Today’s show is a personal story of postpartum anxiety and depression that led to a voluntary psychiatric hospital evaluation. My guest will share how she got to that point, along with the signs and symptoms that went unnoticed for a long time. We will also hear about her journey to healing and how she’s helping other moms now. I believe that hearing the details in others’ experiences can help us recognize these signs in ourselves and our loved ones.
Celeste Chapko lives with her husband and three children in Northwest Indiana. She is the founder of Childbirth Melodies (soon to be the Northwest Indiana Center for Maternal Wellness), offering individual and group peer support and music therapy to moms dealing with postpartum depression and other perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Celeste is a survivor of severe postpartum depression and anxiety and is passionate about supporting moms on their journey to wellness. She is also a volunteer state coordinator, online peer support group leader, and Climb Out of the Darkness leader for Postpartum Support International.
Show Highlights:
- Celeste’s journey with postpartum anxiety and depression: she noticed rage and anxiety at seven months into her third pregnancy, but after the birth, she convinced herself that nothing was really wrong with her
- How intrusive thoughts convinced her that she needed help; her Ob prescribed Zoloft over the phone and Celeste began seeing a therapist
- How Celeste went through panic attacks and just “wasn’t functioning well with life”
- Why she called her husband one day to take her to the hospital’s psychiatric unit
- After five days in the psych unit, she left with four medications and a referral to see a psychiatrist
- The signs in Celeste’s first and second pregnancies that went unnoticed
- The guilt and shame that mother feel, which lead to increased anxiety
- Why Celeste refers to herself as “a recovering perfectionist”
- How Celeste’s anxiety and rage manifested themselves in her pregnancy with excessive worry and obsessive thoughts
- How Celeste knew she needed next-level care in the psych hospital
- The feelings of hopelessness with nowhere to turn
- The need for more perinatal psych units for moms
- How Celeste came into the work she does today on “the other side”
- How Celeste is more laid back, compassionate, and understanding to herself and others
- The potential for positive change with the right help and support
- How Celeste’s experience has changed how she is raising her children to know how to take care of themselves
- Celeste’s professional journey: music therapist, special education teacher, doula for music-assisted childbirth, and peer support group leader
- Celeste’s program, The SHARE Journey (Support, Hope, Assessment, Referral, and Education) and how it helps moms with peer support
- Celeste’s work with her Northwest Indiana Center for Maternal Wellness
- The difficult task of getting people connected to the resources they need
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