05/10/2026
Content warning: discussion of postpartum depression, intrusive thoughts, and maternal mental health. š¤
Postpartum depression.
Loneliness.
Dark thoughts.
Words so many mothers carry silently while still showing up every single day.
When Melissa first reached out to me, she told me she had healed by the grace of God, but wanted to be here for the women still walking through it. That became the heart behind this session.
The bandaids represented the wounds, the labels, the hurt, and the weight she carried during one of the darkest seasons of her life. But as the session progressed, we began layering new words over them:
Healing.
Grace.
Light.
Loved.
Capable.
Community.
Because healing doesnāt erase the pain.
It grows around it.
It speaks louder than it.
And eventually, it reminds you that your story didnāt end there.
Below are Melissaās words, exactly as she shared them.š¤
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A huge shift happened when my husband and I became parents, as it does for most people. As healthcare professionals, we thought that we had done everything right to prepare to bring this blessing into the world. We had the most incredible birth team, a wonderful birth plan, were showered with gifts beyond our imagination from loving friends and family, everything was wonderful.
So. We bring home this beautiful baby boy. Everything was going well, until it wasnāt.
Postpartum depression hit me like a freight train. I was in a very dark, very scary place. The joy of motherhood was robbed from me.
Iāll get really personal right now. Because this is real. This is what so many mothers face in our country. 10-20%, but I wouldnāt be surprised if the actual number was higher.
I did not want to live.
I vividly remember yelling to my husband things I cannot even say out loud on this side of that hurt, nor do I want anything I say to be a trigger for anyone. Youāll see one of the scary quotes I yelled to my husband as he headed off to work. That was one of the lowest points and a desperate cry for help.
But finding help in Alabama was tough. I even did try to get into counseling, but that required a visit to a General Practitioner for approval (what?!?) and with a new baby, limited time, finances, plus I didnāt have an established GP, it didnāt happen.
So. Moving on.
Fast forward a few agonizing, dark months. I am sitting in a continuing education class with my almost one-year-old son. The topic is perinatal health: epigenetics and parental nutrition.
Divine intervention.
I was living the sh*t-storm that Dr. Schaefer described when parental health is lacking prior to conception. I was nutritionally depleted. It was time to do the work that I should have done way before even thinking about becoming pregnant.
I learned the phrase, āPostnatal Depletion.ā
Postnatal Depletion is a constellation of symptoms affecting all spheres of a motherās life after she gives birth.
I dived deep into Dr. Oscar Serrallachās work on postpartum depletion.
He used the analogy of a plastic bag. Think of your body as a plastic bag full of water. The more water in the bag, the better you feel, and the better you are able to cope.
Each day of pregnancy, the birth, each sleepless night, each long day of breast-feeding is like putting tiny pinpricks in the plastic bag. You can repair these holes, but it takes a little time.
When there are only a few sticks of the pin, only a very small amount of water escapes the bag. The trouble, though, is when the holes start to come more quickly than you can repair them.
Such is the body after childbirth; when there are too many stressors and not enough time to recover, your levels become depleted.
Depending on the severity of depletion, the postnatal period can last for years after the baby is born ā you can be left with a bag so filled with holes that it takes a long time to repair and refill. In the worst-case scenarios, the depletion pattern can occur decades later.
At its core, postnatal depletion is the understandable outcome of a series of less-than-ideal events leading to depletion of a womanās well-being at multiple levels.
Three primary factors are at play here:
1. The nutrients given over to making, incubating, and birthing the baby are enormous, and this depletion continues after the birth for women who breastfeed.
2. Bone-gnawing exhaustion can occur from sleep deprivation ā the result of never having a good, refreshing nightās sleep.
3. The drastic change of a new motherās role is often accompanied by social isolation, which can have a deleterious effect on a womanās psychological well-being.
My journey of healing stemmed from a commitment to small daily habits. Every day I chose to either move towards health or move away from health.
Itās physical, spiritual and emotional.
Itās fueling my body properly, itās hydrating, itās having a clear nervous system, itās moving my body, itās feeding my mind positive thoughts, itās having community, itās prioritizing rest, itās spending time with Jesus, itās finding joy daily.
Itās not always easy. But the effort is worth it.
My family is worth it.
Life is worth it.
When youāve sat in the darkness for so long, youāll fight hard to be in the Light.
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One of my favorite details was the final āthank youā collage she created filled with the faces of people who helped carry her through. A reminder that even in our loneliest moments, we are never truly alone.
If youāre in the middle of your own hard season right now, this is your reminder:
You are not weak.
You are not failing.
You are not alone.
And there is healing waiting for you too. š¤
