This week is OCD Awareness week.
I wanted to be vulnerable and share my battle with Maternal – Postpartum OCD.
I don’t want to share too much because intrusive thoughts can trigger behavior in others so before I start I want to say if you are experiencing ANY intrusive thoughts during postpartum please text 800-944-4773.
So many people think OCD is all about cleaning and counting but it’s much more than that. OCD is a shorter term for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Maternal or Perinatal OCD symptoms include compulsions, obsessive and intrusive thoughts, and protective behaviors that occur during pregnancy and a time period after birth.
One of my obsessive thoughts that I will share and hear from other moms is the fear of a car hitting me on my left side. For 2 years, I could not ride in a car without thinking someone would hit us or hit me. Even when I wasn’t in the car the obsessive thought haunted me every day. Another one was limiting who could have access to Astin. I was protective over information, my postpartum OCD, and hormonal imbalance, and clouded my braid with thoughts that the nurse or my family would take him away. I will share more details in my blog. I struggled severely for two years with compulsions and horrible dark thoughts. I struggled with the fear of my son being taken from me, someone breaking into my home, and so many haunting thoughts that left me frozen for hours sometimes. I share this to say if you experienced anything similar, please feel free to reach out to your doctor, or therapist or text 800-944-4773.
I suffered from Perinatal OCD and did not recognize it until I learned the symptoms from Maternal Mental Health Organization and a licensed psychiatrist.
According to the International OCD Foundation, Maternal or Perinatal OCD impacts up to 5% of pregnant and postpartum women.
