198. When Trauma Explodes Into Postpartum Depression
Dear Little Me
Dawn Chitty
4.8 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 13 November 2023
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this week's compelling episode, we are joined by Skadi Cooke, author of How I Learned To Love You After giving birth, Skadi remembers looking across at this new life, this newborn child in a crib, and in that pivotal moment, a daunting question emerged… .“How can you call yourself a mother if you cannot even love your child?” Despite Skadi wanting this child so much, there was no feeling of love, only complete emptiness and disconnect.
Suffering with Postpartum Depression (PPD), Complex Trauma and trying to raise a child, Skadi was searching for answers. And what became clear was the trauma experienced over many years growing up had finally hit full force. This wounding, though seemingly insignificant at the time, now cast long shadows and threatened to derail Skadi at a hugely vulnerable time.
Skadi's storytelling is pure, raw vulnerability. How I Learned to Love You is a highly recommended read, and a direct link to the book is available HERE Prepare to be drawn in by Skadi's genuinely relatable narrative of a healing journey like no other. One of resiliency, strength and ultimately, the rekindling of love... for self and for child.
Go to my latest blog post HOW TO BE AUTHENTIC - 5 HOT TIPS!
Please follow me at www.instagram.com/mybigloveproject If you have a story to share for this podcast send an email to bigloveproject@iinet.net.au I would LOVE! to connect with you.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | PPD is like a whole different kind of help. |
| 0:03.6 | It is this at least to me. |
| 0:06.4 | It's just this endless nothing. |
| 0:10.3 | Like I would have so much rather have preferred |
| 0:12.2 | to have felt depression, to have felt anxiety, |
| 0:15.4 | to have felt anything. |
| 0:17.1 | This was just numb as far as you can see, |
| 0:21.9 | as far as you can touch. |
| 0:24.4 | And the only way to get a handle on it |
| 0:28.6 | was kind of peel everything back. |
| 0:33.0 | And I learned very quickly that the reason my PPD was so miserable |
| 0:38.4 | is because of all the trauma that I had gone through. |
| 0:42.6 | So I couldn't really manage my PPD until I started looking |
| 0:48.5 | at the trauma. |
| 0:56.1 | Welcome to How My Parents Raised Me. |
| 0:58.2 | I'm Dawn Chitty. |
| 0:59.5 | When we are born, we arrive here as pure and perfect souls. |
| 1:04.6 | And the direction our life takes from that moment |
| 1:07.8 | is deeply connected to what our parents bring to our lives. |
| 1:12.3 | And what our parents bring to our lives |
| 1:14.6 | is deeply connected to what their parents brought to their lives. |
| 1:19.3 | And that's the cycle of families. |
... |
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