How It Is #8: Going Public

By church, communication, depression, motherhood, preaching, pregnancy, spirituality, well-being, , , , ,

What do people need to know about postnatal depression?

I have been asked to speak at a Mothers’ Day service at North Porirua Baptist Church. They are inviting parents from their community and want me to speak about PND.

I’m going to tell some of my story, perhaps structured around some key headings:

  • PND Surprises (what most people don’t know about PND)
  • How to Help
  • God, Hope and PND

I thought I’d ask you for your feedback. If you’ve been following this series on my experience of PND, I’d love you to leave a comment telling us:

  • what you have learnt about PND and what most surprised you about it
  • how or whether you feel equipped to support a friend with PND if you found out tomorrow there was a need.

I’ll take care of the third heading myself, although if you have had an experience of PND and want to comment on where God was/is in it, and where hope was to be found, I’d certainly love to hear your thoughts, publicly or privately.

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Pauatahanui Inlet, Karora CC

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0 comments on “How It Is #8: Going Public”

  1. Anna G Reply

    I found it interesting reading about Anhedonia. Hadn’t really thought about the side effect of dampening the lows with also dampening the positive things one would normally enjoy!

    I like knowing that you have written this blog and I could go back and refer to it if I found out tomorrow a friend was experiencing PND. I don’t have any other accounts to compare your experiences to but I guess people experience these things in different ways. It is comforting to know your take on it is accessible, I can go back and read it, and perhaps fill in the gaps about how a person may be feeling even if they are in a place where they currently can’t communicate exactly how it is for them. I really like the 7 practical suggestions you gave in How It Is 3 and think they would be applicable to any family with a newborn baby, people experiencing bereavement etc.

    All the best with your preparations for Going Public!

  2. Alex Reply

    I think the things that have surprised me (if that’s the right word – struck, perhaps) are the sheer numbers of people affected, and the fact that it can strike pre-birth as well as post. And I agree with Anna that the Anhedonia post was an eye opener.

    Overall, though, I just think you’ve done a brave, brilliant and amazing job of describing your journey, and all that it has entailed on these pages. It’s helped me understand more, and I hope it would make me better equipped to ask appropriate questions and offer appropriate assistance should the need arise.

    I’m sure your writing has provided comfort and reassurance (as well as wise and practical advice) to many readers – named and anonymous. I’m sure your talk will do the same. Best of luck with preparing and delivering it.

  3. ch3man Reply

    I admire your courage for speaking out about PND. It can’t have been an easy decision for you to raise your head above the parapet and I can’t even begin to imagine how much your blog and your presentation(s) will help others … I just know the effect could be massive. A sincere “Well Done!”

  4. Caroline Reply

    Yes – definitely well done. I know I’ve learned a lot from your blog. In particular, I didn’t realise that your bond with your baby could be essentially unaffected when you had PND – I thought that was a central part of everyone’s experience. Your practical tips on how to help also emphasised that it’s not so difficult to help out and offer support – in many ways all of the things that you could do for a non-PND new Mum are also helpful for parents with PND.

    Good luck with the talk – you’ll probably never know how much help you’re giving by talking about this.

  5. Pingback: Sacraparental Live: North Porirua Baptist | sacraparental

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