Hope For Moms With Postpartum OCD & Intrusive Thoughts

By March 27, 2012 Comments
Share Button

To my postpartum OCD mamas,

I know what you’re going through. I have been pounded, nearly decimated, by the intrusive thoughts of postpartum OCD. Chased into a corner by them. Beaten into submission by them. It’s hard to think of anything more awful than one’s brain thinking thoughts that the owner of that brain does NOT WANT. Ugly, awful thoughts. But that’s what happens, isn’t it?  All those “what if” thoughts that keep popping into your consciousness, freezing you in your tracks and simultaneously breaking your heart.

There were a couple of stories on OCD today that I wanted to share with you. The first was from Psych Central, and is about uncertainty.  A tidbit:  ”The possibility of causing harm to others is not an uncommon obsession for those with OCD.”  The author then writes about our need to check and make sure others are okay and that we haven’t caused or won’t cause or can’t cause harm. The story may help you better understand why you think and behave the way you do during postpartum OCD.

The second story was from ABC News, and was about celebrities who have OCD like moms Charlize Theron, Jessica Alba and Julianne Moore. One quote: “For parents with OCD, having children can actually make symptoms worse. OCD symptoms tend to latch on to things that are most important to us, so parents with OCD may have doubts about their abilities or intrusive thoughts about their child’s safety or hurting their child.” Sound familiar?

Please know that you are not alone. I had postpartum OCD. I had intrusive thoughts. I made it. You will too. Really. The thoughts are not you. They are just symptoms of an illness. Remember that.

In the meantime, if you’d like more information, here are some oldies but goodies from the Postpartum Progress archives on postpartum OCD:

Postpartum OCD: Does Having Scary Thoughts Mean You’ll Act On Them?

The Endless What-Ifs of Postpartum Anxiety

Postpartum Anxiety & Intrusive Thoughts: One Mom’s Story

A Primer on Intrusive Thoughts

 

Share Button
March 27, 2012 10:30 am Filed Under: Postpartum Depression
About Katherine Stone

is the founder & editor of Postpartum Progress. She was named one of the ten most influential mom bloggers of 2011, a WebMD Health Hero and one of the top 25 parent bloggers using social media for social good. She also writes the Fierce Blog, and a parenting column for Disney's Babble.com.

Comments

  1. Andrea says:
    March 27, 2012 at 4:26 pm

    Thanks for posting this. I believe the more we talk about it the easier it will be for us that suffer/suffered from this to speak up. Posts like this remind us that we are not alone and can be very reassuring that we are not going "crazy" and that we can gett through it.

    1. Andrea says:
      March 27, 2012 at 4:38 pm

      *get…sorry typo from writing from my phone!

  2. Kimberly says:
    April 5, 2012 at 10:51 am

    I've never experienced these thoughts. I can't even imagine how terrifying they must be. Can't.

  3. Horror Show in my Mind: Intrusive Thoughts | tranquilamama says:
    March 17, 2013 at 11:45 am

    [...] http://www.postpartumprogress.com/hope-for-moms-with-postpartum-ocd-intrusive-thoughts [...]

  4. Help! Postpartum OCD - BabyandBump says:
    May 9, 2013 at 8:59 am

    [...] This is very, very, very normal and not talked about often enough. I have to run to a meeting, so I apologize for the short response. I recommend chatting with a psychiatrist – a low dose of medication as well as some behavioral therapy can work wonders! You are not alone. http://www.postpartumprogress.com/ho…usive-thoughts [...]