Adventures With Postpartum Depression

This week, I give a personal episode about my overall health. In January, I had epic PMS and decided to quit sugar and caffeine. That improved my moods enormously. I did not have any mood swings with my February cycle but instead, I had some insomnia. (Yay.) After a lot of soul searching, I realized that I had been using sugar to numb my anxiety. Yes, I made a lot of improvements on the anxiety front during my recovery from postpartum depression, anxiety and OCD. But overeating kept a lot of anxiety hidden from my conscious self. Now that I have vast improvements with eating, the hidden anxiety is coming out to play. I have started taking mirtazapine again to sleep (mama needs sleep) but scheduled an appointment with my therapist so I can get to the root of this anxiety. Hooray for continued adventures with anxiety! There are no shownotes this week because my website has crashed and I am yet to start the new one, but my book Adventures With Postpartum Depression will be published very shortly. To stay in touch, follow me on IG @Courtney.Novak or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ppdadventures. Email [email protected] if you would like to share your story on a future episode. The intro music is "Cute" by Bensound.com. Thanks for listening and have a wonderful week.

This week, Kelly Thoele shares her story of pregnancy depression and postpartum depression. She describes her difficult pregnancy and scary emergency c-section. For the first twelve weeks postpartum, she struggled and sank into depression. Then, she watched the documentary When the Bough Breaks. That was her wakeup call. She saw her doctor the next day, went on Lexapro, and felt better very quickly. Now she is leading Team Orlando for the 2018 Climb Out of the Darkness. Thank you, Kelly, for sharing your story! For show notes, head over to PPDadventures.com. Email [email protected] if you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode. The intro music is "Cute" by Bensound.com. Thank you for listening and I hope you have a wonderful week.

This week, Fiona shares her postpartum story of anxiety, depression and adjustment disorder. During our conversation, she brought up a lot of important issues, like breastfeeding difficulties, shame and guilt, and self-care. Thanks, Fiona, for sharing your journey! For show notes, visit PPDadventures.com. If you would like to share your story on a future episode, please email [email protected]. The intro must is "Cute" by Bensound.com. Thank you for listening and have a lovely week.

This week, Jeremy Hornberger shares her story of postpartum depression and anxiety, which hit hard and fast after giving birth to her daughter. Now Jeremy is leading Team Baltimore for the 2018 Climb Out of the Darkness. Thank you, Jeremy, for sharing your story! Show notes are available at PPDadventures.com. Don't forget to sign up for the email list so you can get a free copy of the e-book version of my memoir, Adventures With Postpartum Depression, when it is published this spring. If you are interested in sharing your story on a future episode, email [email protected]. The intro music is "Cute" by Bensound.com. Thank you for listening and have a great week.

This week, Sam White shares her postpartum story. After a difficult pregnancy, Sam quickly became depressed after giving birth to her son. When her son was a toddler, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I loved talking to Sam and was so inspired by her journey. Show notes are available at PPDadventures.com. If you would like to share your story on a future episode, please email [email protected]. I am currently scheduling interviews for April and May so that you can continue hearing stories all summer long. The intro music is "Cute" by Bensound.com. Thank you for listening and have a great week.

This week, Katie shares her further adventures with postpartum depression. We first heard about Katie's adventures in Episode 43. Check out that episode to hear more detail about Katie's initial journey and thyroid issues. Since we last talked, Katie has made some major dietary changes and experienced vast improvements to her overall health. She also recently launched the Natural Postpartum Support Podcast. Katie has done a lot of research about the root causes of postpartum depression and identifies six root causes of postpartum depression during our conversation. Show notes are available at PPDadventures.com. If you are interested in sharing your story on a future episode, email [email protected]. The intro music is "Cute" by Bensound.com. Thank you for listening and I hope you have a beautiful week.

This week, Nikki shares her story of postpartum depression and anxiety. Nikki experienced anxiety after the birth of her first child, but she had a history of anxiety. She assume the postpartum anxiety was within the range of normal new mom feelings. It was not until her second child was 10 months old that she realized something had to change. Last year, she participated in the Climb Out of the Darkness. This year, she's leading Team Dacula in the Atlanta area. Shownotes are available at PPDadventures.com. You can find links there to Nikki's Team, her fundraising page, and Maternal Mental Health Support, the FB group she runs. Bravo, Nikki, for all you are doing for moms in the darkness, and thank you for so bravely sharing your story. If you would like to share your story (it's so cathartic), email me at [email protected]. The intro music is "Cute" by Bensound.com. Thanks for listening and I hope you have a lovely week.

This week, Vivianne is back to tell us more about her adventures with postpartum onset bipolar disorder. This episode is EXTRA adventurous because gardeners were working outside my parents’ house during the interview. UGH. You will get to hear me go through all sorts of emotions and frustrations but in the end, I remembered that life is uncertain and this was just one of those unexpected twists. Show notes will be available at PPDadventures.com. If you are interested in sharing your story on a future episode, email [email protected]. I would love to hear from you! Back episodes are being moved to Patreon.com/PPDadventures. For just $2/month, you can support the show and hear all the adventures. Once I have enough supporters, I am going to pay for professional transcripts - another way to get these stories into the world where they belong. The intro music is “Cute” by Bensound.com. Thanks for listening and please remember: you are not alone.

This week, I talked about a lot of good stuff. I gave my latest report on weaning off Zoloft: I'm done! I took my last dose in December 2017. And I feel great! I saw my psychiatrist and we decided I did not need to schedule a followup. So that's it, folks, I am no longer a patient with postpartum depression. Damn, that feels good! But I am not done with postpartum depression, oh no, I will keep podcasting as long as there are stories that need to be shared and keep raising awareness because there is still work that needs to be done. I also talk about The Mom Center, the 2018 Climb Out of the Darkness, give a book update, and wax poetic about my adventures with mindfulness and meditation. WHEW. So good to be back, and I am so excited to bring you lots and lots of interviews this year. I have a half dozen scheduled over the next couple of weeks, and if you are interested in sharing your story on an upcoming episode, email me at [email protected]. Show notes will be available at PPDadventures.com. (I'm typing them right now, I promise.) The intro music is "Cute" by Bensound.com. I love you and hope you have a wonderful week.

This week, Sam Kimura shares her postpartum adventures, starting with the traumatic birth experience of her first child and then the anxiety and depression she experienced after the birth of her second. Although her story is heartbreaking, it is also inspiring, because Sam got the help she needed and is now a coach supporting new moms. Show notes are available at PPDadventures.com. If you are interested in sharing your story on a future episode, please email me at [email protected]. The intro music is "Cute" by Bensound.com. Thank you for listening and have a lovely week.