Author: Ashley Burris

This is the third post in a series addressing the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Survey (EPDS), a survey given to moms after the birth of her child.  The main goal of these screening questions are to get a temperature reading on the mother’s mental state, specifically looking for common symptoms in Postpartum Depression (PPD).  I will… Continue reading EPDS Question 3

My past two posts spoke on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), a survey that new moms may receive at their obstetrician’s office.  This is the exact survey that I received, but I understand that there are others out there that may have slightly different wording.  The goal is the same though: to gage where… Continue reading EPDS Question 2: Enjoyment in God

As a follow up to last week’s post, I will address the first question on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), my thought process as I sought to answer, and Scriptures I learned that addressed it. The first question asks the mother to check the box that is the closest to how she has felt… Continue reading EPDS Question 1

In my last post I tried to describe my first panic attack.  This post will explain more of the surrounding details and why I wasn’t able to see that it was a symptom of Postpartum Depression at the time. A week and a half before my panic attack, I had my regular six-week check up… Continue reading Scale out of balance

When I had my first panic attack at seven weeks postpartum, I didn't even realize it. I just thought I was getting sick. Here's what happened: I woke up in the middle of the night sweating profusely and feeling the urge to vomit. I rushed to the bathroom and subsequently began to dry-heave as I… Continue reading Panic! in the middle of the night

Exactly two years ago, I was seven-weeks postpartum after a C-section. It was then that I began to notice that something was a bit off. I had already gone to my six-week obstetrician (OB) checkup and things seemed to be fine.  According to my obstetrician/gynecologist office, I had a ‘better’ score on my postpartum depression… Continue reading A feeling of “something’s not right”

There have been seasons in my life where I felt adrift or lost at sea. Emotions have swelled and crashed and left me breathless. Yet, nothing compares to the utter terror I felt in the midst of Hurricane Postpartum. Maybe you know the gut-wrenching feeling of being blown about with out anything to grab on… Continue reading My steady Anchor

I came across a Cognitive Therapy exercise in a Postpartum workbook called The Pregnancy and Postpartum Anxiety Workbook by Pamela S. Wiegartz, PH.D. & Kevin L. Gyoerkoe, PSY.D . I would recommend reading through Chapter Five, Modifying Anxious Thoughts, for a more detailed explanation of how to complete this exercise. A friend, who has a… Continue reading A chart to re-order your thinking

There was just so much fear and anxiety.  I would be anxious about putting the children to bed: ”What if they suffocate in their sleep?  Or what if I don’t hear them cry because the sound machine is too loud?” And then I wouldn’t get sleep and I’d be anxious about not sleeping. This was… Continue reading Covering all my bases

I am not a doctor, counselor, or psychologist. I’m simply a Christian mother who walked through the valley of Postpartum depression (PPD) and desires to help any other mother with encouragement based on God's word. I found it very difficult to find biblical material directly written for women going through PPD and had to work… Continue reading First steps