During a candid segment with Paula Faris on Strahan and Sara, Sara Haines, a mother of two at the time, got real about her own struggles with postpartum depression (per Good Morning America).
"The dialogue around moms is always, 'this is a blessing,' which it is, and, 'you're so lucky: this is going to be the happiest day of your life,'" Haines explained about the stigma of postpartum depression. "When it doesn't show up that way, it can be disarming."
Haines also confessed to feeling afraid to admit how she was truly feeling. "It's hard to admit because it's the antithesis of what we've been raised to think what women are, which is, 'They've been doing it for a thousand years, it'll kick in, you'll have maternal instinct.' None of which I had. When that all happens, you're almost scared to ask for help," Haines said.
According to Haines, one of the key ways society can help mothers affected by postpartum depression is to remove the stigma associated with the illness. "The more we remove the taboo, I think it's better to expect that it's going to be tough and dark and scary, because if it turns out to be the most blissful part of your life, you didn't need a warning," Haines said.
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