Gwyneth Paltrow is the latest celebrity mom to says she battled post-partum depression. Paltrow says she became very depressed after the birth of her second child Moses, now 2. Despite the attention post-partum depression has gotten in the media and from other famous moms like Brooke Shields, Gwyneth says she had no clue that was what was wrong with her until it was all over.
Gwyneth Paltrow reveals in the May issue of Vogue that she battled post-partum depression after welcoming her second child, son Moses, in 2006.
“I didn’t know I had it until after it was over,” the actress, 35, says. “I just didn’t know what was wrong with me.” She suspects her depression stemmed from scaling back on her usual pre-baby treatments like acupuncture.
“I felt really out of my body,” Paltrow says after giving birth. “I felt really disconnected. I felt really down … I felt pessimistic.”
[From Us Weekly]
At first I thought the acupuncture thing came off as kind of… “oh poor me, I have to cut back on my spa treatments.” But that’s not really the case, and it makes sense that not having any “me” time could make depression worse. Gwyneth’s always been really into alternative therapies (remember her talking about cupping on Oprah?) and often does cleanses and detoxes. It makes sense that someone who’s generally really in tune with her body could feel extra unsettled at the loss of it.
Here’s Gwyneth with Helena Christensen – wearing some crazy shoes – at the 5th Annual Can-Do Awards Dinner marking the 25th anniversary of Food Bank for New York City on April 7th 2008. Images thanks to PR Photos.
Those crazy shoes are by Givenchy. I’ve seen crazier though…
I’ve noticed that more and more women realize that they’ve suffered from post-partum depression and although there has been a lot of media attention, I’m not sure that the medical teams are ready to treat it.
This does not mean I am blaming them (it takes time and a lot of interaction, verbal mainly to become aware of it) at all!
Pregnancy and motherhood are mentally and physically very, very challenging. If women who are wealthy and have a nanny (or several nannies) suffer from such a condition, I cannot imagine how difficult it can be a for a mother who has to deal with her other children all by herself (with or without help from the father, the family), try to make sure the household keeps running well and get back in shape somehow.
Thumbs up for all the mothers!
Maybe that’s the reason post-partum depression exists at all…our collective lack of acupuncture! After all, extreme sleep deprivation, rapid and profound endocrinological variations, and the gravity of another’s life depending on your every decision probably has nothing to do with it. I’ll get my sewing kit!
My comment above was quite snarky. I’ve dealt with severe post-partum depression twice, and the pain was so severe that it is hard for me to believe acupuncture would have helped. In fairness, I never tried it, so I should have not commented on it. I got the same feeling when Tom Cruise went on his vitamin tirade, but acupuncture’s history is certainly not even comparable. Vitamins and acupuncture may both very well help, but I can tell you that temporarily being on medication saved my life, and I would therefore recommend anyone suffering to see their doctor. I hope I didn’t offend anyone, sorry for the knee-jerk comment!
I’m sure that’s not what she meant, Acupuncture is medicinal– just because you don’t take pills, doesn’t mean it’s not valid. Chinese medicine is about the body as a whole, emotional effects the physical and visa versa, or yin and yang. It’s all about balance, so her having those feeling isn’t her being vain and too self-involved, it’s her being able to tune into an imbalance in her body on another level.
I could care less about this bimbo actress except for the fact that her comments may help others.
Does she still have that bizarre British accent?
And what did she name her kids? “Apple” and “Moses” ?
She is weird !
Apple & Moses are some of the least wierd celeb babiies names out there…
On the surface it sounds incredibly self-indulgent, but I think it’s entirely understandable that being so far out of your usual routine could compound all of the other changes and manifestations of the problem.
I think GP is a self-involved twit generally, but I think this really is a case where she’s just not expressing herself in a way that most people can relate to, even though the issue she’s talking about is actually quite common.
I can also see how knowing what PPD is, and knowing what it feels like, would be two very different things.
does anyone besides me just wish Gwynnie would stop talking?
She can go back to pretending to be British now…
Now it’s post partum depression???! This girl has ALWAYS been depressed ever since she entered the media spotlight. Always moping and complaining and whining about SOMETHING! Give me a BREAK Gwyneth. Be happy for what you have! She’ll be depressed and complaining about something else soon.. believe it!
She is so stuck up I can’t muster any feeling for her and her woe.. read portions of Brookes PPD experience in her book All her life Brook Shield had been cater too said yes too basically people wiped her ass for her and having her baby really did a number on her head she tells this about being a new mom ” there was no script for it how was I suppose to do?”
Acupuncture works and it has a history going back thousands of years. Its more valid, IMO, than western medicine.
I agree Cindy. I don’t know how the hell it works, but out of desperation I tried it and the results I got were so great and so quick I use it regularly. I’m skeptical about things, but I gotta say acupuncture works for me. A lot of moms wouldn’t necessarily have time or money for it. Sessions last about an hour and cost almost $100, at least where I live.
I can not stand this woman. Tired of her pseudo-intellectual gibberish.
I give her props. Good for Gwyneth for keeping healthy and taking care of her body! Acupuncture’s a heck of a lot healthier and cheaper than meds when its all added up! Good Job Gwyneth!!
I was also very skeptical about acupuncture for my postpartum depression. It worked better than I could have ever imagined! I now feel even better than I’ve ever felt in my life. My body’s “balanced” and I get “tune-ups” once a month. I’d recommend it to anyone.