Three months after giving birth to her third child, singer Alanis Morissette is opening up about her struggles with postpartum depression and anxiety, calling PPD "a sneaky monkey with a machete" that is working its way through most aspects of her life.
As a mom to three kids, ages 8, 3 years and 3 months, Morissette says she was more prepared this time to deal with the effects pregnancy and postpartum would have on her mental health.
"There is so much more support this time. I knew better, so I set it up to win as much as I could beforehand," the 45-year-old wrote in a blog post. "Support. Food. Friends. Sun. Bio-identical hormones and SSRIs at the ready. Some parts of the care-prep has been a godsend, and well-planned."
Still, Morissette says she's struggled in the days since her son, Winter, was born.
"Hormonal. Sleep deprivation. Fogginess. Physical pain. Isolation. Anxiety. Cortisol. Recovery from childbirth. Integrating new angel baby with older angel babies. Marriage. All kinds of PTSD triggers. Overstimulation. This body attempting to crawl back to some semi-recognizable configuration," Morissette wrote. "All this said: I have been here before. I know there is another side."
As she works to reach the "other side" of her postpartum experience, Morissette was also quick to point out that society has a big effect on the way women heal after giving birth.
"This is the epicenter. This is where it all begins ... wouldn’t it be cool if we treated all postpartum moms and families with this awareness and honor?" she wrote. "Even if the treadmill of the quickening of our culture didn’t change pace: That there might be a life raft of empathy toward the feminine life-givers who bear it all and give more than words can even begin to touch on."
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Morissette ends her post with words of solidarity for other moms in what she calls the "postpartum tar-drenched trenches."
"I love you. I am here with you. We’re not alone."
