Acknowledging Postpartum Depression. Years Ago, There Was

Acknowledging Postpartum Depression Years ago, there was a limited understanding about postpartum depression and efficient treatments. Today, postpartum depression is better understood because of the willingness of others to recognize it as a legitimate condition. Based on Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† the treatments of her day were not adequate to improve the mental health of someone dealing with this diagnosis. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† the main character is given phosphates, tonics, and told to get air and exercise and journeys, and is absolutely forbidden to â€Å"work† until she is well again. (Kennedy, Gioia, and Revoyr 1035). Physicians recommended this method of treatment at the time. While these†¦show more content†¦(Beck and Driscoll 61). These factors give physicians the ability to diagnose the potential difficulties patients may have in the postpartum state. Equally significant, in the short story, is how the main character is treated by her husband, John, and her brother, who are both physicians. Due to the rudimentary understanding of the condition in her time, she is told that they concur with Mitchell and that the â€Å"rest cure† is what is best for her. The united front presented by the people she is close to leaves her feeling that no one close to her understands her condition which enhances the paranoia, loneliness, by increasing the sense that she must â€Å"escape.† Although women today still struggle with the symptoms of postpartum depression, they are not alone and condemned to feel there is no hope. â€Å"According to the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center on Women’s Mental Health, during the postpartum period, about 85 percent of women experience some type of â€Å"mood disturbance† or Postpartum Depression (PPD).† (Chesler 104). It is stated that â€Å"One out of ten fem ale brains will become depressed within the first year after giving birth.† (Brizendine 181). In this short story by Gilman, she draws from her personal experience and the frustration of feeling â€Å"stifled by marriage and motherhood† (Golden and Zangrando 185). Gilman’s experience with S. Weir Mitchell, a well-known neurologist ofShow MoreRelatedAbnormal Psychology - Mood Disorders4501 Words   |  19 Pagesas mood (affective) disorders in ICD 10. English psychiatrist Henry Maudsley proposed an overarching category of affective disorder. The term was then replaced by mood disorder, as the latter term refers to the underlying or longitudinal emotional state, whereas the former refers to the external expression observed by others. Definition Depression: A low, sad state marked by significant levels of sadness, lack of energy, low self-worth, guilt, or related symptoms. Mania: a state of or episodeRead MoreHesi Practice31088 Words   |  125 Pages23-month-old child is brought to the emergency department with suspected croup. Which assessment finding reflects increasing respiratory distress? A. Intercostal retractions. B. Bradycardia. C. Decreased level of consciousness. D. Flushed skin. 9. A 20-year-old mother of a premature newborn smoked cigarettes during her pregnancy. Her son is a client in a neonatal intensive care unit and has a diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Because the mother is Roman Catholic, which nursing interventionRead MoreOcd - Symptoms, Causes, Treatment131367 Words   |  526 Pagesfrom the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London, England. Dr. Clark has published numerous articles on cognitive theory and therapy of depression and obsessive–compulsive disorders (OCD), and is a Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. He is coauthor, with Aaron T. Beck, of Scientific Foundations of Cognit ive Theory and Therapy of Depression and coeditor, with Mark Reinecke, of Cognitive Therapy across the Lifespan: Evidence and Practice. Drs. Clark and Beck recently developed the