Maternal Mental Health

Mental health disorders that occur during postpartum can often progress undetected as a result of society designating issues of depression and anxiety as normalcy after giving birth. Therefore, I highly recommend monitoring your mental health with a daily check-in log because you often do not realize that you suffer from a mental health disorder until the symptoms become severe. Equally important, please remember to set aside daily time to take care of yourself and decompress from the consistent stressors of motherhood. While occupational therapists do address mental health with interventions, I also recommend having additional resources to fit your needs and communicating with your physician.

Postpartum Support International (PSI) is a great resource for maternal mental health.

Click on the link to find out more information: Get Help | Postpartum Support International (PSI)

Florida Resident? Click on the link for another resource: HOME | floridamomsmatter (flmomsmatter.org)

Why journal for maternal mental health?

Journaling your emotions is a great way to identify your triggers. The transition to motherhood is overwhelming particularly when experiencing extreme fatigue and pain. Therefore, learning to recognize our triggers that derive from depression, anxiety, or rage can help us be proactive in finding ways to avoid the triggers, teaching ourselves how to prevent the situation from escalating, and learning to be more communicative of our feelings and needs with our partner, family, or social support system.

How do I journal my emotions?

Keep a piece of paper on the refrigerator or start a note on your phone. When you feel flooded with emotion, such as depression, anxiety, or rage, write/text the description of your emotion and try to reflect on the reason. Try this for a week or two and then look back through the journal to determine if you can identify a pattern. For example, was it something that was said? Was it something that your partner ignored? Was it fear of something happening? If you can identify a pattern, are there ways you can be proactive in managing your emotions? If not, contact a health care professional and let them know that you started journaling your emotions so they can help you through the process.