Life Inside Panic

I wanted to post something for all the new moms, or soon to be new moms, out there. Postpartum depression is a very real, very scary possibility after giving birth. You are exhausted, stressed, trying to adapt to a completely new life with a new person as your top priority, and on top of everything your hormones are dropping off drastically after 40 weeks of adjusting to the higher levels. If you are feeling any symptoms of this disorder, please talk to your doctor. It is so much more common that you think. I know that a lot of women feel ashamed that the are not blissfully happy after giving birth and don’t want to admit to it so they don’t seek treatment. This can be dangerous for both you and your baby. Remember how crazy you were during your pregnancy and how you accepted those wacky hormones as part of the process? This is the exact same thing; you’re reacting to abnormal hormone levels. Talk to your doctor and get the help you need so you can enjoy this wonderful time with your new child.

“Sleep Lack Worsens Post-partum Depression
United Press International
Published: Dec. 11, 2008
Post-partum depression can lead to poor sleep, and depression symptoms worsen in patients when their quality of sleep declines, U.S. researchers said. All new mothers experience some sleep loss following childbirth, as their estrogen and progesterone hormone levels plunge. They typically spend 20 percent more of the day awake than average during the first six weeks after giving birth.

Study author Bobbie Posmontier of Drexel University in Philadelphia compared sleep patterns of 46 post-partum women — half with symptoms of post-partum depression and half without. Sleep patterns were monitored for seven consecutive days.

Results showed that mothers suffering from post-partum depression took longer to fall asleep and slept for shorter periods. The worse their sleep quality, the worse their depression.

Sleep deprivation can hamper a mother’s ability to care for her infant, as judgment and concentration decline. Sleep-deprived mothers may inadvertently compromise their infants’ sleep quality because infants often adopt their mothers’ circadian sleep rhythms.

Posmontier recommends that clinicians treating women for post-partum depression address the importance of adequate sleep.

The findings are published in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing.”

“Postpartum Depression: More Than Just The “Baby Blues”
PotterWorldOnline

The earliest medical records about postpartum depression dates back to as far as the 4th Century BC. However, despite the early awareness about this form of depression, the postpartum sadness has not always been formally recognized as an illness. As a result, it continues to be under-diagnosed. There is no single cause for depression after childbirth. Physical, emotional, and lifestyle factors may all play a role. Unlike the “baby blues”, postpartum depression does not go away quickly. Very rarely, new moms develop something even more serious. They may stop eating, have trouble sleeping or develop insomnia, and become frantic or paranoid.

Postpartum depression affects 10-28% of new mothers. It can begin days, weeks, or months after delivery. Studies show that depressed mothers are less involved with their infant. They vending machine also shows signs of inconsistentcy in terms of how they respond to their infant. They can be loving and attentive one minute, and withdrawn the next. In addition to the signs mentioned, some other symptoms of postpartum depression may include:
Exhaustion
Excessive sleeping but still feeling exhausted
Loss of sexual interest
Crying spells without obvious cause
Feelings of guilt
Sadness
Anger
Feelings of despair and/or worthlessness
Forgetfulness
Difficulty making decisions
Poor concentration

Treatment for postpartum depression can be as varied as the symptoms. Some of the more common approaches to therapy or treatment include:
Creating a supportive environment for the mother
Self-Care
Joining a support groups
Counseling
Psychotherapy
Medication

More often, postpartum depression is not recognized or adequately treated because some normal post-pregnancy changes which cause similar symptoms in new mothers. Moreover, some women do not tell anyone vending machine their symptoms because they feel embarrassed, ashamed, or guilty about being depressed about their pregnancy and childbirth when the normal response would be that of elation or happiness.

Early detection and treatment of postpartum depression is critical not only for the mother but for the infant as well. It can also help if the father or another caregiver can assist in meeting the needs of the baby while the mom is depressed vending machine still recovering from depression. The less exposure the infant has to the mother’s depression, the lower the risk of long-term problems in the child.

Research shows that infants of depressed mothers are at increased risk of behavioral problems, emotional difficulties, and delays in growth and language development. If the mother’s depression is not treated promptly, the baby vending machine be greatly affected. Women with postpartum depression may feel like they are bad or inefficient mothers and might become increasingly reluctant to seek professional help. It is crucial to remember that hope and treatment are available to them. With a combination of proper medication and therapy, a woman can overcome postpartum depression and regain the ability to love and care for her newborn child.”

I have been looking for any new info to give to you guys but there really just not anything worth posting. Everything seems to be the same recycled info we’ve all read a hundred times. I did find this article and it explores a concept that seems both obvious and sad at the same time. Of course depression is going to have a profound effect on a marriage. It’s hard to be around someone who is depressed, especially if you can’t understand why they are always so sad. I know that when I’m really down, I can’t even stand myself. I sleep to avoid having to deal with my constant crying or over dramatic overreactions. I don’t even want to think about what the people around me are thinking. That being said, what ever happened to “in sickness and health”; Key word there being sickness? I was under the impression that a marriage is a partnership and not one you bail on when things get rough. Would you want someone to leave you if you developed diabetes? That disease also requires major lifestyle changes and, often, daily medication. People need to take their promises a little more seriously. In my grandmothers time one didn’t think about divorce unless things were so bad that there was no other option. Try counseling, talk to a friend going through something similar, talk to your preacher, look up info on the web, but most importantly talk to each other. Relationships are work; there’s no such thing as a perfect life with no complications.

“Depression Can Have Major Impact On Marriage
By Bill Mitcham / Mooresville Tribune
Published: December 12, 2008

Nothing plays havoc with a marriage relationship like the depression of one spouse. It can be a gradual impact or it can be a sudden broadside of a marriage that was fun and fulfilling for both partners.

There are two kinds of depression. One is situational depression and the other is clinical depression.

Situational depression can surface over any loss or tragedy. It can be the loss of a job, the inability to get pregnant, the death of a parent or even the death of a pet. Chronic marriage problems that never seem to get better, like reoccurring conflict over the same issues, can lead to situational depression.

You can tell the difference between situational depression and clinical depression when you can detect the source or cause of the depression.

People can get clinically depressed when things are going well in their lives and thus there is no “reason” for the depression. Situational depression responds to exercise, rest, new experiences and conflict resolution, if it is a marital problem. However, many people do not know that situational depression, caused by chronic marital problems, can turn into clinical depression, a much more serious depression.

It is the same pattern I have seen in working with families who have a child with a disorder like autism or Down Syndrome. The depression starts out situational due to perpetual stress and hardship, as parents try to care for a child with special needs. After a while, the situational depression begins to affect the parent’s body chemistry. This is the major difference between clinical and situational depression. Another term used to describe clinical depression is “chemical depression,” since scientists have discovered an imbalance or malfunction in the brain of clinically depressed persons.

Our brains have a complex network of neurons (nerve cells) that send and receive messages. Each neuron sends chemical and electrical signals, allowing communication within and between neurons. The chemical messages are called neurotransmitters. When they function properly, they regulate all the brain activity, including our moods. When they dysfunction, our moods can depress or accelerate. We call the depressed moods major depression and accelerated moods manic episodes. A combination of both is called a bipolar disorder.

Individuals who get depressed (1 out of every 10 adults) have no control over this chemical malfunction. It is the same medical issue with a person who has diabetes. The body malfunctions. It has always puzzled me that society has a stigma for a depressed person but not for the person whose body does not regulate sugar properly.

The effect of depression on marriage can have devastating consequences. Untreated depression can cause a person to lose interest in life. Things they used to enjoy and take delight in are no longer desirable, including sexual intimacy. The other spouse tries desperately to help his/her depressed mate by encouraging them and suggesting that they snap out of it, think more positively, but all the suggestions are received as criticism and this makes the depression worse. Untreated depression can undermine a marriage and lead to divorce. Depression, on the other hand, is the most successfully treated mood disorder there is. Many marriages can be saved, if the depression is properly treated.”

A little something to make you start your day with a smile.

World Mental Health Day (October 10), is a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization with members and contacts in more than 150 countries.

Once again D has shown his true colors. We were having a decent night, a few beers, a movie, no real conversation but I tried. Then I got up to get us some snacks and a couple of beers. On the way back to the couch my foot snagged his cord for the laptop. Heaven forbid! I can’t count the number of times the dumbass dogs have done the same thing. Also for the record, I can’t count the number of times he has broken or destroyed something of mine. Just last night he broke a mirror that was a set of three that I searched long and hard to fill a spot on the wall by the front door. He wouldn’t even help me look for pieces in the hope that I could put it back together. I didn’t yell or through a fit because I knew it was an accident, I trip over his cord and it’s a major crisis. He told me what an idiot I was and various other insults, then takes the tobacco (I helped pay for) upstairs and shuts himself in his room. Every day I realize he is less of a man and more of a spoiled child. I ran to the corner and got cigarettes and when I got home he had brought the tobacco downstairs. Too little, too late. I can’t even begin to add up the damage he has done to my belongings and he wants to act like this over me tripping over a cord that did no harm? I am growing more and more tired of being the focus of his abuse because he is unhappy with his life. Grow up and get over it. Life is hard. Learn to appreciate the things you have before you lose them completely. All I know is that I once thought my love for him was unconditional but every day I find that he finds ways to disprove that.

I find this theory very interesting. I have a severe phobia of needles, which is odd given my profession as a nurse, but have managed to get three small tattoos that mean a lot to me. I also have nine piercings, seven in my ears (although I only wear one in each ear, remnants from my younger days), one in my tongue, and one, well only certain people know of that one. I have never felt anything but fear, pain and maybe a sense of pride for going through with it from a piercing or tattoo. I have never tried acupuncture and don’t know if I would have the nerve but I hear nothing but good things about it. If all it would take to relieve panic attacks was a properly placed piercing I believe we would have a lot of people lining up for this. I hope that further investigation reveals this to be the truth so more people can find the relief they so desperately need.

“Body piercing as therapy
Surprising side effects can be good or bad, some say

By Aimee Heckel
Tuesday, December 2, 2008

It could just be a coincidence. There’s no hard evidence. But the correlation has local acupuncturists and body piercers intrigued — and baffled.

Granted, it’s only been three months. But if you’re a victim of chronic anxiety — paralyzing panic attacks several times a week, usually for no reason — three months feels like a new life. Like coming up for breath after 29 years under water.

It was September, and I had an especially rough attack. In a daze, I ended up at K&K Piercing on University Hill in Boulder. I walked in and impulsively asked the workers to pierce my chest with a vertical bar in between my breasts along the middle of my body. This was out of character; I’m not a big fan of piercings, and I didn’t know anyone with one. Maybe I thought it would be a good distraction.

It did not hurt. In fact, it felt tingly. Odd.

Several weeks later, I was at my acupuncturist. I told him about my piecing. I asked him if the rod through my chest could affect the flow of my energy, or “chi” in Eastern medicine. If sticking tiny acupuncture needles into your body can transform you, what about a more permanent puncture?

He looked at where I was pierced and smiled.

“You pieced two exact acupuncture points,” he said. “The anxiety points.”

Acupuncturists place needles there to reduce panic attacks, insomnia and anxiety. The increased blood flow and changed direction of the energy there often eliminates panic attacks, he said. I had never talked to him about my struggles with anxiety.

Which is when I realized I have not had an attack since I got the piercing.

Still haven’t.

I didn’t even know what I was doing when I got the piercing. Could I have subconsciously “fixed” myself? I consulted the experts for an answer.

More than a pretty jewel

Jeanette Barrie says maybe.

Barrie, of Boulder, is an integrative wellness counselor with a background in Ayurveda, an alternative medicine with roots in India.

Piecing the ears and nose is an extension of traditional Indian acupuncture, Barrie says — “not just for beauty, but to trigger the vital energy points in the system.”

Ayurveda tells women to piece their left nostrils with a gold post. That is supposed to ease childbirth and menstrual pain by giving a warming, energetic balance to the cooling right (”lunar”) side of the brain, which rules the left side of the body.

Michelle Backus agrees; piercings affect your body beyond simple aesthetics.

Backus is the owner of the Ayurveda-based Alaya Yoga Spa in Louisville, and she does marma point massage. Marma points are similar to acupressure points, although they don’t directly overlap in location or size.

Initially, Backus says, “You get a euphoric rush when you get a tattoo or piercing at the physical level, and the mind and emotions are usually in a particular state before you get the work done, then afterward your mind and emotions have shifted.”

A tattoo on a marma point, such as the palm of the hand, or a piercing at a marma point, such as the “Nabhi Marma” (navel) serves a similar function as marma massage or acupuncture, Backus says.

But, she adds, the energy change is not long-term — positively or negatively. The energy of marmas will eventually redistribute around the piercing.

Unlike the deeper needling in Chinese acupuncture, Japanese acupuncture uses more superficial stimuli. And throughout history, people have tattooed their bodies on specific points to “re-regulate nerves,” according to Japanese acupuncturist Dann.

Europe’s oldest natural human mummy, found frozen in the Alps, sported 57 tattoo marks on his body on the acupuncture points for osteo-arthritis. An X-ray found he had arthritis, suggesting he had been tattooed for medical reasons.

“There’s enough history that shows certain types of piercings and tattoos have been used to enhance energy flows,” Dann says.

And in Africa, scarification — a sort of mix between tattoos and piercing — was believed to open up spiritual and physiological energies, Dann says. For example, scarification on the chest would open up the home of the spirit.

The ears are especially packed with acupuncture points.In fact, acupuncturists consider the ears a “microsystem,” with a point for everywhere on the body.

Note that ears look (sort of) like an upside-down fetus, with the lobe representing the head. Some representations of the Buddha depict him with massive earlobes, signifying wisdom. Throughout history, Buddhists have pierced the center of their earlobes to connect with their “third eye,” to enhance their inner vision, according to Jeffrey Dann, a Boulder-based acupuncturist and medical anthropologist.

This could have interesting implications for the growing number of Americans stretching their lobes with ear gauges. Based on these beliefs, could the plugs open or stretch the mind?

Others stories say lobe piercing came from pirates or sailors, who thought stimulating that area would improve eyesight and help them see land at far distances.

Then there is the tragus, the bump of cartilage in front of the ear canal — and the acupuncture point for metabolism. Local piercers report they regularly see people getting their tragus pieced to help with losing weight.

In fact, tragus piecing has turned into a business in and of itself: “ear stapling.” It’s been big in the South for years, and fans say it’s just now taking off in Colorado.

Annette Cutter, of Littleton, runs Ear Stapling of Colorado (www.earstaplingofcolorado.com), the only certified ear-stapling business in the state.

Cutter has been stapling ears for about a year. She uses an “acu-locator,” which reads energy levels, to locate the precise trigger point and inserts a surgical steel staple into each tragus. She says the $75 piercing sparks weight loss, appetite reduction, increased energy and better sleep 80 to 90 percent of the time. She says it also makes food taste different.

It worked for her, she claims. Cutter says she lost 20 pounds in 2½ months after her first staple.

Cutter is not an acupuncturist. And she says she doesn’t exactly understand why it works. But using acupuncture principles, she says, the changes that people feel are hard to deny.

The argument against

Unless, of course, you’re talking about the placebo effect. That’s how Tracy Akers explains the tragus-weight connection.

“If people think it will work, then it will,” says Akers, a piercer at Tribal Rites. “Sometimes it does simply because the person believes so.”

Josh Wood, also a piercer at Tribal Rites in Boulder, agrees. Wood has piercings, and he gets acupuncture.

“They are two completely separate things,” he says. “An acupuncture needle is more like a screw. They don’t jab it into you. They gently twist it into the skin, and it releases, well, whatever it does.”

He thinks piercings and tattoos are mainly aesthetic.

“We can pierce any part of the body, and when we hit the meridian points, nothing happens. You don’t get joy or excitement from the piercing,” Wood says.

He adds with a laugh, “I wish you got joy from tattoos.”

Take your belly-button ring out. That’s the first advice Amy Dickinson offers her patients with fertility problems. The navel intersects with what acupuncturists, like Dickinson, call the “conception vessel,” or the middle meridian up the body, which connects with the uterus.

“A belly ring impedes the flow of energy to the conception vessel, and could have an effect on fertility in some people,” she says.

Dickinson, of Boulder, is the vice president of the Acupuncture Association of Colorado. And she says she cannot imagine a positive reason to get a piercing.

“The entire body conducts electricity and has an innate wisdom about where the energy should flow,” she says.

In traditional Chinese acupuncture, most piercings are frowned upon, according to acupuncturist Dann. Piercings can interrupt the flow of energy, especially along the middle meridian, where the navel is located. A piecing in one of the energy lines can weaken an entire organ or system. Others believe that metal disturbs the energy flow.

This has created a conundrum for Kirsten Hamilton. The local woman has multiple piercings in her nose. She also has chronic sinus infections. Her acupuncturist says her metal is creating the problem. But she says she loves her rings, and does not want to take them out.

“Everyone’s energy is different and resonates with different types of metal, images and other types of jewelry,” Hamilton says. “Everyone is different. There are only good and bad places on a specific individual.”

Molly Plann, of Louisville, says she began having digestive problems after she pierced her nipples. She eventually removed the piercings because she got pregnant. Since then, her problems are gone, but she says she doesn’t know whether it was the pregnancy, the piercings or coincidence. Nipples are on the stomach meridian and can relate to digestion — although some acupuncturists say they would never needle a nipple.

So assuming there’s a connection, how can you know whether a piercing might help (such as Indian women and nostril piercings) or hurt (such as stories about fertility and the navel)?

“You can’t, really,” says acupuncturist Dann. “It could go either way: block or stimulate the point. You don’t know.”

Take a cleavage piercing, between the breasts. This is a “huge” acupuncture point, he says, “the master point of the upper body, for heart and lungs.”

He says he needles this point to help with anxiety, insomnia and panic attacks.

“If someone had a lot of those problems,” he says, “it’d sure be interesting to have it pierced and see what it does.”

Hmm. You don’t say?”