Symptoms of Depression During Pregnancy

Aside from the Wedding day, Pregnancy's supposed to be one of the happiest times of a woman's life. But in reality, sometimes there is time of confusion, a place for fear, a feeling of sadness, a part of stress, a period of mood swings and even depression. After knowing the risk factors and possible triggers of depression during pregnancy, it is important to know the symptoms of this biological disease during pregnancy. Is it just light mood swings or depression?

There are a lot of signs and symptoms that you must be aware of especially when it takes longer than two weeks or more before settling which includes:

• Persistent sadness, feeling blue, sad or empty for most of the day that takes longer than mood swings does
• Difficulty concentrating (although pregnant's brain shrinks a little bit)
• Sleeping too little, trouble sleeping or sleeping too much even after the first trimester
• Loss of interest in activities that you usually enjoy and all you wanna do is lie down in bed or a sense that nothing is enjoyable or fun anymore
• thoughts of death, suicide, or hopelessness (pregnant tend to have weird dreams, and I mean WEIRD)
• Anxiety, extreme irritability, agitation and excessive crying
• Feelings of inappropriate guilt or feeling of worthlessness and hopelessness
• Change in eating habits, a desire to eat all the time or not eat at all
• Feeling extremely tired and always fatigue

Normally, healthy preggers experience fatigue and trouble sleeping but when they're combined with a sense of sadness, hopelessness or emptiness, it interfere with the ability to function and live like you used to. On my case, I think it's not extreme, maybe its just an ordinary everyday stress + pregnancy + mood swings = thought I had depression.

Then again, some may be confuse about depression and bipolar disorder. Remember, bipolar disorder is mood swings with cycles of depression or feeling low with periods of an abnormally high spirits like super energized, increased activity, little need to sleep or eat, racing thoughts, inappropriate social behavior, or poor judgment.

However, if you're experiencing panic attacks that includes frequent unnecessary concerns about your baby's health, a feeling that something bad might happen with heart pulsation, light-headed, sweaty palms and feet, breathlessness and or feeling that you might pass out or faint, you might be having anxiety.

And if you feel your unable to handle the situation anymore, you can't bear your responsibilities and/or having thoughts of harming yourself or the baby, it is important to seek help, call your OB, a close friend you could rely on or a family member. This will show that you're willing to accept help and take necessary actions to keep yourself and your little angel safe and healthy.

The key is "don't worry too much", women of all centuries get pregnant and turned out fine. Depression is one of the mood disorder that even non preggers experience in their lifetime at some point so it should not be a surprise if you're experiencing it now that you are pregnant. :) It can be treated and managed most especially during pregnancy but the first step which is the most relevant part of fighting this illness is to seek help and support.

Watch out for my next post as I tackle on how I avoid and lessen mood swing, anxiety and depression during this time of pregnancy. :)