PND in a Global Pandemic

Except, at the moment, they can't. 

I had PND and PNA after my first child. It took me a while to admit it, but my GP, my employers and the support services were amazing and I got back on my feet, with the coping strategies I needed fairly quickly. I count myself lucky that I work for an organisation that is willing to help and has, over the past few years, gone above and beyond to support me and others at work.

Now though, a combination of limited available formal support, and the restrictions on extended family life as part of the COVID-19 regulations has made it harder to use the coping strategies that have been part of my daily life for the past 7.5 years. Depression and anxiety don't just go away. You learn to live with them, and not let them control you. But that relies on you being able to implement your own personal coping strategies.

For me, most of those coping strategies have been ripped away. The occasional coffees have disappeared completely, as we all struggle to juggle different work and family timetables alongside the Welsh weather. Social running became impossible due to the restrictions. 

Now, over half way through my Maternity leave, I have yet to meet another parent of a similarly aged child. I am slowly resigned to the fact that I will probably not get to meet any before I return to work. That there will be no network to contact for birthdays or playdates.

But, more than that, my family is, for the most part, too far away. I can't just pop over to the garden. I can't meet for a walk. Phone calls, WhatsApp and Zoom can only replace so much face to face interaction. 

You can't talk to people when you can only meet outside, where your conversations can be overheard by every passer-by. Or in public spaces, surrounded by people ear-wigging conversations.

The restrictions on how we meet up don't help. And living in a tourist town, currently jam packed with visitors, doesn't encourage you to go out with a baby.

I'm not interested in going to Casinos, or softplay centres. Not overly bothered by cinemas, pubs, cafes or restaurants. But I do wish I could sit in a couple more living rooms, so that I could actually talk to people.  The restrictions have been eased to allow for rebuilding a service-based, consumer driven economy, to the detriment of our family and social networks. And those networks are the ones we really need.