How easy is it to get help for Post natal Depression (PND) ?
Answer not that easy for a male that has no health care card or private health care
but if you are a female with or without a health care card or Private health care the support is available.
The pain for someone that is asking for help and doesnt get the help is sad. Now that there is more support programs out there the issue is still there or the support is failing due to the lack of refferals. I have asked many of people in the medical area and yes the lack of support is shocking. so if you see someone that needs help then offer a hand in the right direction.
Now when this happen the only support that was out there was for mums and they had been saying goto a well known organisation and having that place reject him was like a kick in the guts so the moral is MEN do suffer as well but it is a quiet killer in men cause of the pride that is there within them.
This also brings me to the other issue to hand, mums dont always have to go to through it alone, sometimes the dads can go through the pains and symptoms of a pregnancy as well.
The dad that I have been chatting about to you so far has been through the whole process of the pregnancy with the morning sickness weight gain going to the toilet to pee many times soft bones cravings and smells that change and knowing when the baby is comming into the world and the pains that followed and had suffered PND with no help or rejection after rejection this dad wanted to be apart of this childs life but found it hard to grow. But now that dad is single due to other issues within the realtionship and having to try and cope with the issues that are still lacking within the support section, and I do hope that help can be found for this dad and others
Men and Family Support worker with an NGO here and I must say I am so pleased that there are some people willing to recognise this issue. I facillitate a mens only antenatal class and we look at this during my session. It is very real and very confronting for a male to deal with considering the level of understanding out there.
I would always recommend seeing a GP for any type of depression. If the GP blows you off then go see another one. Unfortunately not all GP's are created equal and the first one you see may not be as aware as he/she should be in regards to this issue. Also consider contacting your local community health network and try to speak to a mental health nurse. I work with a few and they are amazing at their job.
