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Healing after a Miscarriage: Coping with Depression

Reviewed by Laura Angers, LPC · November 24, 2020 ·

Going through pregnancy only to have it end in miscarriage is something that will have a profound impact on your life. It’s incredibly sad to deal with a situation like this, and you were likely mentally prepared to bring your child into the world. Understandably, you will be dealing with depression, frustration, and many other complex emotions surrounding this issue. You might be very depressed right now because of what has occurred, but you can get through this difficult time with a little bit of help. It’s just necessary to learn how to cope with this depression.

Woman Standing in Front of Brown Wood Plank

Read on to get information about how you can cope with depression after a miscarriage. This isn’t going to take your depression away instantly, but it will help you start feeling better over time. There are many options when it comes to treating depression. If you aren’t sure how severe your depression is, then you can take a depression test to get some answers. After getting this information, it might become clearer that it’s time to talk to a doctor about proceeding. The tips below will involve medical treatments that can help and practical life advice that will put you in a better place mentally.

Talk To Your Doctor About Antidepressants

The first thing you need to do is take the time to talk to your doctor about everything you’re going through. If you can be honest about the depression you’re going through, your doctor will have various options to help you out. Most women who are coping with depression after miscarriage will wind up taking antidepressant medications. These medications make it so that you can start to feel better over time, and they do a good job of turning your mood around.

You’ll find that there are many different types of antidepressants on the market. Finding the right one that will work to help you in your situation might take some time. Also, antidepressants don’t always eliminate depression, but they will most likely make it more manageable for you. This is the practical choice to make when you’re trying to get back on track after your miscarriage. Your doctor understands how tough this time is for you, and they will be able to help you out with medications once you reach out to have a conversation.

Therapy

Therapy is another strong option that you should consider when you’re experiencing depression symptoms. Psychotherapy has been helping people with depression and anxiety for so many decades now. You can talk to a compassionate therapist about the things that you’re going through so that you can put them into perspective. Therapists are great at helping you work through your issues by listening to you and giving advice when they can. If you need someone to talk to about your feelings and what you’re going through, then therapy will be a positive in your life. You can turn the tide on depression when you have a therapist on your side.

It might take some time to work through depression issues with a therapist. Most patients will start to feel better over time, but some women will fall into deeper depression due to miscarriage than others. Therapy is great for those with any level of depression, though. Whether you’re having severe issues or just mildly depressed, turning to a therapist is highly recommended. You’ll learn about coping mechanisms while also coming to terms with your feelings on everything that happened to you.

You should know that therapy is now more convenient than ever, too. It’s always been possible to seek out therapy in your town by going to a therapist’s office, but now you don’t necessarily have to leave home to get help. Online therapy is a great way to get the help that you need at affordable prices. It’s easier for some women to find the time to attend online therapy sessions when they’re busy individuals. Either way, you should think about looking into therapy. Both options are great, and you may find a therapist that will help you out immensely.

Patient meet a doctor for a therapy

Turn To Your Support System

Turning to your support system when you’re feeling depressed can help you feel better. Everyone should have trusted loved ones that they can turn to when they’re struggling with various things. You might want to talk to your best friend about your problems so that you can vent. Perhaps getting some advice from your mother or another female role model in your life would help. Sometimes you can even talk to others who have gone through miscarriages of their own to try to put things into perspective.

The point is that you have people that you can turn to even during tumultuous times. You might have a supportive partner or spouse that will be there for you no matter what. Your friends, siblings, parents, and anyone else who loves you will be more than happy to be there during your time of need. Spending more time surrounded by the people that you love might be what you need to start healing. At the very least, reaching out on the tough days when your depression feels the worst is highly recommended.

Try to Get Some Exercise

Exercise is a good way to boost your mood, which will be more effective at helping your depression than you might think. You’ve probably heard people talk about exercise as a natural antidepressant in the past, and it can indeed make a difference in your life. Spending some time working out will help you get rid of nervous energy while also making you feel happier. It’s also a good way to work on fitness goals and get your physique to look how you want it. Improving your self-confidence and doing something that makes you feel good will help to battle depression symptoms.

Watch Your Diet

Diet does play a role in whether you will become more depressed or not. It can be tempting to eat lots of bad food when you’re depressed, but this often just makes you feel more depressed once you’re done. You regret the choices that you made and will even lament the damage done to your body. If you can turn things around and start eating healthy foods, that will make you feel better. You should try to eat a well-balanced diet that will get you the nutrients you need while also tasty.

Woman Slicing Gourd

If you need help maintaining a good diet, you could try to get your spouse or partner to do it with you. Cooking healthy meals together could wind up being fun in its way. If you focus more on your diet, that might help you feel better about your body, making you happier. This is just another way to do something positive for yourself to turn your depression around. It also fights depression by not allowing you to put yourself in a dangerous binge eating cycle and get depressed about it.

Beneficial Hobbies

Spending some time doing things that you enjoy can help you to turn depression around as well. Whether this will work out might depend on how severe your depression is. Some people who are depressed will lose interest in the things that they love doing, but you might be able to turn things around if you can start doing hobbies that you find to be engaging. For example, some people like to spend time gardening as a way to fight depression. You could do this or something else that is similar if you have the energy.

Even just doing nice things like reading a happy book, watching a funny movie, or playing a video game can be a good way to boost your mood. Hobbies are good because they are so varied, and it’s usually pretty easy to find one you’re into. What you do is less important than ensuring that you have fun doing it. You’ll feel more fulfilled if you focus on your hobbies, and your depression will become less prevalent in your life. Over time, you should be able to have an easier time focusing on hobbies.

In Closing

Depression is a serious problem, and coping with a miscarriage isn’t necessarily easy. The methods above can help you get to a better place to feel like yourself again. Remember that it all starts by acknowledging the depression and speaking to your doctor. You can do a better job of coping with depression once you’ve had that conversation with your physician. There are lots of things that you can do, but it’s up to you to figure out which methods to try.

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