Did any of you experience a traumatic event or extreme grief while pregnant? What was postpartum like for you?
Possible trigger warning - grief and depression
I’m dealing with a lot right now even though it’s been a month since it happened. Possible PTSD from a traumatic event and extreme grief.
Everyone around me is super concerned and I do have some concerning thoughts because I am incredibly depressed. My thoughts are very existential and honestly just messed up. I have a history of mental health problems anyway but this is a whole new level.
I can’t speak to anyone I know about what I’m thinking because when I’ve mentioned things, they are literally mortified. So I’ve realised my thoughts are only to be shared with a mental health professional because I think they’re more equipped, whereas my partner kinda just freaks out and I think it’s too much for him.
I’m in my second trimester, nearly in the third, but I am extremely terrified about what postpartum is going to look like for me. Especially with bonding and caring for my baby.
I’d like to preface I am getting therapy, it starts tomorrow so I’m hoping this might help me a little. But I want experiences from people who have truly been through similar ish things and how it worked out for them. Most people just say to me ‘just wait till the baby is here’ ‘everything will change’ like her being born is supposed to magically fix all of this. But firstly that feels like a lot of pressure/expectation to put on a newborn and secondly I can’t imagine postpartum hormones are going to be that forgiving. If I’m feeling as I do now, I can only imagine postpartum hormones will make these feelings 10x worse.
So please if you have experience with trauma/grief during pregnancy, how did it go for you? What’s your relationship like with your baby, how are you coping? What are some things you did to help you cope?