Counselling Articles

What is Postnatal Depression? How does this differ from the “Baby Blues”?

The arrival of a new baby is one of life’s happiest moments, yet it can also be associated with anxiety, exhaustion and stress.  Almost half of new mothers can go through a period of feeling very emotional and tearful after the arrival of a child (the ‘baby blues’) and an estimated one in ten can go on to develop more intense and long term symptoms, known as Postnatal depression (PND). These symptoms usually develop in the first four to six weeks after giving birth and can result in overwhelming feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness. 

Postnatal depression is caused by a variety of factors, including and not isolated to hormonal changes, a lack of support and previous mental health issues. It is also important to remember that although postnatal depression is more common in women, men can also be affected. The birth of a new baby can be stressful for both parents and some fathers may feel unable to cope, and may find it difficult to adjust to the big changes made by a new baby.

For both parents it is important to understand that having postnatal depression does not mean you do not love and care for your baby or that you are a ‘bad parent’. While it is very distressing, there are many treatments available and as long as postnatal depression is recognised and treated it can be a temporary condition that you can recover from. (more…)

The Concept of Facebook

Created in 2004, Facebook is a popular free social networking website where members can add “friends”, upload photos, leave comments on friend’s “walls”, send private emails, talk live on “chat” and subscribe to pages of interest. What is the psychological impact of this method of interaction? Is Facebook psychologically harmful or beneficial on the whole?

Disadvantages of Facebook

Facebook has some commonly discussed disadvantages.

• Evidence has been found of a significant relationship between Facebook addiction, low-self esteem, depression and lack of social skills. Some people have replaced human interaction with cyber interaction, which often fails to satisfy the need to belong.
• There  are reported cases of Facebook being used as a method for cyber bullying, which is generally targeted at young adolescents. This often leads to depression and in extreme circumstances, cases of suicide. Although a very serious issue, theses incidences are fairly uncommon and do not pose as a major threat to the majority of Facebook users.

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Whether you are a single parent, a stay at home parent, or if your partner is frequently away; it can be very hard to adapt to the life changing event of a new addition to the family. Perhaps you feel as if your friends have a lot more freedom and have started to leave you behind, or that you are missing out on all the fun when you used to be at the centre of it all.   You may think that feeling this way makes you a bad parent but be reassured in the fact that this is perfectly natural and you are not alone! There are plenty of ways you can try and beat the blues. Here are a few tips to get you started on your way:

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