Alanis Morissette opens up to about suffering from postpartum depression after the births of both her children — son Ever, now 6, and daughter Onyx, now 14 months.
Alanis shared her experience in a recent interview with PEOPLE, “There are days I’m debilitated to the point where I can barely move. As a kid, I imagined having children and being with an amazing partner. This is a whole other wrench I didn’t anticipate.”
Alanis said her first experience with PND was after giving birth to her now-6½-year-old son Ever Imre.
She immediately began feeling symptoms of the disorder, including intense physical pain, insomnia, lethargy and “horrifyingly scary” visions of her family being harmed, and wasn’t diagnosed until 16 months later.
“It’s very isolating. I’m used to being the Rock of Gibraltar, providing, protecting and maneuvering. It had me question everything. I’ve known myself to be a really incredible decision-maker and a leader that people can rely on. [Now] I can barely decide what to eat for dinner.”
Alanis shared she is currently on a combination of medication and homeopathic therapies, exercising daily, working with therapists and channeling her struggles into music, “I wrote many, many songs over the last three months. It was a song a day. I had to start writing songs, or I was going to implode.”
“The stigma remains in a really big way. There’s this version of eye contact that I have with women who have been through postpartum depression where it’s this silent, ‘Oh my God, I love you. I’m so sorry.’ There are people who are like, ‘Where’s the old Alanis?’ and I just think, ‘Well, she’s in here. She’s having a minute.’ I just know that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and try not to beat myself up.”
Earlier this week we shared how many new mothers are hiding postnatal depression because they’re afraid of being labelled a ‘bad mother’.
Signs can include…
Panic attacks,
persistent, generalised worry,
development of obsessive or compulsive behaviours,
abrupt mood swings,
feeling constantly tired,
withdrawing from friends,
difficulty focusing,
feeling constantly sad or crying for no reason
having thoughts of death or suicide.
If you are suffering with PND please speak to your local doctor or contact PANDA National Helpline (Mon to Fri, 9am – 7.30pm AEST) Call 1300 726 306
Read more: This is what PND looks like!
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