Positive Existential Therapy has been proven successful in treating postpartum depression.
The American Dream consists of getting a wife and a house, with a few kids in the mix. Having children is considered part and parcel of life, whilst some may abstain due to a lack of financial security or interest, many more reproduce generations.
Motherhood is said to be a wonderful thing, and many women are biologically programmed to want kids at a certain stage of their life. However, there are complications that come with it. Some may develop high blood pressure, diabetes or postpartum depression.
Postpartum refers to the period immediately after childbirth. When a woman has significant symptoms of depression during this period, she is said to have postpartum depression. It is often risky to both mother and the child as there have been cases whereby the mother commits suicide along with her child, believing that they are better off dead.
Quite often, these mothers have several children and she will take every single one of them with her to the grave. There was a mother who contemplated taking her own life and the life of her newborn, convinced that there was something medically wrong with her. Despite doctors running multiple tests and affirming that her baby was nothing short of healthy, she dressed her newborn in oversized clothing in an attempt to her alleged dwarfism. However, those are considered extreme cases. Mostly, postpartum depression manifests itself as a lack of interest in life, which will take a toll on a mother's mental health and if left unchecked, could lead to serious repercussions such as the development of postpartum psychosis.
Postpartum depression affects 1 out of every 7 women after giving birth and can happen anywhere from a week to six months later. Symptoms take a hard toll on mothers and include: difficulty bonding with the baby, severe mood swings, lack of energy, anxiety, anger and panic attacks. Postpartum depression will affect the mother and the baby if it goes untreated. Some mothers even experience PTSD from the trauma of childbirth, according to the Atlantic.
Solutions for mothers experiencing Postpartum Depression
The first step to conquering postpartum depression is to recognize that it is more than just "baby blues" and that there is no shame in feeling down – it does not reflect on how good that person is as a mother.
Solutions to Postpartum Depression include medication, natural remedies and therapy. Some mothers use a combination and find what works for them. There is no exact cure that works for every mother experiencing postpartum depression. There is a new form of therapy that takes an alternative approach than traditional therapy methods.
This approach was born when Sam Nabil found himself dissatisfied with the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) when in counseling school. He said to his professors bluntly, "With all due respect, CBT is dead."
Through his studies, Nabil pioneered Positive Existential Therapy (PET), which gives a solution to the previously outdated therapy. Nabil did so by "merging the deep insights, humanity and wisdom of existential psychotherapy, with carefully curated and clinically tested elements of positive psychology, to create a counseling approach that is born of our new circumstances and conditions, and that is designed to reinvent therapy for the 21st century," according to his website.
Through his research, Nabil founded Naya Clinics. Mothers who are experiencing Postpartum depression have an incentive to look into alternative forms of therapy such as PET. Old therapy methods may be proven to be outdated and not cater to the needs of patients that allow them to make a complete recovery.
"With my clients giving me fantastic feedback for the work I was doing with them using PET, I realized the importance of sharing this approach with a wider audience, and started teaching it to therapists joining my practice in Cincinnati," Nabil says, "Quickly, we have been blessed to be Cincinnati's first choice for counseling services, and I decided to start Naya Clinics to bring my new approach to counseling to you."
This form of therapy and locations of his clinics are bound to expand as to offer services for more patients who can benefit from PET. Therapy is also offered online. Services include: relationship and marriage counseling, therapy, online therapy, coaching, online coaching, alternative healing and online relationship and marriage therapy.
This form of therapy can save women with postpartum depression and their babies. Suicide is a leading cause of death for new moms but awareness is low. Post-birth has the potential to be extremely difficult and traumatic for mothers. Postpartum depression can happen to any parent, according to the Atlantic. It is crucial that awareness is spread about avenues to receive the help that could save lives.
While there are no hard and fast facts on what causes postpartum depression aside from theories that it is caused by the change of lifestyle, lack of sleep and drop in hormones that trigger it, the fact remains that it is easily treatable by the right doctor. All one has to do is pick up the phone and make an appointment.
Written by kristielebrau and legally licensed through the Matcha publisher network.
Featured image provided by Derek Thomson