Alanis Morissette shared a very honest essay about her struggle with postpartum depression after giving birth to her third child, son Winter Mercy, in August. The 45-year-old wrote openly about her journey “through the molasses” in a new post on her website.
“I wasn’t sure if I would have postpartum depression/anxiety this time around. or, as I like to call it: postpartum activity. Or, also: postpartum tar-drenched trenches. There are so many tentacles to this experience,” the “You Oughta Know” singer began. She talked about the different symptoms she’s experienced: “Hormonal. Sleep deprivation. Fogginess. Physical pain. Isolation. Anxiety.”
Alanis spoke about the difficulties of recovering from childbirth and adjusting her two older daughters — Onyx, 3, and Ever, 8 — to their new sibling while “attempting to crawl back to some semi-recognizable configuration.”
She admitted that she’s “great” at setting boundaries in some areas, but “blindspot-y” when it comes to some others.
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“All this said: I have been here before. I know there is another side,” she wrote. She previously experienced PPD after having both her older children. “And the other side is greater than my PPD-riddled-temporarily-adjusted-brain could have ever imagined: As a mom. As an artist. As a wife. As a friend. As a collaborator. As a leader. As a boss. As an activist.”
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“I saw how things got richer after I came through it the last two times. I have my eye on that prize again…even as I drag my a** through the molasses,” the “One Hand In My Pocket” singer wrote.
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“There is so much more support this time. I knew better so I set it up to win as much as I could beforehand. Support. Food. Friends. Sun. Bio-identical hormones and SSRIs at the ready,” she explained.
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Photo credit: Amy Harris/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
“But for all of this preparation—PPD is still a sneaky monkey with a machete—working its way through my psyche and body and days and thoughts and bloodwork levels,” she admitted. Alanis explained that she doesn’t want to miss a minute of this time with her kids.
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The Ottawa native called on people to “honor” postpartum families and the struggles they go through as they welcome a new family member.
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Photo credit: Amy Harris/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
She signed off, “I love you. I am here. With you. We’re not alone.”
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Photo credit: INSTARImages
Next month,
Jagged Little Pill, the musical based on Alanis’ iconic album of the same name, opens on Broadway.
“All this said: I have been here before. I know there is another side,” she wrote. She previously experienced PPD after having both her older children. “And the other side is greater than my PPD-riddled-temporarily-adjusted-brain could have ever imagined: As a mom. As an artist. As a wife. As a friend. As a collaborator. As a leader. As a boss. As an activist.”
“I saw how things got richer after I came through it the last two times. I have my eye on that prize again…even as I drag my a** through the molasses,” the “One Hand In My Pocket” singer wrote.
“There is so much more support this time. I knew better so I set it up to win as much as I could beforehand. Support. Food. Friends. Sun. Bio-identical hormones and SSRIs at the ready,” she explained.
“But for all of this preparation—PPD is still a sneaky monkey with a machete—working its way through my psyche and body and days and thoughts and bloodwork levels,” she admitted. Alanis explained that she doesn’t want to miss a minute of this time with her kids.
Photo credit: Amy Harris/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The Ottawa native called on people to “honor” postpartum families and the struggles they go through as they welcome a new family member.
She signed off, “I love you. I am here. With you. We’re not alone.”
Photo credit: Amy Harris/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Next month,
Jagged Little Pill, the musical based on Alanis’ iconic album of the same name, opens on Broadway.
Photo credit: INSTARImages
