Did you ever suffer from post partum depression, or do you know someone who did?

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I never experienced post partum depression out of 5 births. I always wondered what those women go through and how they cope with it. I know it is something very serious, so serious that some women ignore the new baby or even commit unconceivable acts of violence towards the child or other family members. The human body alone is very complexed, but when you put a woman into the scenario the complications increase to such a dramastic level. Women's body's alone are complex, let alone their mental state and awareness. We have so much to be responsible for and so much we go through, especially being a mother or expectant mother. So to be able to phathom what a woman goes through during post partum, should'nt come to a surprise. In my perspective, I would imagine that any and everything that the woman went through during her life, and especially during her pregnancy all comes crashing down on her at once. With this happening it is very overwhelming for the mind to handle all at once, which brings on the severity of change in her mood. I'm expecting child number 6 in mid May, and I hope that I have another smooth journey afterwards. I just can't imagine not wanting to touch my new gift of life or hurting her. But like you, I'm curious to know what signs do we look for in a family friend, loved one, or co-worker to know if she is suffering from post partum? Someone one once told me it's like PMS stuck in overdrive. Emotions are just so unlike the person that you know and love and it can be scary. So, I'm interested to see some other responses on this myself and will continue to check back to see what has been written. This was a great post "smartmom", I hope others appreciate it as much as I have.

I have clinical depression, so I thought it would be no different than normal.......I was SO wrong.....ppd kicked my butt! I had it for a year and then went back to my normal depressed state.....lol

smartmom~ I myself have 3 children. When I had my first child 7 years ago I suffered from post partum depression for a couple of months. I would not say that mine was the most severe form of it as I have heard a lot worse situations than mine. I cried a lot and wondered if I was going to be able to handle having a baby in my life, even though I was really psyched before my little boy came that I was going to be a great mother! I also got to the point where I tried to break things off with my fiancee because, in my mind I just didn't have enough love for both of them now. Which is just ridiculous to say the least. I would sit in the bathtub and cry for an hour over nothing,or everything. I just didn't know. My world was going up and down and all around and I just didn't know what was real and what was the depression for over 2 months. But I was also fortunate enough to have a very good doctor, and to have read the "What To Expect When Your Expecting" & "What To Expect The First Year" Books. I would recommend them to anyone as they have very comprehensive sections on post partum blues, and depression and the signs and the symptoms to look for. Fortunately I got over my depression without having to resort to the medications, my hormones balanced themselves out, but it was scary and I would not wish that on any newly delivered mothers. It is not something that can be controlled easily and your mind plays a lot of tricks on you. I hope this helps.

Hey Smart, I had the baby, and wouldn't you know it, this would be the pregnancy that ends with signs of post partum depression. I guess it was bound to happen since it never occured with the others. I just hope I can get through this. It's all new and scary to me. I'm hoping that continuing to discuss it, even if on here I can get through this rough time. I'm hoping since when I'm stressed writing helps, that writing will have the same affect with this post partum pit.