Single parent, 10 week old baby, losing the will to live
I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety my entire adult life. I knew parenting would be hard but I’m struggling a lot more than I expected. Everything that helped treat my mental health problems is now gone. Meaning good nights sleep, gym, hiking, saunas, massages, acupuncture, fun activities with friends, reading, movie nights. My baby isn’t even very challenging and is prob overall an easy baby (I’ve no other baby to compare to) but I am soooo unbelievably drained. I get no me time anymore. It feels like I’m working 24 hours a day. I don’t have much help. Babies Dad is not and will never be involved. I don’t have siblings and my parents health isn’t the best so they can’t help all that much. I can’t afford child care.
I’m totally overwhelmed, drained, depressed and feeling like this was all a big mistake. I do love my baby but god this is torture and it doesn’t feel like it’s going to get better. My old life looks so appealing right now. Sooo much easier than my new one. I know that probably sounds selfish, immature etc and I chose this and I owe it to my baby to get my shit together now and make this work I just feel so hopeless and like I’ve ruined my life taking this on when I’m clearly not mentally able for it.
Did anyone else who has really struggled with mental health feel similar post partum and manage to turn stuff around? I really wasn’t doing the best before baby either but baby seems to have completely pushed me over the edge and I can’t convince myself there’s light at the end of this very dark tunnel. My life is just all work no play and as much as I love my baby she’s driving me crazy and I now wish I didn’t have kids the majority of the time.