Photo: Stefanie Keenan/Getty
Mena Suvariis opening up about her postpartum experience.
Appearing onRachel Bilson’s “Broad Ideas” podcast, theAmerican Horror Storyalum, 43, opened up about how her mental health journey has been impacted since becoming a mom. Suvari and husband Michael Hope welcomedson Christopher Alexanderin April 2021.
“I struggle with postpartum every day,” said Suvari, later clarifying she meant postpartum depression. “I’m just getting my hormones tested next month, so yeah, it’s all very real. I deal with this every day, how do I navigate this space?”
Suvari recalled feeling like she had to “get out of the house” in the time after Christopher was born and feeling like it was an impossible task.
“I remember sitting on our balcony saying, ‘I have to get out of the house. I have to get out of the house.’ My husband, he said, ‘You can go. You can go for a walk,’ and I was like, ‘But I don’t think I [can],’ " she shared, explaining her postpartum doula had also encouraged her that she was fine to spend some time on her own.
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“I was going crazy I was like, ‘I have to do something for myself but I can’t go.’ I had to learn [to let go],” she continued, admitting she still struggles with it.
“I still struggle with that,” she said, “I don’t need to be in [my son’s] face 24-7 to raise a good being because of my fears. It’s a lot of work.”
Suvari went on to explain that having a birthing experience that deviated from what she had planned contributed to the intense feelings she experienced after welcoming her son.
Though Suvari was gearing up for a natural birth experience, Christopher was ultimately born in an unplanned cesarean section after “24 hours” of labor at home and “24 hours at the hospital, with an epidural they had to redo again,” which took the actress time to come to terms with.
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As for sharing this part of her life, theAmerican Beautyactress said she doesn’t “want to sugarcoat it anymore.”
“I do want to help others. I don’t think it suits anyone if I sit here and act like I’ve got it together in a way that I don’t, especially in this day and age,” she explained. “We’re all trying to survive. And we’re doing the best we can, and we have to help each other.”
“I’m trying not to [hide] too much,” the star said when discussing why she’s decided to speak publicly about these struggles. “If I can take away some of the sadness for someone, I want to do that. I’m willing to be that person because it breaks my heart to ever consider someone else going through a lot of what I’ve gone through, so it kinda makes sense to give in. That’s how I live my life.
source: people.com
