Television presenter Andrea McLean has been praised for opening up about her experience of postnatal depression on Loose Women.
The mum-of-two revealed on the show that she lived with it for two years before deciding to consult her doctor about it.
She explained: “I had postnatal depression for two years before I finally went to the doctors. It’s something I suffered from and hid.”
Andrea said that she continued to work but felt that she couldn’t talk to anyone about it: “You don’t want to burden anyone else, whether it’s family or friends, because they’re not necessarily going to understand.
“I felt ashamed… I’ve always been the strong one. For me this was seen as a sign of ‘why am I not coping? I had a baby before, what’s the difference?’”
Video via YouTube/Loose Women
She revealed that when she did try to confide in others, the reaction was that she was being “ungrateful” or “selfish.”
Thankfully, she found that antidepressant medication did help her and that she is now in a better place despite having the odd “dark moment.”
“It doesn’t work for everyone and I’m not on them now, but a month later you know when your fuse box goes at home and some of the switches go down, they went and came back up again,” she told the audience.
“Suddenly I could see colour in my life again and that’s the only way I could describe it.”
What her experience has taught her is that it’s important to look after the mind as much as the body and having adequate support makes all the difference.
Thank you for your amazing response to our @loosewomen #LWLightenTheLoad campaign. It was my turn to talk today and I’ve been overwhelmed! ?
— Andrea McLean (@andrea_mclean) April 25, 2016
Top image via YouTube/Loose Women
