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So, What CAN I Do? 10 Strategies for Beating Depression Naturally… Here are 10 pregnancy- safe, posi ve steps you can take toward op mizing your mood and your wellness. 1. Get Real, about How You Feel The first step toward feeling be er, is to get real, about how you feel. If you're not happy, if you're feeling sad, or worse than this – feeling desperate – don't pretend otherwise. The consequences of ignoring depression in pregnancy are serious for you and baby. Admit how you're feeling to yourself, let your partner, a close rela ve, or BFF know. Tell your care provider and get the ball rolling on feeling be er. You're not alone, there is help, and you deserve wellness! 2. Get a Medical A-OK A number of medical condi ons, including thyroid problems, dia- betes, hypoglycemia, and anemia, can cause symptoms of depres- sion. Have your doctor or midwife run some simple blood tests to check for these and start appropriate treatment as necessary. Many women who experienced severe nausea and vomi ng in pregnancy also report depression – some mes just because they felt so awful and thought it would never end, other mes likely because underlying nutri onal issues led to or resulted from the vomi ng. Get with your midwife, doctor, or a func onal medicine physician who specializes in prenatal care to help you get your nutri on on track. 3. Seek Support, Stay Connected, and Pay for Help if Needed This is not a me to be shy asking your partner, other adult family members, your BFF, or other moms you know for support, par cularly if you already have young children and are experiencing depression. If you are single or if everyone else is too busy to help when you need it, hire some extra help – whether for ge ng shopping and chores done, or taking care of the house or older kids. This will give you me to take care of yourself – and it's so important! Find a therapist. Cogni ve Behavioral Therapy is one form of therapy that is especially helpful in developing coping skills for depression, and changing old, ineffec ve thinking pa erns into new and successful skills for coping with challenging emo ons, behaviors, and thoughts. Get educated and clear out the fears. Interes ngly, a recent study showed that fear of birth is associated with the later development of postpartum depression. While this associa on has not been studied in pregnancy, it does make sense that unresolved fears and worries can lead to prenatal depression. I once had a pa ent who was terrified that, because she'd had an abor on, as a young adult, some 15 years earlier, she would be "punished by God in this pregnancy," and that her baby would be born deformed. This fear was even playing out in her dreams, causing her to be fa gued on top of the worry! When I was able, to elicit the story and her fears, we were able to do some emo onal healing around the issue and she once again had peace of mind and peaceful sleep. 4. Optimize your Diet.. Gluten and dairy, while we might crave them like crazy during pregnancy, can cause mood problems in those who are sensi ve. A trial of gluten and dairy free for a month, even, might shed light on whether these are not op mal for you. If symptoms improve, stay clear of them; if you don't no ce a difference, it might not have been a long enough trial, or you might not be intolerant of these substances. If you do go dairy free, make sure to get calcium from other sources. Hypoglycemia is common during pregnancy, o en made worse by nausea in the first trimester. It is important to eat high quality foods, especially a protein source (nuts, nut bu ers, meat, fish, or poultry, hummus or something with beans or legumes, or a protein shake, for example) and good quality fats (avocado and nut bu ers, for example) every few hours, and never skip meals. You do not have to eat larger quan es, but keeping your blood sugar steady is especially important if you struggle with mood swings or depression. Abby's Magazine - Volume 5 Issue 5| Page 53