"Heartless invader" is how entertainer Marie Osmond describes postpartum depression (PPD) in her candid autobiography, Behind The Smile: My Journey Out of Postpartum Depression.
Born in a household with eight siblings, Marie Osmond, probably the most famous Mormon in the USA, found herself in the middle of a dramatic and chaotic episode of PPD that made headlines all over the country. The publicity surrounding Ms. Osmond's drive along the Pacific Coast Highway in an attempt to escape from her very life and just to be alone during her very own private crisis, was eerily similar to Margot Kidder's and Anne Heche's much publicized psychotic episodes, and to Mariah Carey's emotional breakdown.
Public figures who face episodes of mental illness not only have to deal with the perils of their illnesses, they are usually forced to explain to the public what they are going through, and they are forced to cope with the illness under the public eye.
In Marie Osmond's case, she chose to go public with her predicament, doing an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show and writing the book that we feature in this review, with the sole purpose of helping thousands of women affected by PPD every year.
In Behind the Smile, we learn that an estimated 80% of women who give birth experience some degree of "baby blues." This is characterized by feelings of sadness, becoming overwhelmed, mood swings and bouts of crying among other milder physical and emotional symptoms. Ten to 15% of women, however, experience more serious and severe symptoms.
Utah doctor, Judith Moore, who is Marie Osmond's physician says, "PPD usually includes all the symptoms of the baby blues, but they are more intense and debilitating, … frequently unrelenting, and do not go away after a few weeks. These symptoms may start as baby blues and continue to intensify, or they may not start for a month or more after the baby's birth. More often the symptoms are centered on a feeling of 'I can't do this' or 'I am a terrible mother' or 'They would be better off without me.' Commonly, there are feelings of inadequacy, guilt, hopelessness, tearfulness, fatigue, and irritability... The symptoms may also include suicidal thoughts..."
Dr. Moore states: "In approximately one out of 1,000 births, a mother experiences postpartum psychosis." This disorder is characterized by confusion, fatigue, agitation, delusions, hearing voices or having hallucinations, hyperactivity, not feeling the need to sleep, and rapid speech.
Adoptive mothers can also be affected by PPD.
Due to her knowledge of the crippling symptoms of PPD, Marie Osmond was one of the celebrities who spoke with compassion about Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who drowned her children while experiencing a severe case of postpartum psychosis. Ms. Osmond says that PPD made her "understand for the first time why a person would want to take her own life."
PPD may be caused by severe fluctuations of post-natal hormones. Like many mental illnesses, it may begin with a hormonal and chemical imbalance in the woman's body.These physical causes are severely complicated by the woman's emotional dysfunctions and traumatic experiences as in a past history of emotional or sexual abuse.
In the book, Marie Osmond reveals that she suffered sexual abuse in her childhood. She chose to reveal this fact because it was a contributing factor to her PPD. And in the hundreds of letters she received from women after going public with her illness, she found that emotional and sexual abuse were common factors.
There are medications and treatments for PPD, but Ms. Osmond explains that a person with PPD also needs to work on her beliefs and thought-patterns and acknowledge inner feelings and emotions to affect permanent change. She felt threatened by her own thoughts. Ms. Osmond wrote:"My journey through PPD allowed me to perceive the emotion that had dominated much of my life: fear."
Behind the Smile, she says, does not pretend to have all the answers to PPD, but she hopes to send a message that "life is about the journey and how we react to each of our experiences."
This line of thought is common in the belief systems of many new age motivational speakers like Louise Hay, Deepak Chopra and Marianne Williamson, among others.
Ms. Osmond is convinced that the "past"-your past-will play a major role in your present. "Every thought," she writes, "habit, belief and choice is the result of everything that has gone before."
How you face life's challenges, whether it is a situation out of control or mental illness, is determined by the accumulation of things from your past.
This alternative way of perceiving her illness motivated Ms. Osmond to seek help through both traditional medical procedures and alternative medicine, something that Dr. Moore was able to provide.
Dr. Moore is an osteopathic, board-certified family practice physician trained in everything an MD is, plus alternative treatments. She practices the homeopathic philosophy of medicine. Dr. Moore explains: "Homeopathic physicians look far beyond the disease process to the root cause, which may be physical, emotional or even spiritual. They consider disease processes at a different level than a traditional MD."
Though Dr. Moore often found depression to be triggered by physical problems such as hormonal imbalances, she declares that depression is usually a sign that serious emotional issues are also present.
Besides exposing Marie Osmond's personal journey with PPD, Behind the Smile concludes with a section written by Dr. Moore that includes a comprehensive questionnaire to determine if you have PPD. The concluding section also has a list of risk factors for PPD, tests and treatments to ask your doctor about if you think you have PPD, a recommended diet, and natural nutrients, herbs and homeopathic remedies.
The book ends with an appendix that includes a list of resources ranging from suicide hotlines, PPD resources, natural hormone and herbal resources, mental health resources, and massage therapists, etc.
If you think that you or someone you know may have PPD, Behind the Smile by Marie Osmond is a good way to start finding answers to your questions.