Two years ago, I published the post 9 Reasons Why Mothers Don’t Speak Up About Having Postpartum Depression and it quickly became extremely popular. It was even featured on Scary Mommy!
Mothers with postpartum depression began to reach out to me, stating that it spoke to them and they realized their reasons were not insane or unreasonable. These mothers also felt like they wanted to tell their story but didn’t know how or where to begin.
It inspired me to create a safe place for women to share their postpartum depression stories, without judgement, or requirements or any degree of difficulty.
Speaking up and sharing my own story and the stories of other women turned Running in Triangles into a beacon of light for those women who were lost and suffering in the darkness.
Over the past couple years, I’ve had the chance to connect and interact with so many women who have had or are currently suffering from postpartum depression and other maternal mental health disorders.
One thing that so many of them had in common was the fact that they stayed silent for so much longer than they should have. And there are so many more than 9 reasons why these women chose not to speak up about what they were feeling…
Here is a list of over 50 reasons why mothers don’t speak up about postpartum depression.
1. We are in denial
2. We don’t even know we have it
3. We’re not 100% certain that we have it
4. We haven’t been officially diagnosed
5. We don’t think it’s as bad as it actually is
6. We just aren’t ready to admit it yet
7. We think this is “normal” motherhood
8. We don’t think it’s a big deal
9. We don’t want to make it seem like we’re suffering more than any other mother
10. We don’t want to be complainers or hypochondriacs
11. We think it’s just a bad case of the baby blues
12. We think we are exaggerating our symptoms
13. We are terrified of having our child taken away from us
14. We don’t want to scare our children
15. We’re worried no one will believe us
16. We don’t want to be considered dangerous
17. We think we will get locked up or sent away
18. We don’t want anyone to think that we are bad mothers
19. We are ashamed of ourselves
20. We think this is happening because of something we did wrong
21. We feel guilty
22. We are embarrassed that we can’t handle it
23. We hate confrontation
24. We know that if we start talking about it we will cry
25. We are concerned about what others will think of us
26. We know some people don’t believe mental illness is real
27. We don’t want to be treated like crazy people
28. We don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable around us
29. We don’t want anyone to feel sorry for us
30. We are afraid of someone saying insensitive things to us
31. We feel like failures
32. We think it’s a sign of weakness
33. We don’t want to be a burden
34. We are worried that our spouse might leave us
35. We are waiting for someone else to ask us if we need help
36. We don’t want to lose our job
37. We don’t want anything on our permanent record
38. We think we can cure ourselves
39. We think it will go away on its own
40. We think it might be in our head
41. We’re just planning to wait it out
42. We don’t think talking about it will help
43. We can always find an excuse for the symptoms
44. We don’t trust the medical system
45. We don’t know who to tell
46. We don’t want to be put on medication
47. We don’t think we will get the right kind of help
48. We don’t know what our treatment options are
49. We don’t want to be put on suicide watch
50. We feel alone
51. We don’t think anyone else will understand
52. We don’t know anyone else who has ever experienced something like this
53. We don’t know enough about it to defend ourselves
54. We can’t find the right words to say how we feel
55. We think we are the only person who has ever had these kinds of thoughts and feelings
Do you have a reason for staying silent that’s not on this list? Leave it in the comments!
