What Is Postpartum Depression?
The birth of a baby, while certainly a joyous occasion, can result in a rollercoaster ride of emotions ranging from joy and excitement to feeling low and disconnected. Postpartum depression (PPD) is a condition that may occur in some women who have recently given birth. According to a survey, one in every four mother experiences a kind of persisting mood swing characterised as PPD. While mood swings are common to all mothers who, due to a tremendous amount of hormonal changes, will feel low at certain points, PPD typically is a longer, more intense manifestation of negative feelings often associated with long spells of weeping and self-doubt. While many studies discuss how a complication at birth triggers this, it is important to remember that PPD is not permanent and does not indicate a personal flaw or weakness in the individual.
Identifying Postpartum Depression
Associated with guilt and feelings of self-criticism, many mothers experiencing PPD blame themselves for feeling disconnected with their babies. If the stress during pregnancy was not challenging enough, a lot of women experience a range of emotional strain that most find difficult to talk about. As a healer and a counsellor, I insist on spending time with such clients in understanding the nature of their issues. In all probability you have PPD if you are experiencing some or all of the following:
- A nagging feeling that you are a ‘bad mother’
- Feeling tired at the thought of caring for your child
- Feeling like a failure, or feeling you aren’t the mother your child needs and deserves
- Feeling anxious or anticipating something bad is going to happen
- Constant weeping, sleeplessness, or extreme lethargy
- Being irritable at the sight or thought of the baby
- Loss of appetite
- Paranoia (often in the form of seeing and hearing things that are not there)
The list really can go on as each mother experiences a unique set of symptoms of which the above mentioned are the most commonly experienced.
Seeking Help Is Important
Feelings, as opposed to ailments are difficult to heal and with something as complicated and widespread as PPD, the need to seek help increases manifold. I worked with a client who was feeling confused and angry; these are some of the stronger emotions that may take hold of a new mother, who was depressed instead of feeling elated. In this situation it is important to recognize and objectively understand the trauma that the mother’s body has undergone in giving birth to the baby. Additionally, for women who have had a complicated childbirth, restoring the balance in the body is important. Trauma does not end after the delivery, the body needs time to heal internally and with Reiki one can ease the process of healing.
With my client who was dealing with PPD, it was my constant endeavour to restore her to her earlier state of emotional well-being. As this life force is highly susceptible to our thoughts, mothers dealing with PPD tend to internalize so much of the negativity that the energy is depleted of its healing capabilities. By positioning the light touch over the abdomen and heart chakras, the positive, life-giving energy is released into the body. Through a set of sessions over 6 weeks the client affirmed at having felt immediate relief, almost like a weight has been lifted. In all my sessions, I emphasize the importance of the flow and readying oneself to receive it, my focus was to work on her self-worth and reconnecting back to herself as well as her child. It was a change I helped her accept and see all the things she could still do. She chose to pick up a new hobby and also enrolled for an online course to upgrade her skills. This new found understanding of her situation helped her be in charge and be there for her new born baby. It also enabled her to find time for herself as part of the process. This reflected in a unique change in her existing relationships as well. From a feeling of impending doom to acceptance and action – such was the shift that she experienced.
For mothers suffering from PPD who are contemplating Reiki, I often hear similar inhibitions and concerns—what if my condition gets worse or what if I don’t get better? The answer is simple, with Reiki there is no risk of going wrong with the healing. In Reiki what is truly amazing is that the healer is never in control, the life force is. This life force is so powerful that it knows where to go and what to do. And with this, there is no question of not benefiting from it.
Healing Postpartum Depression with Reiki
Reiki is a highly effective, light-touch therapy that heals using what is essentially understood as the life force which flows in our bodies through channels called the chakras, meridians, and nadis. At times when this flow is disrupted, post-delivery for instance, not only does the flow get uneven, it also impacts the organs that are supported by the energy or the life force at the most basic, cellular level. One can only imagine the tremendous surge of hormones during pregnancy and after, and the accompanying physical and emotional discomforts. Reiki as a practice is particularly effective in coping with PPD as it restores the life force thereby allowing the body to revert to its earlier state of health and vitality.
Dealing with stress is always unpleasant, especially if it is one related to unexpected thoughts and feelings. Compassion to my mind comes closest in assisting Reiki accomplish its tasks. A compassionate understanding of life and suffering enables a better, more acute understanding of the essence of Reiki—the life force. It is with these restorative and positive energies that Reiki reaches out to those in pain and delivers relief, happiness, and strength.