Anyone Else Feel Upset or Sad for No Apparant Reason??

Hi M.!
Unfortunately, I feel like this once a month! Ever since I had my son (who is 2 now), my hormones have been all out of wack! I think my issues may be related to birth control. I got the Mirena IUD when my son was 8 weeks old and I've never had this issue before. But EVERY month about 2 weeks before my cycle, I become aggitated VERY easily, annoyed with everything and everyone and I cry over the silliest things. The worst part is that I know I'm being ridiculous, but I can't control it!! It's very frustrating. When I begin having a "moment", I have learned to stop, take a deep breath and PRAY! It's helped a lot, but I haven't mastered it completely. Sounds like these feelings are perfectly natural - good to know! Hang in there and stay focused on what you are thankful for and how blessed you are, and all the things that upset you will pale in comparison ;D

Perhaps post-pardom is hitting you a little late. You have been so busy and caught you that you didn't notice your own feelings until now.
Keep smiling, keep being a great loving mom... you will be okay ;)

...sending hugs from SC!

I think it is perfectly normal to feel that way when you are a Mom. I have times when I am depressed as well. I would first have your thyroid checked. I had thyroid issues..mild ones, but it was off and getting it back on track really helped. I also started taking Mila or Chia seeds. You can google Chia seeds to learn more about them, but they are an amazing superfood that have incredible vitamins, antioxidants, and omegas...all totally occurring in a whole raw food. It helped my mood tenfold. And I noticed a difference in my hair, skin, nails, etc. My whole family takes it. It has no taste and can blend easily with yogurt, oatmeal, apple sauce, etc. You should try some. I can send you the website where I get Mila from.

Good luck and feel better soon. Your not alone...we all feel this way from time to time.

Jen

I have been where you are...even before I had my child. I would seek the advice of a counselor. You know, it's good just to find someone to talk to. There are many things that we as women "hide" even from ourselves...talking to someone who isn't related to any personal situation may help find where this is coming from & help you work through.

Talk to your doctor. Research has shown that the period following birth has great chemical variations for women that may require professional treatment. Excercise, sleep and good diet help establish more of a chemical balance, but sometimes that is not enough.

As happened with me, thyroid imbalance can be triggered by pregnancy. There were no signs during the pregnancy, but I never bounced back from the birth of my 2nd child. It took a year for me to go to the dr and get diagnosed. I thought I was just tired from having 2 small kids. I felt like I had pms at odd times that didn't make sense. Please don't wait to go see your doctor. I wish I had gone a lot sooner!

i would definitely recommend that you talk to your doctor about post-partum depression. i also think it is wonderful that you are reaching out and discussing your feelings. you might also consider locating some mommy and me groups for additional support.

in the event that you think that you might need some clinical advice, i am a licensed family therapist and can be reached at ____@____.com luck to you and continue to enjoy your beautiful daughter.

Everyone can go through stressful times but if the stress, sadness, anxiety, etc. takes over your day for an extended period of time, for like 3 or more months, for what seems like no apparent reason, I would see a doctor.

I went over a year of having sad or stressful days. Don't get me wrong there would be the occassional good day but it got to the point that every time I got sick, or my daughter got sick I was convinced the worse would happen. For example my daughter would always spit out her medicine so if I heard her cough, in my mind I would start to panic, "oh my gosh, she is getting sick. I am going to have to take her to the doctor. They are going to prescribe her an antibiotic. She is going to spit it out. Since she won't take her medicine she won't get better and it could turn into pneumonia and she could die." Mean while I would just be on edge waiting for her to cough again and sometimes she never did but the panic was making me crazy. I would then be testy with my husband and the stress was making me sick. I finally said I needed help and within 2 weeks of being on medicine I felt like my old self again. I am also seeing a great counselor. Anger is caused by other emotions, so you have to try to identify what is making you angry. You have to do what you feel is best for you but don't be scared of medicine if your doctor feels it might be best. I was told to go on meds 3 times before I actually did but my counselor made me understand that I should not feel bad for it. If it makes you feel better and you can enjoy life with your child and spouse again, it is worth it.

Hi M.,
Yes, I know exactly where you are. And it is frustrating and causes all kind of feelings of guilt. Just hit it head on, acknowledge what is going on(sounds like you are), realize it is not anything other than a function of the body that you need to address. In my case, it also really killed the desire for intimacy and I felt angry for being bothered when in fact, no one really was trying to. That made me more frustrated knowing I was being unreasonable.....etc.

Don't try to "force yourself to act better", it does not work. Hit the real problem by finding out what is going on in your body and fix it (adrenals, hormones, and thyroid are all the usual suspects). Typcial conventional physicians tend to throw anti-depressants around these topics like candy. I know 100 women going that route and it is not a problem solver. Physicians who look at the root of the problem will hit the root and change the course entirely.

Hormone swings are huge in terms of these responses. There is a book called "Ageless" by Suzanne Sommers (of all people!) that is excellent. You may find it helpful so that you might have some areas you can take action to stop the downward trend. One of these may be as simple as using progesterone cream the first two weeks of your cycle. There is so much that can be done to change the trend of depression so that you don't have to later deal with medication side effects. Do you best to get educated on the solution rather than going the medication route first.

If you want a doctor, there is one in Buckhead (I think also has a office in Canton) named Jeff Donahue, M.D. who is a specialist in what is called ageless medicine if you would like guidance to that effect. His office is on W. Paces Ferry Road, but I don't know his humber. There is also a group called Alternative Health Center in Marietta area who I have been recommended. Additionally, there is one called Progressive Medical which advertises the treatment of thyroid and adrenals properly.

I hope you will check them out and find a way to change this for you. So many years to enjoy ahead!

J.

We have five children - now ages 20-29. When they were small, I wrote a book entitled Motherhood Stress. It is out of print now, but you can get a used copy on Amazon or half.com. http://product.half.ebay.com/Motherhood-Stress_W0QQtgZinf...#

Being a mom is stressful in many ways in today's culture. And just realizing that helps. And there are simple, practical steps you can take to reduce the stress.

Hope that helps!