A crises team came to Genna's house to assess the situation, and her family supported her when she was on a 24-hour watch.
Transcript
So normal things that infants do like she rolled her eyes in the back of her head and projectile vomited and normal things that babies do but there was the flash and the thought in my mind that she was possessed by the devil and so that’s when things started to become scary. So I told the psychiatrist this and they did have a crisis team come to the house and assess the situation. I was really fortunate that I did have family who could be with me and some women don’t have that. I think things could’ve turned ugly really quickly if I didn’t have that family support. So the psychiatrist recommended that I be on 24 hour watch.
Interviewer: Who was supposed to watch you?
My partner was here and his mother and brother were here at that point. So I was really fortunate to have family who could do that. One tip that I would give to other families going through this situation is that we went to my general practitioner and got her agreement to give my husband compassionate care unemployment benefits because the criteria for having that is that the person needs to be at serious risk of death. We made the case that suicide was a risk and that is a type of death and there shouldn’t be a stigma around mental health risks of death. So she was very on board with that and was able to approve my husband in having compassionate care unemployment.
More from: Genna
More content
- Medication and Treatment Approaches – Genna (clip 2)Medications paired with support from a psychologist who taught her how to reframe thoughts was the best source of help for Genna.
- Medication and Treatment Approaches – GennaGenna was reassured that meds were safe for her baby, allowing her better sleep and fewer symptoms.
- Seeking and Finding Reliable Information – GennaGenna suggests increasing education about mental health during perinatal classes to help reduce stigma.
- Gaps in Health Care System – GennaGenna used savings to pay for counselling supports.
- Communicating with Health Care Providers – GennaGenna feels her psychosis could have been identified sooner.
- Work, Finances and Mental Health – GennaGenna feels fortunate that her partner received compassionate care unemployment benefits to be home and support her.
- Support from Family and Friends – GennaA crises team came to Genna's house to assess the situation, and her family supported her when she was on a 24-hour watch.
- Managing Personal Challenges with Sleeping and Eating – GennaDuring her psychotic episode Genna developed a sort of algorithm to help her remember her daily tasks, as she often forgot to eat or sleep.
- Stigma and Feeling Judged – Genna (clip 2)All Genna could talk about was her depression and anxiety and she worried that her friends might judge her for it.
- Stigma and Feeling Judged – GennaGenna feels there is a kind of judgement that people struggling with mental health during and after pregnancy do not love their child.