Postpartum Anxiety, Depression and RAGE with Andrea Niles

You probably know about postpartum depression, but did you know that postpartum anxiety and postpartum rage are just as common - and much less talked about? Sadly, many mothers struggling with mental health issues don’t reach out for help with the fear that medication (in conjunction with very costly therapy) is the only solution. But this is not the only solution, nor necessarily the most effective one.

Andrea Niles, founder of Prospera Mental Health and Wellness, is a clinical psychologist who dedicated her career to studying treatments for anxiety and depression. She stepped outside academia into the world of digital mental health wanting to make a more direct impact.

Being a mom herself going through her own challenges, she realized there was a marked lack of resources out there for mom with effective treatments and interventions for anxiety and depression - and let’s not forget rage - and thus a company was born!

On today’s episode we break-down the differences between PPA/PPD and postpartum rage, outline symptoms, and offer very real, effective solutions. If you are a new or expectant parent, or relate to any of these feelings outlined below, today’s episode is not to be missed!

What is the difference between Postpartum Depression, Anxiety, and Rage?

Postpartum Anxiety

We’re beginning with postpartum anxiety (PPA) because while it’s less generally known or talked about than postpartum depression (PPD), it affects even more of the postpartum population - approximately 70%!

Postpartum anxiety often looks simply like a lot of anxiety and worry about all sorts of things, but commonly around the health and well being of the baby. Is my baby going to get sick? Is my baby going to die of SIDS in the night? Is my baby breathing? Am I doing a good enough job with breastfeeding? These are some of the common thoughts that you might experience with PPA.

Another common symptom is the overwhelming presence of intrusive thoughts. Intrusive thoughts are defined as sudden and incisive thoughts or visualization about something horrible happening or mom causing harm often, in the case of postpartum, to the baby.

While some anxiety is common and protective - our mind naturally alerts us to potential dangers - thoughts become intrusive when they are debilitating.

Postpartum Depression

Postpartum Depression (PPD) manifests a bit differently than anxiety, with feelings of low motivation and feeling down. You might have trouble getting out of bed or just feeling a great amount of overwhelm with even simple tasks feeling difficult.

Postpartum Rage

The somewhat newly identified area of postpartum rage is a little bit different and defined as feeling very rageful in a very short period of time - going from zero to 100, feeling out of control or as if you’re about to explode. It can often result in yelling either at your child or your partner, which can in turn very quickly lead to feelings of regret and guilt. Dealing with rage according to the scientific material available involves three steps:

1. Looking at thinking patterns that are contributing to the anger and rage. Understanding thinking traps and trying to change or reframe some of those thinking patterns that continue to fuel your experience of anger and rage.
2. Looking for triggers. What are the specific situations where anger really comes up? Is it that your partner isn't helping? Your child is not listening? Trying to get out of the house in the morning and rushing because we're late? Identity if there are certain situations where you are more prone to rage.  
3. Interrupt those moments. After steps one and two, try to keep those moments from getting to a boiling point. Things such as breathing practices, imagery or visualization, or a kind of mantra to calm your body, or removing yourself from the situation, can be helpful.

All three of these mood disorders can be experienced either together or in isolation (or in any combination), with PPA being found most frequently, followed by PPD and PPR on par with each other. Getting help can take many forms, and is encouraged earlier rather than later to avoid other associated feelings that can come up such as guilt for not feeling present or nurturing and warm as a mother (societally) “should be” in those moments of rage.

If you’re getting to that point where experiences of anxiety or depression are making it hard to enjoy that period of early motherhood more often than not, that's a good time to reach out. And medication and expensive therapy are not the only answers…

I don’t want to be put on medication!

While there are times when medication is the best option to put you back on track toward having the space to exercise the right skills to heal, it is certainly not the only option. Finding support, by way of therapy, coaching or support groups, can help build the skills early on to be able to cope and manage symptoms if and when the going gets tough. This does require an often difficult commitment to work on yourself - but the benefits reaped in the long term are great!

What does help look like? 

Finding access to resources that are affordable and available in your area can be difficult, which is why Prospera Mental Health and Wellness was created. Prospera provides personalized, perinatal-informed emotional support from dedicated mental health coaches and uses evidence-based techniques drawing from cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectic behavioral therapy, written exposure therapy, and more.

With a digital tools library, they have dozens of tools that actually allow you to practice between sessions with perinatal certified mental health coaches, which is done over video, reviewing what you practiced. You are offered practical tools and support, where you can track symptoms to see improvements, and given tools when more work needs to be done. 

After talking with hundreds of moms, Prospera created this Free Postpartum Mental Health Guide, providing strategies and exercises to avoid common pitfalls and preserve your mental health. Ultimately, we want everyone to feel present with baby and enjoy motherhood to their fullest desire. You’ve got this, mama!