Postpartum depression can strike anytime in the first year after giving birth.
And boy, when it hits, it hits hard. I've always been a sort of easy going sort, but over the past few months, I've found myself becoming increasingly anxious and withdrawn. I found myself crying over small things, obsessing over finances (to the point of spending several hours out of every day worrying about money, doing calculations in my head), and most recently, obsessing over ways in which I might accidentally die. Drowning in the bathtub recurred frequently, as did falling down the stairs and breaking my neck. The bathtub was the one that really got me though, and its the one that finally alerted me to the suspicion that I might be depressed.
So, of course, I took an online quiz. And every single "symptom" applied to me. Some I had chalked up to fatigue, but in all likelihood I've been depressed longer than I thought. SO I called my doctor and I am going to see her on Monday, and we'll talk about medication, and I'm going to get better.
