Louise

Age at interview: 32

Louise was 32 years old at the time of the interview and lived with her 10-month-old baby and her partner. As a teenager, Louise suddenly started to experience panic attacks. With support from her family doctor, she has since taken medication to help manage symptoms and has taken leaves of absence from her work. During her last leave, she became pregnant and experienced intense anxiety and had one panic attack after the other. Even though she was hesitant to take medication, she did start taking a small dose to reduce her anxiety. She started to feel better after working with a psychologist for one year. Even though she experienced anxiety for 20 years, the level of anxiety she experienced during her pregnancy was new to her. At that time, she also experienced depression for the first time in her life. Nonetheless Louise describes her experience as having had a good pregnancy and she felt supported and surrounded by her family and loved ones. In the hospital, after an exhausting delivery experience ending in a C-section, Louise continued to experience anxiety attacks and was nervous to return home. Since coming home, she has started to feel better, and she is able to create a bit more distance from her panic attacks by focusing on something else. After 20 years of living with anxiety, she now feels she is able to manage the panic attacks. She understands that there is no one magic way to address the panic attacks, but rather one has to discover a more personal path to cope along the way. She has learned a lot through these experiences and realizes that her panic attacks will never really cease, but she can manage and get help when needed.

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More content

• Seeking and Finding Reliable Information – Louise
  Louise describes the different sources she used to find information about perinatal mental health.
• Seeking Help and Getting Diagnosis – Louise
  Louise was able to sign up for a program shortly after visiting her healthcare centre.
• Relationships – Louise
  Things are improving for Louise, but she still doesn't feel ready to engage in activities with her husband that they used to enjoy together.
• Managing Personal Challenges with Sleeping and Eating – Louise
  Getting help from her parents and husband made the nights with the baby much easier for Louise.
• Birth Experience and Mental Health – Louise
  Before the delivery, Louise worried about having panic attacks because of her fears related to the hospital, needles and other concerns.
• Before and During Pregnancy – Louise
  Louise's health took a turn for the worse when she barely ate and slept and spent most of her days in the car where she felt best.