As I dive into the postpartum journey for the third time, I wanted to share a few things that helped me navigate postpartum anxiety and depression after becoming a mom.
First, a disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. This is simply my experience and a few things that helped me personally. If you’re struggling with your mental health postpartum, please know that it’s okay (and important) to reach out to a medical professional for support.
After having my first baby, I struggled with my mental health and eventually sought treatment. Looking back, one of the hardest parts was believing that I was a terrible mom, that maybe I wasn’t cut out for motherhood, and that I was completely alone in how I was feeling.
It wasn’t until I started therapy that I realized how common so many of my struggles actually were.
Before experiencing postpartum depression and anxiety myself, I pictured depression as “not being able to get out of bed” or “crying all the time.” That wasn’t my experience at all.
Instead, I felt like I was moving at 1,000 mph while simultaneously trying to stay afloat in the deep end of a pool with cinderblocks tied to me. I was exhausted. Overwhelmed. And eventually, I reached a point where I felt like I just wanted to stop fighting so hard to stay above water.
I also struggled with intrusive thoughts. At the time, those thoughts made me feel like I was crazy and made me question whether I could be the mom I wanted to be.
Therapy helped me understand what was happening, and over time, I found a few things that made a huge difference for me.
1. I got off social media.
I took a break from scrolling Instagram and Facebook.
I hadn’t realized how much time I was spending scrolling, especially while feeding the baby. And when I really paid attention to how I felt afterward, I realized it almost never made me feel better. If anything, I think it was contributing to my loneliness.
Stepping away gave my brain some much-needed quiet.
2. I started taking a walk outside every day.
This made a huge difference in my mood.
Getting outside and moving my body for even 20–30 minutes helped more than I expected, especially with my anxiety and intrusive thoughts. I started noticing that after a walk, the rest of my day often felt so much more manageable.
It was such a simple thing, but it became one of the most helpful parts of my routine.
3. I started timing my intrusive thoughts.
This was something my therapist taught me.
Sometimes an intrusive thought would pop into my head—something like, “What if I got rear-ended right now?” and suddenly my brain would create an entire scene around it.
My therapist suggested that instead of following the thought, I simply notice it and start counting how long it lasted.
So I did.
And something interesting happened: as soon as my focus shifted from the intrusive thought to, “How long is this actually going to last?” the thought would often lose its power and end.
It helped me realize that a thought could come into my mind without me having to follow it down the rabbit hole.
4. I joined a moms group.
This was another big one for me.
MomCo is an awesome organization, and many churches, neighborhoods, and communities have moms groups as well. I joined one through my church, and simply being around a group of women who were open, supportive, honest, and fun helped me feel so much less alone.
There was something incredibly comforting about talking with other moms and realizing, “Oh…you’ve felt this too?”
Motherhood can feel isolating, especially in those early postpartum months. Finding community reminded me that I didn’t have to navigate all of it by myself.
I hope your postpartum journey isn’t this difficult. But if you are going through anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, loneliness, or simply feeling like motherhood is much heavier than you expected, please know that you are not alone.
There is no shame in asking for help. Therapy was an important part of my journey, and I’m incredibly grateful that I reached out when I did.
And now, as I walk through postpartum for the third time, I’m entering this season with a lot more awareness, grace for myself, and understanding of what I need.
If sharing my experience helps even one other mom feel a little less alone, then it’s worth sharing.
XO,
Chloe
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