Postpartum Therapy in Arvada, CO
When Becoming a Parent Feels Overwhelming
Having a baby can be one of the most meaningful experiences of your life. It can also be exhausting, terrifying, lonely, and emotionally complicated in ways that are hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it. Maybe you thought you would feel happier. Maybe you're overwhelmed by the constant needs of your baby, struggling with anxiety, or wondering why you don't feel like yourself anymore. Your relationship might change, your body may feel unfamiliar, or you may be having a hard time adjusting to your new identity as a parent.
You can look at your baby and feel so much love while simultaneously thinking, “How do people do this?”
Maybe you're constantly anxious about your baby's health or safety. Maybe you're experiencing intrusive thoughts that scare you or you feel like you need to check, plan, or prepare for every possible thing that could go wrong. Moms often tell me they’re feeling numb, irritable, exhausted, disconnected, or unlike themselves. You may be struggling with questions about who you are now, how to make room for yourself, or how to maintain your relationship while caring for a baby. It’s also normal to be dealing with changes in your body or your relationship with food and wondering how you're supposed to feel comfortable in a body that has changed so much.
If any of this sounds familiar, postpartum therapy can give you a place to slow down, make sense of what you're experiencing, and get some support during a major transition in your life. You don’t need to do it alone!
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You're Not Alone in Finding Parenthood Complicated
There is so much cultural pressure to experience becoming a parent as purely joyful. We see beautiful newborn photos, announcements about how someone has “never known love like this,” and reminders to cherish every moment because it goes by so quickly.
But the reality of parenthood for most folks is much more complicated. You might not feel that immediate sense of love and connection. The bond can take a while to develop Sometimes the whole thing feels a little unreal. And all of this is normal.
You can be grateful for your baby and still feel exhausted. You can love being a parent and miss parts of your old life. You can feel deeply connected to your baby and still feel lonely. You can be happy that you became a parent while also missing the person you were before. There can be grief around the loss of freedom, spontaneity, sleep, privacy, career identity, friendships, or simply having time to yourself. Your priorities may have shifted while the rest of the world seems to expect you to continue functioning as though nothing has changed.
And there can be a tremendous amount of pressure to do everything “right.” You may compare yourself to other parents or feel like everyone else is handling things better than you are. Social media doesn’t help; we are constantly exposed to carefully curated versions of other people's lives. Often our very natural response to this environment is to try to protect ourselves from the pain and judgment of failure by not screwing things up! This makes sense as a way to cope with the pressure on moms to get it right, but perfectionism can make us very anxious!
Postpartum Therapy Can Help You Feel More Like Yourself Again
Postpartum therapy provides a space to process the emotional and psychological changes that can happen during pregnancy and after having a baby. While postpartum mental health is often associated with postpartum depression, there is much more to this experience than depression alone.
Some clients come to therapy because they're struggling with postpartum anxiety or depression. Others are dealing with intrusive thoughts, perfectionism, irritability, grief, identity changes, relationship difficulties, body image concerns, or a constant sense of overwhelm. Sometimes you know exactly what you're struggling with. Other times, the best description is simply, “I don't feel like myself.”
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