For Miriam

When I saw that many of my fellow Warrior Moms would be writing today (as many as 500!!!) - on World Mental Health Day - in honor of Miriam Carey, I knew that I wanted to participate.  I have thought about Miriam a lot since the shooting happened.  I knew the moment that I read the headlines and heard the details that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.  My heart just ached for her, her baby girl, and her boyfriend.  It is another life lost to this terrible illness and another reality check that I am very blessed to still be alive.

I have been really struggling with the right words for this post.  I want there to be more awareness of postpartum mood disorders - especially postpartum psychosis.  I want women who are suffering in silence to receive the help they so desperately need.  I want Miriam's life to be remembered today in an honorable way.

I have been reading the many posts for Miriam today.  Each one resonates within me, but THIS utube video is amazing.  PPP and PPD are temporary and the illnesses are treatable.  It is hard to believe those words when you are in the darkness and despair of the illness.  There are just times when the demons you are battling are just so strong and it is very difficult to decipher what is real and what is the illness.  It is impossible to know what was going through Miriam's head at the time, but I believe that she was trying to keep her daughter safe and that she was terribly confused and frightened.  I have been there myself.  By the grace of God, my story has a happy ending.  I just wish Miriam's would have had one, too.

Women are still battling these illnesses.  Women like you and me.  They are trying to take care of their little ones.  They are trying to survive.  It is important to be a voice - to advocate - and to fight for those who are too sick to fight for themselves.

Please remember - if you or someone you know is suffering from a postpartum mood disorder - it is important for them to know that they are not alone, they are not crazy - they are sick with an illness, the illness is temporary, it is not their fault, and that they are a good mother. 

#ForMiriam - Christina and Landon - 3 year survivors of postpartum psychosis and postpartum depression