About PP-PTSD

While postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder (PP-PTSD) is a lesser-known postpartum mental health condition, it is  very common and is not currently screened for universally. It is also not prevented--even though there are simple and inexpensive research-based methods available to do so.

So, what is this condition and what does it look like? Posttraumatic stress disorder is still being studied to find out more about how the condition develops and what makes some people more resilient against it than others, but we do know some things. For example, when people are faced with the threat of death or worry that someone else may die, their stress level goes through the roof.

Higher stress leads to a release of cortisol (stress hormone) as the body prepares for survival. Other hormones are also released to prepare the body by changing blood pressure, heart rate, digestion, and blood flow to certain key parts of the body.

Individuals then enter the the 9 F's: fight, flight, fawn, freeze, faint, flood, fatigue, food, or funny business. (Though, it should be noted that there are different ways of characterizing the 9 F's.) While many people are familiar with fight or flight, fewer people are acquainted with fight, flight, freeze--and even fewer are aware of fawn, faint, flood, fatigue, food, or funny business as stress responses. You can read more about these stress responses here. 

Within the nervous system, your eyes bring in more visual and spatial information than is typical. Your brain then processes this huge amount of information rapidly. This makes sense, right? When faced with possible death, our bodies take in our surroundings 360°, considers where we can go to escape the threat, calculates how quickly we can get there, and weighs the pros and cons of various actions.

A huge amount of visuospatial cognitive information is brought in and processed when we are mortally fearful. To me this makes perfect sense. Think of a time when you were in a car accident or another similar crisis. Did time seem to freeze? Did a matter of seconds seem to go on for minutes... even hours? If you're anything like me, your answers to each question is yes.

Our bodies are able to efficiently bring in more sensory information than normal. What might take our bodies minutes or hours to typically accomplish, is accomplished in seconds... courtesy of our stress hormone response. This allows us to make the best decisions possible to protect ourselves and others.

Following such an experience, most people's brains prune out the excessive visuospatial cognitive memories and do not develop posttraumatic stress disorder--though posttraumatic stress syndrome (a shorter version of PTSD) might develop. Individuals who do not prune the excessive memories tend to develop visually rich nightmares, flashbacks, and intrusive thoughts about the trauma.

In response to this enduring stress, people may avoid situations that remind them of the event, change their response to everyday situations (jumpiness or slow responses), have a change in mood, have difficulty thinking and functioning, and this may continue for a month or even longer. For people who had mistreatment at the hands of a trusted individual which led to PTSD, they may develop additional signs and symptoms such as a change in the way they view themselves and the trusted individual in question, difficulty regulating their emotions, relationship changes, crises of belief systems, increased physical reactions to normal situations, and more.

While PTSD occurs when stressed by outside threats such as enemy soldiers or violent criminals, complex PTSD may occur when stressed by inside threats such as abusive parents or even teachers and nurses.

When a healthcare practitioner is associated with your trauma, you may develop more severe signs and symptoms; and it may impact your willingness to pursue medical treatment for yourself or your child in the future. Unfortunately, this may keep you from getting needed help for your posttraumatic symptoms as well as your postpartum check-up and your infants frequent medical appointments in the first year of their life.

PP-PTSD can impact your parenting style and  keep you from forming attachments to your infant. This may result in developmental delays and enduring relationship troubles for your child. This is of course in addition to your own profound pain.

The good news is that researchers have found many ways to prevent posttraumtic stress symptoms and possibly the development of PP-PTSD, as well as ways to treat PP-PTSD after it has developed. To learn more check out this link and app. For more resources, check out this page.

If you find yourself experiencing feelings of stress or decreased mood, please seek the care of a healthcare provider. If you are experiencing feelings of self-harm, please seek the care of a healthcare provider immediately. In addition to this care, resources are available to assist you. Please click on the following links for additional information:
    ●    National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
    ●    https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Chat
    ●    https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/ Suicide Prevention Resource Center
    ●    https://www.sprc.org/ Nevada DPBH Office of Suicide Prevention
    ●    http://suicideprevention.nv.gov/ PTSD: National Center for PTSD
    ●    https://www.ptsd.va.gov/ PTSD Alliance http://www.ptsdalliance.org/ Postpartum
    ●    Support International https://www.postpartum.net/locations/nevada/