Halle Bailey Opens Up About Her Struggle With Postpartum Depression

Thousands of women across the world struggle with postpartum depression every year. But despite its prevalence, it can be hard to open up about being sad, anxious or upset during what’s been branded to be such a joyful and happy time.

In the hope of helping other parents know they aren’t alone in their journey, Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey is opening up about her own struggles with postpartum depression. Bailey, who welcomed her son Halo with her partner DDG last year, shared on her Snapchat that she had been “triggered” by some comments she saw on social media about her family. While she was immensely in love with her “perfect” son Halo, she’d been struggling on her postpartum journey since becoming a new mom.

“I have severe, severe postpartum [depression], and I don’t know if any new moms can relate, but it’s to the point where it’s really bad, and it’s hard for me to be separated from my baby for more than 30 minutes at a time before I start to kind of freak out,” she said. "Halo is a miracle. He is perfect. He is beautiful. When I look at him, I cry because of how special he is.”

The Color Purple actress added that she had been having difficulty getting used to her postpartum body. “I feel like a completely different person. When I look in the mirror, I just feel like I’m in a whole new body. Like, I don’t know who I am.”

Bailey added that coming to terms with her postpartum depression and discussing it in public had been hard despite what she had already heard and discussed. “Before I had a child and I would hear people talk about postpartum, it would kind of just go in one ear and out the other. I didn’t realize how serious of a thing it actually was,” Bailey shared. “Now going through it, it almost feels like you’re swimming in this ocean that’s like the biggest waves you’ve ever felt and you’re trying not to drown. And you’re trying to come up for air.”

“It has nothing to do with my baby. It has everything to do with me and who I am right now,” Bailey continued. “I guess today I was just triggered — especially [since] social media is just not a good thing to be on when you have postpartum — but I was just really triggered today, especially by seeing some of the things that have been said about me and my family, and the one that I love and the ones that I love.”

Before signing off she added a word of caution to those who may be tempted to comment mean or even “well-meaning” things on her page or the pages of new parents in general. “Even though you may look up to certain people and you think that they are celebrities, and they appear it have it all together, you never know what somebody else is going through, especially someone who just had a baby literally,” Bailey said.

If you are struggling with postpartum depression, know you aren’t alone. Learn ways you can establish an emotional support group and learn more about recognizing the signs and symptoms of postpartum depression. You can also reach out to the Maternal Mental Health hotline at 1-833-943-5746, where you can talk or text with a trained counselor about things you may be struggling with.