Actress Mena Suvari reveals her ongoing battle with postnatal depression: 'I struggle every day'
By Naomi White|
Mena Suvari has shared a raw account of her battle with postnatal depression.
The American Beauty actress, who welcomed son Christopher Alexander ?in April last year with husband Michael Hope, said it was something she continued to struggle with every day.
Speaking with fellow actor Rachel Bilson on The OC alumni's? podcast Broad Ideas, Suvari, 43, revealed she was still processing a traumatic birth and working to keep her mental health in check.
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"I struggle with postpartum (depression) every day," she shared. "I'm just getting my hormones tested next month, so yeah, it's all very real. I deal with this every day, how do I navigate this space?"
Suvari said she felt overwhelmed by the adjustment to motherhood, and was unable to take any downtime for herself. Even things as simple as going for a walk on her own felt beyond her.
"I was going crazy I was like, 'I have to do something for myself but I can't go'. I had to learn [let others help]," she told Bilson.
"I still struggle with that. I don't need to be in [Christopher's] face 24/7 to raise a good being because of my fears. It's a lot of work."
Suvari also shared details of Christopher's birth, saying she had struggled to process how this played out, and how different it was to the birth she'd envisaged.
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Originally planning for a homebirth, after '24 hours' at home without progressing, she was admitted to hospital, where she underwent two epidurals and a further prolonged labour before undergoing a cesarean. ?
The actor said she'd found this difficult to reconcile and rejected the notion she should not be able to feel distressed after the birth, despite her and Christopher both being physically fine.
"We as mothers are entitled to those emotions and just because I have a beautiful baby who's perfectly healthy, my husband's wonderful and we made it out of the hospital, I still feel like I'm allowed to hold some space for being sad over not having that birth," Suvari said.
"I just want to make that area a little big bigger for people. Because it's not fair to just be like, 'But you're fine, right? But you didn't die? But your baby's okay?'."
Suvari also said she felt compelled to speak about her experience, given her platform, in the hopes it helped others going through similar experiences to feel less isolated, saying she hoped to 'take away some of the sadness' for them.
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She's not the only celebrity to speak out on the important issue. Last month Carey Mulligan also opened up about her struggles after having her daughter Evelyn, seven.
Speaking with People about her new movie She Said, Mulligan, who is also mum to Wilfred, five, said she related to her character's PPD struggles on a deep level.
"One of the parts of the script that of hit me initially the most was Megan's experience with postnatal depression. I had a very similar experience with my first child seven years ago, and felt very alone, and very scared, and also very confused by the whole experience," she revealed.
You are not alone, if you need support contact Gidget Foundation or call the PANDA helpline on 1300 726 306.
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