The sense that the source of distress is outside of oneself
To some degree, having a baby is inherently a loss of control. The difference is in how you feel about it. If the idea that you're now subject to someone else's needs and behavior all the time gives you a lot of anxiety, you'll probably want to figure out a way to talk yourself down.
More On Being Pregnant: How to Keep Your Self-Esteem As a New Mom
3. Tendency to Internalize Blame: Often feeling responsible for things that are not under your control and, therefore, feeling blameworthy.
When things don't go the way you want them to, do you feel responsible? When you take the blame for someone else's behavior, you're internalizing things that aren't about you. With a nonverbal baby, this might be easier to do than ever. But it's important to see the baby as his or her own person, not as a piece of clay you're responsible for programming (or for the failure of programming).
Head to Being Pregnant to read an analysis of the rest of Rosenquist's ways of thinking and buy her book.
MORE ON BEING PREGNANT:
Gwyneth Paltrow and Bryce Dallas Howard Talk About Postpartum Depression
Be Thankful For Your Pregnancy: How to Love Your Pregnant Body
