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One of the hardest questions a mom with Postpartum Depression harbors somewhere deep within her is “When will this be over?”
A couple of months? A few? More? A year? When? How will I know I am better?
When?
When a doctor prescribes antibiotics, we take them, usually for 5-10 days. And then we’re supposed to be better.
Depression does not work that way. Mental illness does not work that way.
For some of us, just as with any illness, we may heal faster.
For others, it may take some time for our minds to bounce back from the issues we are facing. If we’re on the longer end of the expected time frame, it does not mean there is something wrong with us. It doesn’t mean that we have done something to deserve to continue to suffer. Our road is just longer. We may have more baggage, more to work through, continued external drama, less support, struggling to find the right meds, therapists aren’t working well, etc. There are a whole host of reasons for our road to be longer. Reasons we may not understand in the here and now as we scream for a shorter road. Scream to be able to sit down and rest, to stop fighting with this beast of depression.
We just want it all to go away. 
But when on a long road toward recovery, it may not seem as if it will ever go away.
That’s when it gets tough all over again.
Katie Sluiter of Sluiter nation is there. She’s there and struggling with thoughts that her depression may never go away.
This past Friday, as part of Secret Mommyhood Confession, she wrote about her continued battle against Depression. She shared that it may well have gone from Postpartum to full blown depression. This post is worth reading for a few reasons.
One – sometimes Postpartum continues into a full blown depression or other mental illness. Sometimes it doesn’t go away as quickly as we would like it to and sometimes it morphs into a tenacious little monster we are unable to get off our backs. And it sucks.
Two – Katie, once again, approaches this issue with a raw honesty that is absolutely the essence of the Postpartum Voice. Honesty, above all else, is an important element toward recovery. It garners positive support from your doctor, important support from your peers, and it allows you to work through some pretty hard stuff in a very clear cut manner. Once you are honest with yourself, it is hard to be dishonest with others.
