The symptoms of the blues include weepiness, irritability, and exhaustion (J8). At the other end, or the last stage of postpartum depression, is postpartum psychosis. Psychosis is an extreme case of postpartum depression that could cause symptoms of delusions that might involve hurting the child. Postpartum psychosis is apparent in one in five hundred to one in a thousand births (APA 386). The in-between stage is postpartum depression, which affects about twenty percent of women who experience postpartum blues. The middle phase of this puzzling disorder can cause a mother to lose the feeling of being happy and having meaning in life. The author of The Encyclopedia of Depression, Roberta Roesch, exemplifies postpartum depression as a period after birth where a woman feels sad and inadequate (160). Postpartum depression is complicated, which may be why it is so difficult to diagnose. .
Symptoms of postpartum depression are similar to symptoms of non-postpartum episodes. In some cases, psychotic elements are present; at any rate, a woman who undergoes a postpartum depressive episode may have obsessive ideas that may involve the infant, they may feel agitated, suicidal, and/or unfocused (APA 386). Depending on the woman and her situation, symptoms will vary. Some other possible symptoms could include excessive crying, drowsiness, loss of appetite, anxiety, and sadness. An actual cause for these effects is not known, but there are many possible reasons as to why some women get postpartum depression.
Every woman is different; this fact makes it impossible to pinpoint one exact reason why postpartum depression develops. Dennis Pippenger and Adrienne Rasbach, both doctors of obstetrics and gynecology, explain at their website that it is possible for postpartum depression to come from changes in the body, state of mind, and way of life (n. pag.). The body of a woman undergoes major hormonal disturbances as it gets used to the non-pregnant state, which could be a factor in the cause of postpartum depression.
Depression Depression effects a lot of people if not directly, through a loved one like a, friend, spouse, or family member. ... Another common type of depression is major depression. This is the typical clinical depression. ... Postpartum Depression is not well known. ... Many Depressed people feel that drugs are an escape from the "blues". ...
(1) find a way to reduce your pain, or (2) find a way to increase your coping resources We have a condition that causes others to feel uncomfortable. ... Women experience depression about twice as often as men.1 Many hormonal factors may contribute to the increased rate of depression in women-particularly such factors as menstrual cycle changes, pregnancy, miscarriage, postpartum period, pre-menopause, and menopause. ... (4) Escape from an unbearable situation. ... Both alcoholism and suicide may be responses to the same pain. ... This is similar to "manipulative" suicide except that the...