Feeling Better

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You don’t always need to rely on medication to begin feeling better. If your symptoms are mild often just talking about how you feel can make a huge difference. Talk to your partner and your friends and family about how you are feeling or even pop over to our forum “LINK” where you may find some other people who have gone through this before or who can offer you support. If you find talking to friends doesn’t help then ask your GP about local support groups or medical professionals who can help. Here are some tips that may help to make your feel better and get you on your road to recovery: · Get some time to yourself every day e.g. have a bath, go for a walk, paint your nails, go out with your partner or a friend for a few hours while someone you trust babysits - even a very small baby is capable of spending a short period away from you, especially if you are only a few minutes drive away and take your mobile with you so that you can get home quickly if need be· Rest - spend time every day on the sofa with your feet up as you would if you had flu or had just had a major operation - watch a few good DVDs · Let go of the housework and washing for a while - if you can, enlist the help of someone else to do it for you for a while· Buy ready meals - there are some very nice ones out there which are nutritious and freshly made· Get out of the house every day even if just for a short walk around the block - fresh air will make you feel better · Go to bed early - see if someone else, your partner, a friend, your mother, can help with the night feed; if you are breast feeding try expressing or you may consider introducing a bottle at night; be aware that tiredness will make depression worse · Abandon any attempts to force your baby into a rigid routine if you are finding that stressful, throw out any baby advice books and 'go with the flow' - focus on getting to know your baby and their individual needs · Try to be flexible, e.g with sleep times, feeding times etc - it's less stressful for you and your baby · Notice the good stuff: something your baby did, a flower, a nice meal · Have as much to do with the baby as you can; the housework can wait· Try and get involved in baby massage – quite often health visitors run groups for it, this will offer you one-on-one time with your baby and encourage bonding· If you are short on sleep, do your best to sleep when the baby does rather than just rest. Sleep deprivation will only act to accentuate any down feelings you are having

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