Category Archives: public awareness

Have you discovered Mental Health Social yet?

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What’s Mental Health Social?

It’s a new socially driven website for people with or an interest in mental illness.

I’m a member (you can find me under Lauren Hale). Still nudging around the site and learning the ropes, what with the way life’s  got me running lately – sick kids, kids, kids, and well, in swooped summer break. ACK!

According to a recent press release,

“Mental Health Social allows users to create profiles where they can choose to share information about themselves, post videos, upload audio or photographs, and offer or receive help from like-minded members of the community. “MentalHealthSocial.com was created with the mental health community in mind,” said Wood. “Currently no other web site caters to that community in the same way as Mental Health Social.” The company is about more than connecting people though. MentalHealthSocial.com is also about raising awareness. Mental Health Social will actively work to raise money for mental health related non-profit organizations to bring awareness, treatment options and research to the very community it serves.”

How can you NOT love a website doing all that?

Plus, the founder, Colin Spencer Wood, has Bipolar disorder so he GETS what it’s like to struggle.

So go check it out. And friend me.

There’s not much there regarding Postpartum Mood Disorders yet. Care to start something with me? Let’s hook up!

MOTHER’S Act supporters gather to celebrate enactment of historic postpartum legislation

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Today, at 1130 a.m. EST, a gathering will take place. A gathering that has been years in the making, has had some of the most amazing and dedicated supporters I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, and a gathering that celebrates the thousands and possibly millions of lives which will be saved in the years to come.

Senator Menendez, Rep. Bobby Rush, Carol Blocker, Susan Dowd Stone, Katherine Stone, Sylvia Lasalandra, and several other advocates are gathering on Capitol Hill to celebrate the enactment of the MOTHER’S Act. This is a momentous day indeed.

This past year I spearheaded a blog event to help increase grassroots support of this bill. Several other women also worked diligently to increase support and gather signatures for a petition which was presented to Senators in support of this bill. It was not an easy task. We had opposition. Opposition which attacked us like nothing I’ve ever experienced. They said things about us that simply were not true in an attempt to bring us down and decrease our support for the bill. But it didn’t work. We persevered through their words, through their hatred, through their guilt-ridden tactics. Was it easy? Heck no. But we kept on in the trenches because we had truly been IN the trenches fighting off our own battles with Postpartum Mood Disorders before our births as advocates. We knew what it was like to be tragically alone in that cold, damp place. And we were gonna be damned if we let that continue to be the norm.

Along the way, we proved our compassion for all new moms. We provided resources and supported them as they cried out for help in the darkness of their battle with Postpartum Mood Disorder instead of attacking them for choosing to use certain therapies available to them.We lifted women and families up with love, warmth, and cherished each one of their experiences. We cried with them, laughed with them, celebrated victories and comforted in times of loss and grief. We were there.

We won a good fight.

And today?

Today’s just the icing on the cake – the party.

But beneath that icing, rest assured we will continue our hard work. We WILL be there for all those who contact us, who lean on us for support, for reassurance that yes, YOU too can beat this beast.

Today though, I’m giving you permission to have your cake and eat it too. We’ve damn well earned it.

Kudos to Dr. Oz MD & Dr. Michael Roizen MD

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Last night as I was traversing Publix during our weekly grocery trip, all three kids in tow, I managed to flip through a copy of YOU, Having a Baby by Dr. Michael Roizen, M.D., and Dr. Mehmet Oz, M.D. Yes, that’s the same Dr. Oz with the daily TV show.

I picked it up and flipped to the index. Betcha can’t guess what I was checking for…. c’mon. Guess!

I almost didn’t find Postpartum Depression. When I did, it had three page numbers listed. Thankfully, Postpartum Psychosis was listed right below it so I flipped to the page closest to that one. (Pages 272 & 273 if you’re wondering.)

Dr. Roizen and Dr. Mehmet?

THANK YOU.

Thank you for addressing Postpartum Mood Disorders properly.

Thank you for distinguishing between Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression.

Thank you for acknowledging that if a woman even THINKS there’s a problem she should see her provider.

THANK YOU for talking about scary thoughts.

THANK YOU for writing so honestly and informatively about Postpartum Psychosis and not making moms who have PPP seem like hopeless cases. Because they’re not.

I was very impressed indeed.

I can only hope other pregnancy book authors will follow your lead and write so honestly and informatively about Postpartum Mood Disorders. Moms deserve nothing less.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I did not receive anything at all for writing this review. It is an honest gut reaction from randomly picking the book up while my two year old attempted to nap on my chest as we waited for Daddy to bring his sisters back from a bathroom break. It doesn’t get anymore real and honest than that, people. And yes, there is a link to purchase the book @ Amazon BUT it is not a link via my Amazon Associates account. Just a plain ol’ link.)

Just Talkin’ Tuesday: Defining Postpartum Mood Disorders

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Welcome to my blog if you’ve traveled here from 5 Minutes for Mom’s Ultimate Blog Party for 2010.

This is my second year of participating.

The following post is meant to spark discussion as well as explain why I blog.

Won’t you come on in, sit down, and have a cup of tea?

I’m so very glad you’re here.

And if you stick around, there’s a meaningful giveaway at the end.


Since my first brush with a Postpartum Mood Disorder, I have come to learn so very much about this world I consider myself fortunate enough to have stumbled into.

Fortunate? To have stumbled into a Postpartum Mood Disorder? What the hell is wrong with you?

Isn’t that a bit like being thrilled to pieces about stumbling into a briar patch?

While I certainly wouldn’t wish a Postpartum Mood Disorder on my worst enemy, I am eternally grateful for the growth it has brought to my life. For the changed relationships, the maturity, the amazingly strong women it has brought into my life. I am eternally grateful that because of my Postpartum Mood Disorders, I have rediscovered my passion for writing. For supporting new mamas as they navigate the very dark and frightening valley of Postpartumville.

For me, as a recovered two time fighter, I define Postpartum Mood Disorders as the source of my strength. As the fertilizer from which the bloom I am constantly reinventing each and every day relies upon. My Postpartum Mood Disorders do not define me anymore. They used to – they used to fill me with a deep sadness, shame, anxiety, fear, hopelessness. I feared sharing my story. The very thought of having to tell one more person what happened to me made me want to crawl into bed, pull up the covers, and never come up for air again. Until I realized I could turn and fight. Turn and kick my PMD’s ass. So I did. And I kicked it hard.

So many women out there deserve to know they are capable of the same strength. They need to know that deep within them lies a spring so full of strength they can’t even see it or sense it until they desperately need it. Then, and only then, will the waters filled with strength begin to flow. Once that flow is turned on, there’s no turning back. Some of us need help turning it on and will need to take medication or talk with a therapist. Some of us will find help and hope in exercise and natural approaches. But just as there is no one size fits all for women, there is no one size fits all for Postpartum Mood Disorder recovery. You have to do what is absolutely right for you, your situation, and your family. And you should NOT be made to feel guilty about that at all by anyone.

This is why I blog, why I wake with the goal of connecting at least one mom with the feeling that she is not alone as she decides to turn and fight her Postpartum Mood Disorder. I have not failed in my daily mission in over three years. That’s over 1000 women and counting! There are no plans to stop this train anytime in the near future either. In fact, there are blueprints on the way to expand this bad boy.

Postpartum Mood Disorders have made me incapable of taking any moment with my family for granted. Incapable of not grasping the deeper meaning of my life and the lives of those around me. My PMD experience has brought a silent clarity to my life. And for me, it’s been absolutely instrumental in bringing my relationship with God back to where it needs to be. And for that, I am certainly eternally grateful.

When you are faced with any illness, you have a choice. You can turn and fight or you can succumb. There are those who have succumbed to their Postpartum Mood Disorders. And for them, for their families, their loved ones, I mourn. But I understand. I know how they reached that point. Because I got dangerously close to it myself. And if you ever wondered what someone who has considered suicide or held suicidal ideations is like, that person is like me, like you, like the barista at Starbucks, the Judge at the courthouse, the Principal at your kid’s school, like the cashier who just smiled at you at the grocery store – the bottom line is that mental illness, just like cancer, can hit any of us at anytime. It’s unpredictable and extremely difficult to prevent even if we do everything right.In order to help prevent suicide, it is important for us to understand the warning signs. It’s important for us to be a friend to those who are struggling. To not judge them when they open up to us. It’s especially important to continue support as they are in the early stages of healing.

I bring up suicide because it ties in with my giveaway. Steve Krupnik over at NoBlu has graciously agreed to give away one of their gorgeous Sunstone Pendants. The design was settled on

“After countless hours of research, collaboration and design we created our organizations symbol, the noblu eclipse. The design is our interpretation of a solar eclipse created to inspire people to support others faced with the challenges of all form of depression and suicide prevention. If you think of the sun as the light within each one of us and the moon as the “visitor” that may block the light of inspiration you can see why we selected this glowing option. The eclipse is a reminder to look for help when we need it, to help others when they need it and inspire everyone to make a difference.”

Those of you who are regular readers know that I’ve never done a giveaway before. But I feel very strongly about the mission of NoBlu and want to share it with you. In order to be entered, leave a comment here. A winner will be chosen on April 19th at 8:00pm EST via Random.org.

So let’s get to just talking – how do YOU define Postpartum Mood Disorders? What has your experience meant to you? How have you grown?

Not had a Postpartum Mood Disorder? Have any questions about them? Want to know how to help a loved one? I’ll answer those too.

Prefer not to comment with either of those topics but want to be entered in the giveaway? Just visit NoBlu and post the first line of their mission statement as your comment.

Breast Cancer, Diabetes screening worth it; Postpartum Depression screening not

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Earlier this week, I wrote about UK researchers concluding that Postpartum Depression screening was just not cost effective.

Since then, a couple of other studies regarding screening for other conditions have been released.

It seems that screening for Diabetes in primary care qualifies as cost-effective.

And screening for Breast Cancer saves lives despite the habitual over-diagnosis. For every misdiagnosed case, two lives are saved. In fact, the researchers for this study state that approximately 6 women are misdiagnosed and undergo unnecessary treatment for cancer they may never have developed as a result of a false positive at the screening level. In case you were wondering, these researchers are UK based as well.

Hey. Wait.

The researchers from the UK cited over-diagnosis  as one of the reasons formal screening for Postpartum Depression was not cost effective.

And being misdiagnosed with Postpartum Depression does not lead to expensive radiation treatment or other damaging exposures including surgery. At very worst, you may receive a script for an anti-depressant or a referral to a counselor for some talk therapy.

What the….

So lemme get this straight.

Pumping a woman full of radiation and chemotherapy is hunky dory and cost effective EVEN if she doesn’t need it.

But a quick questionnaire to check on mom’s mental health is NOT?

On what planet does this even BEGIN to make sense??

Let’s also discuss this little nugget. For both the Diabetes and Breast Cancer studies, ACTUAL records were used. The Postpartum Study was compromised of 92 “hypothetical” cases.

When did we stop rating the study of actual records? When did researchers stop including the actual risks and ripples of Postpartum Depression? A woman without Postpartum Depression or who is successfully diagnosed, treated, and recovering is more likely to breastfeed in my opinion. And if she’s nursing, she’s protecting herself and her child from – guess what – Diabetes AND Cancer.

So you really want to practice cost-effective healthcare?

SCREEN women after birth. Ensure their stability, support, and positive outcome with life as a new mom. Encourage them to participate in health practices for themselves and their children. Enabling women to make healthier choices reduces the risk of other issues down the road. Screening saves lives when it comes to Postpartum Mood Disorders. It saves mothers, children, and families. It’s not something you skip over because it’s simply not “cost-effective.” Skip screening and cost will simply shift elsewhere – to diabetes care, cancer care, future mental health care for mom or kids, broken families, etc.

It is simply not acceptable to allow new mothers to continue to suffer. Not acceptable at all.