Getting The Care You Need

Marnie: Now, looking back, I mean, I'm a fierce advocate for sharing my story and for encouraging others to do the same, because it's not something that I caused. It's not my fault. It was a sickness. Michelle Gebhardt, MD: If you're struggling and want to seek out mental health support let us know right away. You can reach out to your care team by email or telephone call. We offer lots of different models of care, and that can include one-on-one therapy, or connecting with other moms struggling with the same issues in group settings. We also have really good, safe, effective treatment medications as well. Fiona: One day it was my six week appointment with my doctor. She asked how I was doing. Right before the appointment I was still trying to have control over the day and my baby. I wanted to go through the appointment and be well-poised and calm and it did not go that way. My doctor referred me to psychology. From there, I had a psychologist call me and just ask me a few questions. We realized I did have anxiety. I had OCD. . . depression. So she got me into support groups. I also had a therapist and I spoke to a pharmacologist who helped titrate my medications to make sure I would feel better. Cathy: There is a stigma with mental health and that you shouldn't share it. And just with me going through it, I've been speaking more about my depression, anxiety to my friends. I started to express to my mom, and that's really hard growing up. You know, you don't share your feelings. And so it's really, it's really difficult. But I'm trying to change it. I started going to postpartum group. It's been a nice community, you know, hearing other mom's stories that are kind of, they're different but similar at the same time. So I know that I'm not alone in this. And it really helped me. Fiona: I love my therapist. She helped me really pinpoint things about myself that made it difficult to take care of my little one. Marnie: My son's pediatrician actually was the first person within the Kaiser system to say, are you okay? You don't seem, you know, you don't seem like you're doing well. And and she offered to refer me to support groups and offered to refer me for counseling services. When you're suffering, you can't be your own set of eyes. You're not thinking clearly, you're not seeing clearly, and you can't see what's happening within yourself. I couldn't see what was happening. It was hard for me to come to terms with that. Michelle Gebhardt, MD: Some people have really mixed feelings about seeking mental health support. There's a stigma.There's also a worry that what we might say might not be confidential. But unless you're telling us that you're going to hurt yourself or someone else, what you say remains confidential.Some people worry that when they share their concerns and are seeking mental health support, that this might result in having the baby be taken away. But in fact, it's actually the opposite. When you seek mental health support, it means that you care about you and your baby, and that's going to be the best thing for you and your family.Olivia: The best positive outcome I had with seeking treatment was being able to be a better mom to my son because I'm more present now than I was when I was in my dark state of mind. Now that I have brighter days, I'm more happy. I want to do more, I have more energy. And this all stems from me asking for help and seeking the treatment I needed to feel better.And now I do want to go out and do things with my son and I'm creating better memories with him. And this all comes from me getting help and realizing I'm not alone and I feel happier now.