Postnatal Depression - Identifying the More Usual Symptoms of It

Here are some of the symptoms of a woman with postnatal depression:

• She may cry frequently or feel tearful-There are some women who may not actually cry. However, women with postnatal depression may weep steadily for an entire day or describe the feeling that they are occasionally on the verge of crying for some.



• She may feel less hungry-A woman who is down with postnatal depression might not feel hungry and might skip a meal or two. Besides, she has a smaller appetite than before. This in turn leads to extreme weight loss in them.



• She may feel more hungry-For some women, eating can comfort them and act as a way of coping with their feelings of depression. However, this may result in an extreme weight gain.



• She is unable to sleep-A person with postnatal depression may have difficulty in sleeping. This could mean not being able to get off to sleep, or waking up very early and not being able to go back to sleep. Therefore, this can be extremely frustrating when have trouble falling asleep even when your child is sleeping soundly.



• She sleeps a lot-Some women describes that they feel sleepy all the time, no matter how much sleep they have had. This may seems to be just due to the sleepless nights that all new parents experience, but in actual fact, only a woman with postnatal depression would show such symptoms.
  



• She feels exhausted most of the time-She may constantly feel tired, lethargic or drained of energy, so much till she is unable to cope with the daily tasks.



• She might not be able to concentrate-Being distracted and confused is common for women with postnatal depression. She might even find it hard to finish the task that she started a while ago.



• She is unable to make simple decisions-Making simple decisions such as what to wear may seem impossible for her.



• She is unable to cope with almost everything-Simple little things, things that she used to do without even thinking about are beyond her. This would therefore lead to her trying so hard to do even the little things to get by. In other words, a woman with postnatal depression may feel inadequate and incapable and start questioning her ability to look after her child completely.



• She has little interest in her looks and surroundings-She might not see the point in washing herself or even getting herself dressed. Besides, she have totally no interest in her home or her everyday life.



• She cares too much about her appearance and surroundings-Alternatively, an obvious symptom of postnatal depression is her being obsessively tidy and trying to maintain impossibly high standards in her home.

Do consult your family doctor if you have one of more symptoms that are mentioned above. Don't drag the matter further as a late diagnosis could cause your illness to worsen.