TOYOURHEALTH
MARCISHATZMAN
Timelywake-upcallonpost-partumsetforJuly3
NicoleAlper-Ramoshasababy,andeventhoughthisisherfield,shedidn’tknowmuchaboutpost-partumdepression.
“It’spersonaltomeandinterestingonaprofes-sionallevel.Itdoesn’treallygetdiscussed,”saidAlper-Ramos,whowillpresentaone-hourseminarJuly3atFaulkCenterforCounsel-inginWestBoca.“Peopledon’twanttotalkaboutitbecauseit’ssupposedtobethiswonderfulpartofyourlife,anditis.Butifyou’resadandtearful,peoplethinkthere’ssomethingwrongwithyou.
“Morepeopleknowsomeonewhohasexperi-enceditthannot.Thisisverycommon.”
Credentialwise,Alper-
Ramosisamaster’sdegreecandidateatFloridaAtlan-ticUniversitycompletingaone-yearinternshipinmentalhealthcounselingatFaulk.HollyKatz,Faulk’sclinicalandtrain-ingdirector,overseesFirstWednesdays,afree,mentalhealthlectureseriesopentothepublicthefirstWednesdayofeachmonth.
Q:Whyareyoudoingatalkonpost-partum?
A:Alotofnewmothersareenteringthisexcitingandlife-changingpartoftheirlifewithoutalotofin-formationonthesignsandsymptomsandthelikeli-hoodtheycoulddeveloppost-partumdepression.
Q:Isitthatcommon?
A:Ihavea15-month-old
son,andIwasinthemid-
ALPER-RAMOS
dleofmymaster’swhenIbecamepregnant,soIwasstudyingandstudyingtobecomeamom.Icameacrossit.Ididhaveamildformofpost-partum,anditwassomethingIhadtoworkthrough.Whathelpedmewerefriendsandfamily,whosaid,“Oh,Iwentthroughthesamething.”
Q:Whendoesthisusu-allyhappen?
A:Itcomesonafteryou’vegivenbirthandcanlastuptoayear,butitusu-allywillcomeonwithinthefirstfourweeksofgivingbirth.
Q:Whatarethesymp-toms?
A:Sadness,lackofen-joyment,sleepandeatingdisturbances,ifyou’renotabletosleepevenwhenthebabyissleepingornotbe-ingabletoeatorovereat-ing.Youcanbelowenergy,fatigue.Thosearethingsyougenerallywillseeinde-pression,butit’shardtoteaseoutwhenyouhaveanewborn.You’realreadytired,butit’smoredifficultwithpost-partum.
Q:Mostofthesesymp-
tomsaretypicalfornewmothers,sohowcanyoutell?
A:Morealongthelinesofhowlongitlastsandtheseverity.AmIgettingupsetandcrying?AmIoverlysensitive?DoIhavefeelingsofworth-lessnessandguiltandex-periencinganxiety?
Q:Willyoutellwom-enwhattodoatyourtalk?
A:Absolutely.Andtherethingstheycandoaheadoftime.Youcan’tpreventit,butyoucanraiseyourawarenesstorealizewhat’shappeningtoyou.Withthedifferentoptionsyouhave,it’ssomethingitcanbeworkedthrough.
Q:Whataretheop-
tions?
A:Minewaspretty
mild,butsomeonewho
hasseveresymptomswill
wanttoseektreatment,
usuallywithapsychother-
apist,apsychologistora
psychiatristifyouneed
medicinetogetthrough
thatpointintime.I’lltalk
aboutthedifferenttypes
andfocusonlevelsand
treatmentsavailableand
waystoaccessthem.
Faulk Center for
Counseling,22455Boca
RioRoad,BocaRaton,
561-483-5300,faulkcen-
terforcounseling.org.The
center’sPuttingforChar-
ityfundraiseris5to8
p.m.Aug.14atJMLexus
inMargateaspartof
BocaFestivalDays.Ad-
missionis$20.