What is Postpartum Psychosis and Do I Have It?
Many new moms fear the potential of having postpartum depression, but an even deeper fear many have revolves around postpartum psychosis. The most important part about the postpartum mental health disorders that can take place after birth is to really understand the signs and symptoms of them. The more you can understand, the better your chances are of getting help sooner than later.
It’s common to feel overwhelmed and exhausted following birth. Your body has gone through a tremendous trauma, your mind is running on overtime, and you are trying to function on broken sleep. Many moms experience this “foggy” period, which can make it difficult to find time to focus on yourself and realize if there is something going on within your mind.
If you are feeling off and not like yourself, then it is time to assess yourself. In really severe (and rare) cases, some mothers do experience postpartum psychosis. Take a look at the symptoms of postpartum psychosis to ease your mind while also staying aware.
What is Postpartum Psychosis?
The biggest question many moms who are struggling after birth ask, “What is postpartum psychosis?” By definition, postpartum psychosis is a serious mental illness that is treated as a medical emergency. This usually leads to a hospitalization. It can be extremely debilitating.
Postpartum psychosis typically impacts a new mom soon following birth. It can occur in 1 out of 500 mothers. That translates to 0.2% of mothers. While a very low rate, it is still important to be able to notice the signs and symptoms to stay vigilant.
5 Top Symptoms of Postpartum Psychosis
The top five symptoms of postpartum psychosis can be found below. These symptoms will help you understand what postpartum psychosis is and how it can be identified.
Hallucinations
Hallucinations are often one of the first symptoms of postpartum psychosis. If you aren’t familiar with hallucinations, they can be seeing, smelling, hearing, or feeling things that are not actually there. These images, sounds, smells, or feelings can’t be experienced by anyone else around you because they are not real.
Hallucinations can be scary to experience. Any kind of hallucination should not be taken lightly and should be treated by a medical professional as soon as possible.
Delusions
Delusions might seem similar to hallucinations, but they are different. With delusions, you can experience or think something is true when it actually isn’t. It seems vague, but as a new mom, this might include believing you are hurting your baby by giving them a bath or that your baby hates you because he or she cries. These are delusions that you believe to be absolute when in fact, they are not true.
Manic Episodes
A manic episode is a severe symptom of postpartum psychosis. It typically involves talking too much and too fast. You might even experience a sort of “high” during an episode where you feel almost invincible as if you’re on top of the world. These episodes are usually brought on by changes in sleep pattern or high levels of stress.
This can be set off by motherhood in general. During your postpartum journey, sleep is almost non-existent and it is stressful trying to care for a new human. Take note of any manic moods you might experience so that you can track their frequency and how long they last.
Severe Depression
While some moms might suffer with postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis comes with a severe form of depression. You can experience low mood, feeling withdrawn from your baby and others, having little-to-no energy, loss of appetite, agitation, and trouble sleeping.
Severe depression can also look like having a difficult time bonding with your baby and not having the will to want to care for them, even when they are crying for you.
Behaving Out of Character
Overall, when you are looking for signs of postpartum psychosis, it can make you behave out of character. Things you wouldn’t normally say or do become part of who you are now. It can be disheartening for others to witness. For a person who was generally happy-go-lucky to become severely depressed, manic, delusional, and hallucinating, it can be a scary time.
That is why it is important to have a support system whom you trust to help you with your duties as a mom, but also help you discover if there is an underlying issue that may be taking place.
Postpartum Psychosis is Rare to Experience
While postpartum psychosis is a very real and strong mental health disorder, it is also something that is very rare to experience. Symptoms of psychosis are severe and present a great risk but perinatal psychosis is treatable and a full recovery is expected with treatment.If you are ever questioning if you are experiencing it, go through this list of symptoms to conclude if postpartum psychosis is happening within you. Psychosis is always a medical emergency and needs to be addressed as soon as possible. If your primary care doctor or your OBGYN are not available to speak with you immediately, go directly to the nearest emergency room.
Make a plan with your family and friends to help you discover any underlying postpartum mental health challenges you might be facing. From the outside, people can see and notice more about you than you can assess about yourself at times. The people who love you and care for you are the people who will know you best. They can potentially spot anything that is “off” about you.
Developing postpartum psychosis does not mean you are a bad mom or that you are an unfit mother. Birth and postpartum impact mothers differently, especially in the way our brains process this information. Getting help is the number one way to get better faster so that you can continue raising your sweet baby and be the mother you have always envisioned. Never hesitate to book a free consultation with me. We can discuss and determine if you may be struggling with a postpartum mental health challenge.