Giving birth changing chemical balance?

[racecar]

Hi,

I was discussing anger issues with my mother yesterday. My sister seems to lose control often enough to scare her. She is too scared to get help because she thinks they will judge her parenting harshly and want to take her kids away. Now, I have been around her and her kids and they seem happy and not damaged. I have no inside information as to how/how often she loses control. She did say that she noticed the change around the birth of her first child. She had her third child 5 months ago.

I am wondering if there could be a chemical imbalance initiated by the birth of a child.


Another factor to consider is that our mother was/is very imbalanced emotionally. My sister could be following some/all of the same patterns.

I have been unable to help my sisters think differently.

Thanks for any insight,
Valerie

[austintorn@aol.com]

The postpartum depression is not supposed to last forever, but perhaps it got grooved in somehow.

How's Vegas?

[Mikal]

Hi,

I was discussing anger issues with my mother yesterday. My sister seems to lose control often enough to scare her. She is too scared to get help because she thinks they will judge her parenting harshly and want to take her kids away. Now, I have been around her and her kids and they seem happy and not damaged. I have no inside information as to how/how often she loses control. She did say that she noticed the change around the birth of her first child. She had her third child 5 months ago.

I am wondering if there could be a chemical imbalance initiated by the birth of a child.


Another factor to consider is that our mother was/is very imbalanced emotionally. My sister could be following some/all of the same patterns.

I have been unable to help my sisters think differently.

Thanks for any insight,
Valerie

Hi Val....one of my friends who is also a coworker is going through this with her daughter who just had her 2nd child. They know she is postpartum depressed yet do not want her pharmacuetically drugged to complicate the matter so as a family have taken on the responsibility of monitoring her and taking care of infant as she goes through process to rebalance chemically. They felt involvement with only her personal doctor and their help would be a better means to insure both her and baby's wellbeing...


Mikal

[racecar]

I wish I knew how Vegas is....red tape and extended deadline(sba)...YUCK!

My mil says the temps down around 102. Ha, at least we can go apple picking before we go. I love fall.

I read an article in Science Daily that said there is no scientific evidence to back a chemical imbalance and no one really knows what causes depression. It seems for every yes there is a no.

I doubt she'll seek medication. She does have a healthy support system and on the plus side, she recognizes it.

[Mikal]

Hi Val....I, myself do not particularly believe in chemical imbalance. I know when I myself had a crisis, I was told I had a chemical imbalance without any blood test or any other test which would verify such a happening in the brain. I thought that very strange and realized it was about getting me on a pharmacuetical drug for depression. In my opinion, we just need to struggle with changes in our lives and the natural stress which comes just as a consequence of change. Life is complex and not always easy, smooth and rosy....



Mikal

[racecar]

I just watched the Brain Fitness Program on PBS and it had some interesting ideas about the neuro-plasticity of the brain.

Studies done showed that by changing our thinking we can change the outcome/chemistry as effectively as taking medication. Taking the meds seems you'd be limited in the fact that it's semi-permanent...stop taking meds and chemical imbalance returns. Change thinking patterns and have a better chance of permanent change.

If the brain is maleable... live life to the fullest...

1. we must be in the mood for change to occur...engaged
2. combination of connections in the brain...the good try...selectivity
3. fire together - wire together...the brain takes past experiences, saves the conditions and predicts the future. sensory input relates to other experiences already stored and constructs a sequence.
4. practice engagement... doesn't have to be dramatic...incremental
5. 2-way street...change negative or positive...the brain can be good at creating a bad habbit.
6. memory is crucial for learning...always evaluating the outcome...combining
7. motivation and drive...life can continue even after a devestating outcome (stroke)... re-learn by following original model (ie. child learning to walk)...the brain will re-organize and focus on new skill aquisition

we tend to reduce ourselves by seeking comfort instead of novelty...exercise your brain...focused mindfulness

sharing my thoughts with serious, professional scientists isn't always comfortable for me and I have noticed after a mental olympics being drained and rather tired, as if I'd walked ten miles. My brain adapts to the stress as my muscles do to the walking and remembers better for next time and it gets easier.