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PPD survivor & outpatient therapist soleowellness.com
When I finally sat down to write my postpartum depression story, the words just came pouring out. -Lindsey Disch
In this latest episode, we meet Lindsey Disch, whose journey through Post Partum Depression or PPD casts a bright light on a condition many people still don’t understand. Profiled in a prominent women’s magazine, Lindsey’s “A Letter to My Daughter” essay caught my heart and my attention.
https://www.pinkchairstorytellers.com/storytellers/lindsey-disch. Back in the day, people would see a mom who felt sad after childbirth and wave her off, saying, “she’s got the baby blues,” but thanks to heightened medical protocols regarding PPD, more women are getting the help they need. For Lindsey, that meant admission to a mental hospital during the first year of her daughter Alexa’s life. In this interview, she reveals what it was like to give birth after a complicated and unexpected pregnancy and shares the story of how ashamed and overwhelmed she was in the weeks following her daughter’s birth. “I just didn’t care about anything anymore. All I wanted to do was lay in bed, and I thought this horrible feeling would never end.” It was during this time that her husband found her crying in the closet. A certified mental health clinician herself, Lindsey knew there was something wrong with her. She sought counseling and was prescribed medication, but nothing worked. A trip to the ER resulted in Lindsey being admitted as an inpatient at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts (mcleanhospital.org). Nationally recognized as the #1 psychiatric care facility in the nation, Lindsey followed the advice of her care team and received 30 rounds of ECT or Electroconvulsive Therapy. Administered under anesthesia, ECT treatment sends small electric currents through the brain, changing its chemistry, often improving symptoms of certain mental health conditions, including severe depression. However, this treatment has side effects, including difficulty with thinking, word retrieval, and memory loss. Lindsey experienced all of them. Thriving now and back at work as an outpatient therapist at soleowellness.com in her hometown of Duxbury, Massachusetts, Lindsey lives by the wisdom her father taught her: “the biggest challenges can present the biggest opportunities.” She is completely bonded with her daughter and is now sharing her expertise with other women experiencing depression after childbirth. Says Lindsey: “I want women to know that there is no shame in asking for help, and you will not recover if you try to do it alone. “ When I asked her if she’d do those treatments all over again, Lindsey replied without hesitation: “1000%. I’m a total badass now. Throw something at me? I got it. This is my life, and I’m so lucky to be here.” #postpartumdepression #womeninspiringwomen #thestorybehindhersuccess #mentalhealth