Susan

Princeton

"I can't imagine my life without my son, but it wasn't always this way," says Susan of Princeton. Immediately after her son's birth in March 2005, Susan started feeling overwhelming anxiety. "I was scared of the world. I thought I would never love my life again."

At first, Susan's doctor thought she had the baby blues, but by the time her son was a month old, she suffered a panic attack. "My husband called my gynecologist who referred me to a portpartum depression specialist."

"I had heard about postpartum depression from reading parenting magazines and some of the pregnancy books," she says. "But I didn't pay much attention to it. I thought motherhood was going to be wonderful - the baby would sleep and eat and love me. The thought of depression never entered my mind."

Using medication and counseling, Susan started to work through her depression. "The medication really helped me immediately. And, I was lucky because my whole family supported me - my parents, my husband and my in-laws."

"I've been treated for about three months and I feel so much better. I can smile again. I love music - in my darkest days I didn't hear the music. I know I'm recovering from postpartum depression because I can sing to Dave Matthews again!"

Perinatal mood disorders are treatable. But first you have to ask for help.

call the helpline 24/7 at

1-800-328-3838