Monday 17 August 2015

Post Natal Depression - a sharing thought

LIFE AS IT IS snowballed after a certain PTA post which gained notoriety thanks to someone  complaining about it - yes really... which resulted in the local headmistress dressing me down as far as my writing this 'little blog'... Hardly in her remit. I had to sit on my hands for a while - not for the reasons she mentioned, only until I could do my best to diplomatically explain the behaviour behind my PTA comment, which I sort of managed here in this further post. (The point being that no one is better than anyone else. Everyone deserves respect, and no matter how we feel, a smile cost nothing).


Anyway, my 'little blog' has snowballed again recently after a certain PND post. Yep, I came out about having had a thoroughly crappy time - ironically proving that no matter how we feel, a smile will sometimes cost everything.

Truth is, this blog has helped me no end. By writing about stuff, I've worked through stuff, and yes, the readership of my blog has increased. I suspect people are curious about PND. Or perhaps more's the point, curious about a person that admits to suffering from it? I just hope that each and every reader takes something positive away. Such as the woman at the school gate who didn't know me personally, yet told me she'd read my poem on PND admitting rather wonderfully to going through the same, before - and this is the bit that gets me - thanking me for being so honest, saying it had helped. How lovely was that? That moment in itself made my Life As It Is worth sharing.

Graf von Faber-Castell Tamitio Fountain Pen in Rose

Why bother though? I write for a living. I don't need to write a blog, do I? I mean, as a writer, why not keep a diary, and keep it to myself? Three things...

1) It is through the bizarre concept of sharing with the world, that bloggers everywhere experience catharsis, for admitting weakness delivers strength. Better than that, it can turn the light on in a dark place.

2) Keeping it to oneself is actually the bigger issue. You see, that in itself is the tragedy of PND. Often viewed as failing, many suffer in silence. People fear the consequences of reporting it as a problem. We know it is widely common, and yet it remains a difficult illness to admit to suffering from. Indeed, 58% of new mothers with PND, according to the NHS UK website choose not to seek medical help. That maybe so, but that needs to change, and so to try to raise awareness, I've shared my experience of PND. For I now take the view, that if I can suffer, anyone can suffer.

3) Trust is the string that holds all the pearls.

The next post is a children's book review... A Monster Ate My Mum was brought to my attention by Jen Faulkner, a super lady who has taken helping other PND sufferers that one step further.  

3 comments:

Mummy Tries said...

Hear hear Emma, I could not agree more. It's such a shame that people still think keeping this stuff to themselves is the best way to deal with it. Talking of children's books, we have a fab one called the Huge Bag of Worries. There's a line in it which sums this up beautifully:

"There is nothing a worry hates more than being seen"

Nuff said xx

Mummy Tries said...

PS. Jen's book is awesome :-)

Writing Life As It Is said...

That sounds like another goodie. Thanks for commenting Mrs. And yes Jen's book is awesome x