For me personally, babywearing is something that I feel really started to make a big difference with my postnatal depression. In essence, it gave me and Isabelle something to do together that she actually loved. Not only that, but it kept us connected and close whenever I did it.
For me, yoga combines two things that I find incredibly beneficial to mental health: exercise and meditation.
Not only that, but it’s something that I initially sucked at. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not super good now; I can do a few poses quite well, but I still watch in awe at some of the things seasoned pros can do.
When it comes to meditation, I think people have a slightly warped idea of what it actually is. People tend to picture someone sat, cross-legged, their hands in that little OK sign (gyan mudra) in perfect silence and peace.
When it comes to talking about how you feel, it’s important that you start by simply labelling the emotions you are feeling. Just saying “I feel stressed” can start the ball rolling and get you talking about where you may feel that stress is coming from, and how you can go about addressing the issue. If you want a simple way of putting it, just go with this: Name it to tame it.
I said on the Postnatal Depression Toolkit page that not everything being covered is going to be applicable to everyone. This is one of those suggestions that is aimed more at the fathers who are suffering from PND than the mothers. So if you are a mother in all this, then feel free to pick another option. Or you may be concerned about your partner, in which case, there may be something here for you to read.
If you’re reading this then there’s a chance that you might be looking for ways to help with postnatal depression. What I have here is a toolkit. It’s a survival guide, advice page, suggestion list, whatever name you want to give it. But it’s aim is to help someone get through […]