Chrissy Teigen Opens Up About Postpartum Depression Struggle: I Couldn’t Get Upstairs
The bubbly Chrissy Teigen admits in the April issue of Glamour that she was hardly her chipper self after giving birth nearly a year ago. But after hitting rock bottom — which included being too weak to ascend a simple set of stairs — she's got a handle on what she's since discovered is postpartum depression.
Teigen, who welcomed daughter Luna in April 2016 with husband and John Legend, said she was ornery and in relentless physical pain in the aftermath of giving birth. She said she lashed out at friends and co-workers, could barely function and closed her house's shades to keep the world out.
"I would go two days without a bite of food, and you know how big of a deal food is for me," she said. "John would sleep on the couch with me, sometimes four nights in a row. I started keeping robes and comfy clothes in the pantry so I wouldn't have to go upstairs when John went to work. There was a lot of spontaneous crying."
Teigen says after many struggles and visits with doctors, she finally realized she was suffering from PPD, and has since been on the mend.
"I felt like everyone deserved an explanation, and I didn't know how else to say it other than the only way I know: just saying it," she explains. "It got easier and easier to say it aloud every time. I still don't really like to say, 'I have postpartum depression,' because the word depression scares a lot of people. I often just call it 'postpartum.' Maybe I should say it, though. Maybe it will lessen the stigma a bit."
Teigen says she recognizes she might sound like a "whiny, entitled girl" for chronicling her strife, and that she's privileged to have the means to consult specialists and appropriate treatment. Still, she said there's value in speaking up about her diagnosis and demonstrating that PPD "does not discriminate."
"Physically, I still don't have energy for a lot of things, but a lot of new moms deal with this," she said. "Just crawling around with Luna can be hard. My back pain has gotten better, but my hands and wrists still hurt. And it can still be tough for me to stomach food some days. But I'm dealing."
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