Author: Ashley Burris

First off, if you are having thoughts about harming yourself or anyone around you, then you need to stop reading now and call a medical professional and/or 9-1-1. Call your spouse. Call your pastor. Call a support line. No excuses, no second thoughts, no justifications. Do it NOW. Don't make the mistake of thinking that… Continue reading EPDS Question #10 : Self-harming thoughts

For anyone who has struggled with depression, you might know the all-pervasive feeling of melancholy. There is a weight to it, like the lead aprons radiologists will put on you before they X-ray your body. It's a heaviness that can keep your feet rooted to the floor or your body in bed. Some days, it… Continue reading EPDS Question #8 : Sadness

I would not consider myself a person who cries a lot. Only in times of great loss and sorrow will I shed tears. That's just how I have always been. Actually, my husband and I joke that he cries more than I do. So, a couple of months postpartum, when I was uncontrollably sobbing and… Continue reading EPDS Question #9 : Crying

As we continue applying scripture to each question on The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), I'd like to go a little out of order. This goes completely against my perfectionist tendencies (things must be done in order!), but due to its importance and having taken a bit of a hiatus for a few months, I'd… Continue reading SLEEP! Question #7 on the EPDS

As a follow-up to my last post on anxiety, I would like to share some practical tools that I used to fight through my fear and panic attacks. Though I understand that there are many other ways to manage or prevent the symptoms associated with a panic attack, I will cover the main three ways… Continue reading Tools to Fight Panic Attacks

Fear and panic can have drastic effects on a person and can have detrimental physical and emotional responses. The Bible contains many situations of people fearing, some in sinful ways (the Israelites in the wilderness), some in godly ways (Isaiah 6), some in understandable ways (persecution of the saints in 1 Peter). In every single… Continue reading Fear and Panic: EPDS Question #5

It is so easy to let worry and anxiety slip into our lives and take over our thoughts, especially as mothers.  In this post, I will touch on what the Bible says about being anxious and worried as we look at Question #4 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).  I will show that if we… Continue reading Anxiety and Worry: EPDS Question #4

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