Some Good News On Postnatal Depression – The Opening of Gidget House

Happy Postnatal Depression Awareness Week… and yes, I do feel happy. Not that I experienced postnatal depression – I’d much rather not have – but that it was treatable and well treated.

And that I have found myself in such excellent company.

Some of the most marvellous mums and dads I know have had their parenting forged in the fires of perinatal anxiety and depression, and many of us have come out the better for it.

We mourn deeply those who do not.

If you’re experiencing emotional upset, anxiety and/or depression right now, please know that there is a LOT of help. You are 100% not alone: just read this blog post from MrsDPlus3.  Click off this post and click through to PANDA, the Post and Ante Natal Depression Association.  Start talking and start healing.

Dads! Click here for the new website How Is Dad Going?

The Good News on PND

So many dedicated people are working so hard to improve the lives of mums and dads. Here in NSW, we have The Gidget Foundation:

Mission

The Gidget Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to promote awareness of perinatal anxiety and depression amongst women and their families, their healthcare providers and the wider community to ensure that those in need receive timely, appropriate and supportive care.

This week the Gidget Foundation is opening Gidget House, an outpatient facility for people at risk or, or experiencing perinatal anxiety and depression. This is such a positive step for the Gidget Foundation. How healing that an organisation that grew out of such terrible pain and loss is giving such help and hope to mums and dads now.

In other good news, Cathie Knox, CEO of the Gidget Foundation has been awarded a CALI Award – Community Action Leadership Inspiration.  Cathie is the most powerful speaker on the topic of PND, her own story is very moving and she is 100% across research into treatment and prevention of PND. She works very hard to make life easier for the rest of us.

Cathie’s one of the co-authors of Beyond The Baby Blues, together with myself and Benison O’Reilly.  And in more good news, the first edition is almost out of print and we are making some alterations and additions to the text with the goal of having a new edition of this handbook out next year.

So, it’s all happening… and there’s more!  Emma over at Five Degrees of Chaos is hosting a linky for PND posts; click here to pop over.

 Start talking… it’s the way to help and to heal.

Have you had PND… or any type of perinatal anxiety and depression?

If you are out the other side, how have you grown?