It’s May! Last month of the school year (for most), flowers are in bloom (still have quite a bit of April showers around!) and weather is warming up. Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month? AND did you know that Mental Health Awareness Month began in 1949 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)?! I had no idea this awareness month had been around since then.
The Evolution of Mental Hygiene: From History to Present
Mental health has long been a taboo subject. But obviously mental health struggles have always existed. In looking up some history of mental health, I learned that in 1893, Isaac Ray, a founder of the American Psychiatric Association, provided a definition of the term mental hygiene as “the art of preserving the mind against all incidents and influences calculated to deteriorate its qualities, impair its energies, or derange its movements. The management of the bodily powers in regard to exercise, rest, food, clothing and climate, the laws of breeding, the government of the passions, the sympathy with current emotions and opinions, the discipline of the intellect—all these come within the province of mental hygiene.” (Rossi, A., Some Pre-World War II Antecedents of Community Mental Health Theory and Practice. Mental Hygiene, 1962, 46, 78-98).
How many of us are practicing good “mental hygiene”? I know I try, but it has been both a growing process and a continuous journey in doing so!
Unveiling the Reality of Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression, modernly known as PPD, has also always existed. It was recognized that some women experienced mental illness after giving birth long before the condition had a name – like way back in 460 B.C., when Hippocrates was writing about “puerperal fever” which produced “agitation, delirium and attacks of mania.”*
During the postpartum period, about 85% of women experience some type of mood disturbance. For most the symptoms are mild and short-lived; however, 10 to 15% of women develop more significant symptoms of depression or anxiety.**
Coping with Postpartum Mood Disorders: Breaking the Stigma
You just delivered your sweet bundle of joy, but you’re wondering why you aren’t feeling joyful? “Baby blues” is normal following childbirth due to a rapid change in hormones. It can begin as soon as a few days after delivery up through the first couple of weeks. Some moms will experience more severe emotions, which can be postpartum depression and/or postpartum rage, or any range of symptoms on the PPMD (postpartum mood disorder) spectrum. Rarely, an extreme mood disorder called postpartum psychosis also may develop after childbirth. It is very important to understand that postpartum depression is NOT a character flaw or a weakness. It does NOT mean you are a bad mom, or that you do not love your baby. Sometimes, due to the varying hormonal changes following delivery, it just happens. Prompt attention and treatment will help you manage your symptoms and help you bond with your baby.
Bayou City Breastfeeding: Supporting Mental Health in Motherhood
We at Bayou City Breastfeeding strive to not only care for our clients, mom and baby alike, to help with feeding concerns (and so much more!) but also focus on the balance of mothering and “mental hygiene”. We are honored to be a safe space for ALL the emotions that come with parenting and mothering.
Check out additional resources related to PPD:
MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health – Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders – Essential Reads
Call or text the Postpartum Support International Helpline: 1-800-944-4773 (4PPD)
Call or text the Suicide & Crisis Hotline: 988
