I have 3 children 1-5 yrs of age. I'm married to a wonderful man, who cares for me deeply (works 3 jobs so we can have our house). I'm always anxious or sad, not crying just laying around, no motivation. I was never like this til our second child. I love sports, just can't seem to get into them. I stay at home alot with my children. My life has been so stressful lately, sometimes I just wanna hide in a HOLE!!! I don't have a clue, why I feel this way. I have no sex drive. has anyone had these types of problems ??

desperately seeking advice, going CRAZY!!!!!!

Checkout this checklist: http://www.zoloft.com/zoloft/zoloft....depr_checklist I know it is on a medication website but it is a fairly standard checklist for depression. If you feel that these emotions are a problem & are interfering in your life go see your doc. She can refer you to counselling/psychiatric services or treat you herself. Personally with 10 years of struggling with depression medication has been a lifesaver - especially since my depression is not caused by any discernable source.

Good luck - I wish you the best!

in the interim.....get up and MOVE....put the children in stroller (or if you can afford it, get one of those jog things with the 3 wheels)...cold weather? bundle them up and yourself. You will feel better and have less time to brood if you have to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. it WILL improve your mood, fresh air is good for all of you. You'll tone up, lose weight and feel better about yourself.... Be Thankful for what you do have.

3 little ones can be trying, but if you use a little inovation and get some alone time...maybe trading with another mom, asking for family babysitter so you can take a couple of hours to re-charge?

maybe you want to trade places with a single mother who works both inside and outside the home (and I waitressed on the weekends to make enough $$ to meet the mortgage payment) and has no support system or husband who works 3 jobs?

i'm not meaning to sound intentionally harsh, but the flip side may make you view your life more positively.

what do you mean, you wish you were on meds?

no one truly WANTS to be on them, we HAVE to be on them otherwise---things get bad. really bad, real quickly with most of those who are lifer's.

That IS depression. Everyone has different symptoms for different reasons & different treatments are in order. Some people require medication (I do) and some can get better without it. Please see your doctor. And keep up with us - let us know how you're doing.

Hi emsbrat!

You sound exactly like I did when my girls were little. My hubby is a truck driver and gone a lot and I was terrified to drive, so I was home all the time alone with my three girls. One thing that helped me was that I got a double stroller and we were able to walk everywhere. Thankfully at the time we lived in town and had sidewalks (after we moved north to really cold and gravel roads I fell deep into the "hole") When my oldest started kindergarten I had no excuses and since we were all dressed for the weather we would just keep walking after I dropped her off.
I was doing great when my girls were 8,5 and 3, then we moved to another community where I didn't know anyone, had gravel roads, a school bus and extremely cold weather. I suffered for quite a few years until I hit a breaking point and finally got to the doc. I got put on paxil and that has helped with the anxiety so I could go out of the house. I also have a "go-lit" to help with the SAD. I know I should tweak my meds a bit, but at least I'm living and not wanting to jump infront of a logging truck anymore.

Whoops, sorry for going on like that, I'm a tad long winded

So like the other ladies said, get in to see a doctor and get moving and I hope you feel better soon!
Take care,
K

Hey emsbrat,
what I immediately thought of when I read your post was "thyroid". You mentioned not being like this until your second child. A lot of women's thyroid problems surface during and after a pregnancy. Everything you are dealing with could be from a thyroid problem and I wanted to strongly encourage you to have complete and thorough blood work done if for no other reason that to at least rule out a physical problem that could be causing your symptoms.

When you ask your doc to check your thyroid, please have him run the following tests:

FREE T3
FREE T4
TSH
and the anti thyroid antibodies tests
(TPO – THYROID PEROXIDASE and THYROID ANTITHYROGLOBULIN)

You might like to check out the info in the "Depression Articles" thread here at http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...t=49146&page=3

Please let me know if I can help with any of the info.

take care,
Cathy

I just wanted to say I can relate. It feels awful. I know I actually felt guilty for feeling so bad, because I knew my life was good at the time. My worst was after my first child. I think at a point I realized that my life no longer belonged to just me, and it was completely overwhelming for me. I agree with the other posts, talk to your DR.

Total depression.
You really do need to talk to your dr. The medicine usually take about a month until you see a difference so dont waste any more time. Make a appointment!! You will be so glad you did

you're not depressed, you're just bored, you need to find motivation, find new interests and hobbies, plan your day in advance and something new every once in a while..

when someone feels anxious or sad all the time, has no motivation and no sex drive, and it seems to come on or get worse after a pregnancy .... there is usually a physical reason for the problem. It is not just boredom or lack of motivation.

I highly doubt that she is "just bored."

Emsbrat, the only person that can make a diagnosis is your doctor. You deserve to live life feeling good about yourself, so please give him/her a call and make an appt.

Hugs and kisses to you darling, your not alone.

.

Check out your local momsclub (www.momsclub.org) It could be SAHM syndrome which is depression specifically caused by the isolation and repetitiveness of being a SAHM. Simply joining and meeting new people and having activities MAY be enough, if not then you may indeed have clinical depression (no specific cause) and definitely need to see a doc. Or do both at the same time. Sometimes BOTH can occur. I have clinical depression AND had SAHM syndrome.

emsbrat, these are classic symptoms of depression. (For once in my life I am using my psych major. ) Whether it's caused by your life situation or by thyroid or other physical problems, the end result is it's sounding like your brain chemistry is out of whack.

Please do three things:
1. See your doctor.
2. Confide in someone outside your immediate family. This could be a relative or friend. This doesn't include online people or paid professionals! The purpose of this is to give you the beginnings of a real-life support system if you do not have one already.
3. Get outside every day. Even if it is five or ten minutes, it will help.

The first suggestion is geared toward getting you medical help to normalize your brain chemistry, if you and your doctor find it necessary. The last two suggestions are geared to getting you natural ways to help normalize your brain chemistry. There *is* a way out; you aren't stuck here. I hope you begin to feel better soon!

Happy new year everyone... just showing my mom how this board works