Got postpartum depression after childbirth and been taking medication for it. That and previous lack of sleep have messed up my brain - I can't seem to focus for more than 3min when people are talking. Get confused easily in all conversations since I returned to work. Can't seem to catch up on things that are piling up. Scared that I'm gonna lose my job. What should I do?#mentalhealth
Male here — so can’t speak directly to your question from personal experience. But also husband and father of a daughter who is likely around your age, so can speak from compassion. Please be sure to care for yourself. It is great you are already seeking medical and mental health care — don’t hesitate to seek out different providers if you feel the ones you currently have are not equipped to provide the care you need. Some are; but from what I see in the news, many doctors still do not take PPD as a serious medical condition (a condition which is more common than often most realize —you are not alone out there). Also, for job, please consider taking full FMLA leave, including potential for extended short term disability beyond the end of FMLA, potentially up to the 26 weeks. In the long-run, jobs can be replaced as needed. And please do not allow yourself to view yourself as a failure in this. Shame, fear, and internal dialog of self-disparagement is so easy to fall into. But that isn’t true. And it isn’t the path to healing. Which is a large part of why I suspect FMLA / extended STDI leave can help, since it sets aside the job-driven stress for a period, leaving you with greater space for your path of care, healing and restoration.
Thank you so much! I was on a good path to recovery before I started work again - but it's already hard to get back into work as it is, I'm just afraid that the longer I'm away from work the harder it will be for me to get back to working mode. I'm not ready to give up my career at this point. But thanks so much for the kind words and suggestions. Hope you and your family stay well!
Op I’m going through exactly the same as you. Let me know if you’d like to talk
OP, going through a similar scenario. Let me know what worked for you
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Sorry to hear this. How is your sleep? Finding a way to increase your sleep is probably the quickest route to rekindling your cognitive aptitude. Experienced something like this for a while myself after my first kid was born.
Sorry to hear that. How long did it take for you to feel normal at work again?
For myself, it took until the kiddo was about 8 or 9 months and I started sleeping through the night more often to get all the way back. But things got much better after I started taking a daytime nap in the middle of the day and just going to sleep really early every night; I made that change around 4mo.