Subscribe to Get Updates
  • Login
Anxiety Gone: Your Digital Calm Corner and Mental Health Shop
Advertisement Banner
  • Home
  • Shop
  • Mental Health
    • All
    • Addiction
    • Depression
    • Generalized Anxiety
    • Health Anxiety
    • Kids Anxiety
    • Panic Disorder
    • PTSD
    • Seasonal Affective Disorder
    • Senior Mental Health
    • Sexual Abuse
    • Sleep Anxiety
    • Social Anxiety
    Syn Pharma supplements displayed on a clean surface, representing performance-enhancing products and wellness tools.

    How Companies like Syn Pharma Are Innovating Mental Health Treatment in 2025

    How the Benefits of Sleep Can Boost your Mental Health

    How the Benefits of Sleep Can Boost your Mental Health

    Person enjoying a quiet moment at home with a warm drink, symbolizing the calming power of daily routines and repetition, fidget rings and more.

    The Benefits Repetition Creates Calm in Every Stage of Life

    Woman resting with a journal, fidget ring, and self-care items nearby, practicing mental health strategies while managing chronic illness.

    Powerful Tips for Managing Mental Health with Chronic Illness

    The Not-So-Calming Link Between Anxiety and Substance Abuse

    The Not-So-Calming Link Between Anxiety and Substance Abuse

    Veteran using AI-powered mental health app in a calm setting, symbolizing the role of technology in military mental health recovery.

    How New AI Is Transforming Military Mental Health

    Person journaling with a calming drink and fidget ring, reflecting on mental clarity during their sobriety and mental health journey.

    Understanding The Powerful Link Between Sobriety and Mental Health

    Child holding a worry stone and fidget ring during a pediatric visit, showing how pediatric services help manage childhood anxiety through emotional support and grounding techniques.

    The Surprising Role Pediatricians Can Help With Treating Childhood Anxiety

    A person holding a worry stone while practicing grounding techniques for anxiety, symbolizing the connection between trauma and anxiety relief through self-care items and relaxation gifts like fidget rings,

    Can Trauma Cause Anxiety? Breaking Down the Complex Connection

  • Techniques
    • All
    • Breathing Exercises
    • Gratitude
    • Meditation
    • Mindfulness
    • Reflexology
    • Self-Talk Techniques
    • Sleep Tips
    • Tapping
    Woman practicing self care to increase serotonin naturally through meditation, sunlight, and holistic wellness practices for anxiety relief

    10 Surprising Ways to Increase Serotonin Levels for Anxiety Relief

    Woman practicing mindfulness with crystals and full spectrum CBD gummies for anxiety and stress relief, part of a self-care and wellness routine

    14 Powerful Ways to Manage Stress (That Actually Work)

    Illustration depicting various symptoms of low serotonin, including mood swings, fatigue, and sleep disturbances, alongside natural remedies like sunlight exposure, balanced diet, and mindfulness practices.

    Low Serotonin Symptoms You Might Be Ignoring (And What to Do)

    woman with self care items and crystals used to support happiness hormones like serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins naturally

    14 Daily Habits to Increase the Happiness Hormones That Make You Feel Good

    how nature helps mental health by offering benefits that are calming and grounding, similar to the effects of fidget rings

    How Nature Helps Mental Health: 15 Ways the Outdoors Heals Your Mind

    coping mechanisms for anxiety

    How to Deal with Anxiety: 13 Coping Methods That’ll Keep You Calm

    Person using a fidget ring and journal as part of a healthy sleep routine for anxiety relief, surrounded by calming self-care items and soft lighting.

    How to Develop a Healthy Sleep Routine to Combat Anxiety

    Woman practicing deep breathing exercises with a fidget ring, using mindfulness techniques to calm an anxiety attack.

    How To Calm Anxiety Attacks: Tips For Quick & Long-Term Relief

    a women trying out different types of grounding techniques for anxiety relief, like fidget rings, deep breathing and more.

    Types of Grounding Everyone With Anxiety Should Know

  • Tools
    • All
    • CBD
    • Essential Oils
    • Fidget Tools
    • Medications
    • Self Help Books
    • Sleep Aids
    • Supplements
    calming plants for anxiety and depression

    12 Most Calming Plants for Anxiety and Bringing Peace Into Your Space

    Woman holding a fidget ring and journal as part of her self-care routine for managing anxiety and mental health.

    Where To Turn If You Have No Help For Mental Health

    a collection of spinning anxiety rings

    The Ultimate Guide to Anxiety Rings for Women, Men & Kids: How They Work & Why You Need One

    the best herbs for anxiety can be found in herbal supplements

    12 Powerful Herbal Supplements for Anxiety That Actually Work

    Fidget rings with healing crystals for anxiety relief.

    10 Powerful Crystals for to Lift Your Mood During Seasonal Depression

    A selection of the best cannabis strains for anxiety relief, featuring calming buds, natural stress relief options, and relaxation-focused varieties for mental wellness.

    The Best Cannabis Strains for a Relaxing Start to 2025

    Smartphone displaying an app for anxiety disorder with guided meditations and stress relief tools.

    Powerful Mental Health Apps That Double As Your Digital Calm Guide

    A calming flat-lay featuring CBD oil, worry stones, fidget rings, and healing crystals for anxiety relief, promoting natural stress management and self-care tools.

    Cannabis for Stress: Your New BFF for Relaxation

    light therapy for seasonal affective disorder being experienced by a woman wearing a fidget ring standing in front of a phototherapy for seasonal depression

    No More Winter Blues with Phototherapy for Seasonal Depression

  • Treatments
    • All
    • Alternative Therapies
    • Apps
    • Online Therapy
    Person using a mental health app on their phone, symbolizing the support of AI-driven virtual therapists and digital wellness tools.

    Everything to Using AI Mental Health and Other Digital Tools

    Illustration symbolizing calm your mind with hypnotherapy for anxiety, featuring visual elements that reflect stress relief, improved mental health, and relaxation through holistic wellness practices.

    How Hypnotherapy for Anxiety and Stress Helps You Feel Better

    Person journaling and using a fidget ring while researching outpatient vs inpatient anxiety therapy options for mental health support.

    Outpatient vs Inpatient Anxiety Therapy: What’s The Difference?

    "A compassionate mental health provider consulting with a patient, offering expert care for anxiety, depression, and emotional well-being. Find the best mental health provider with the right credentials, therapy options, and holistic approaches like self-care items, crystals for anxiety, and relaxation gifts.

    How to Select the Best Mental Healthcare Provider for Your Needs

    A person getting mental health support for anxiety, using fidget rings, crystals for anxiety and other coping tools in addition to online therapy for anxiety.

    Mental Health Support for Anxiety and Depression: Types of Professionals and Their Roles

    Ayahuasca brew in a traditional Amazonian setting, used for anxiety relief, emotional healing, spiritual growth, mental wellness, and holistic therapy.

    Everything You Should Know About Ayahuasca For Anxiety

    A serene med spa environment featuring luxurious treatments, relaxing fidget rings, spinning rings, and thoughtful mental health gifts for revitalization and self-care.

    10 Ways a Med Spa Can Help You Revitalize Yourself

    Acupuncturist targeting pressure points for anxiety, including Yintang and Spirit Gate, to promote the use of calming self-care items like fidget rings and wellness tools in the background.

    Acupuncture for Anxiety: Best Pressure Points to Relieve Anxiety

    A compassionate family therapist in Rhode Island guiding a family through counseling in a warm, supportive setting.

    Tips for Choosing Family Therapy Services in Rhode Island

  • Parenting
  • Lifestyle
No Result
View All Result
Anxiety Gone
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Shop
  • Mental Health
  • Techniques
  • Tools
  • Treatments
  • Parenting
  • Lifestyle
Home Overcoming Anxiety Depression

My Depression, Anxiety and Postpartum Depression Eventually Saved My Life

postpartum depression, depression, pregnancy depression, suicide, coping with postpartum depression, how to overcome postpartum depression, tips for postpartum depression, natural cures for anxiety, anxiety attack, dealing with anxiety, overcoming anxiety, anxiety program, overcoming anxiety, coping with anxiety, help with anxiety, how to treat anxiety, anxiety subscription box, anxiety box, mental health subscription box, wellness subscription box, healthy subscription box, monthly subscription boxes, subscription box anxiety, subscription box for anxiety, subscription box for mental health, overcoming panic attacks, anxiety store, anxiety gone,
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Full Disclosure: Clicking on these links could mean a tiny commission for me, at no extra cost to you.

Postpartum depression is something rarely seen as a serious mental illness. There’s this misconception that postpartum depression is a temporary illness, and one that people will eventually get over. However, postpartum depression is an incredibly debilitating illness and one that can be extremely dangerous to you, your family and your baby if not address properly. More importantly, you can overcome postpartum depression and help is waiting for you. You just have to be willing to reach out.

This is Ana Wallace’s story about struggling with depression and anxiety, attempting suicide, overcoming postpartum depression and ultimately, finding a life that she never wants to let go of.

***

My Depression, Anxiety and Postpartum Depression Saved My Life

Hi, I’m Ana Wallace and my story doesn’t begin with postpartum. Rather, it’s the end of my story and the beginning of a new chapter. I went from wanting to escape this world for more than two decades to ultimately finding a life that I never want to give it. This is my story.

Where It All Began

When I look back and think of when I first really knew that I had depression and anxiety, I would have to say I was about 15 years old. I was in 8th grade and really began questioning why I was here in this place? What was my purpose on this earth? I was self-harming at the time and was just in a super dark place – a place I’m sure many of you reading this can relate to.

I did reach out for help but then I tried to end it all. This resulted in me being Baker-Acted (forced into a mental health hospital) where I felt even more forced to get help that I didn’t necessarily want at the time. Things got worse when I began using drugs and alcohol to mask my pain when I was about 19 years old, and the battle I was having with myself continued on a downward spiral for the next 9 years. I was on a constant roller coaster of depression and anxiety…

​

Traveling Abroad and By Myself Saved Me

It wasn’t until I was around 24-years-old that I really started to feel in control of my depression and anxiety. I had been married to my incredible and supportive husband for about 4 years, and I went to therapy regularly and found some awesome ways to cope with my mental illnesses. What’s even more shocking is that, I even began to take up incredible opportunities that I never thought I would be able to do, such as traveling abroad to teach English at a school in Spain.
After my time in Spain, I went and visited Paris and London where I truly had the time of my life.  In total, I lived abroad for month and half all by myself and I never felt so alive and in control of my feelings. I felt free and happy and just in awe of everything around me. I never felt so alive until that trip.
I went from not being able to live to not being able to stop living. Life was great!

​

My First Signs of Postpartum Depression

After my trip abroad, I came back home and not long after, I was blessed with the news that I was pregnant with our first child. I have always wanted to have children; and being a great mother was something that I always expected would come naturally to me; taking care of children has always been one of my biggest passions.
Needless to say, I was so happy to be able to become a mother but it didn’t take long for my excitement to turn into nervousness. The first month I didn’t feel any different; the second month came along and I had horrible morning all-day sickness. It was so bad that I  lost 16 pounds my first trimester… The opposite of what should be happening.
My pregnancy took a total on me emotionally, mentally, and physically. I was in constant pain and had absolutely no energy or motivation for anything. These were were some of the first signs of Postpartum Depression and Anxiety but I didn’t really pay attention to them. I wrote them off as being a first-time pregnant woman going through a rough pregnancy.

The Anxiety of Being a New Mom Was Unbearable

Eventually, it was time for our sweet little boy to come into the world! Although, not the way I had hoped but he made it here safe and sound via a C-section after three days of labour due to my Gestational Diabetes.
Our birth story was quite traumatic, but we got through it.
After I gave birth to my son, he spent some time in the nursery due to having trouble breathing. I didn’t get to see him until the next day which is an unbearable feeling – one that simply can’t be explained.
I felt like this might have been one of my postpartum depression triggers, as I was not able to really bound with my son during the first 24-hours of his life. However, the weeks go on and life with a newborn begins.
But something didn’t feel right. I felt on edge when he was asleep, constantly worrying  what if he stops breathing, what if this happens or what if that happens, what if, what if, what it? I began feeling like I was actually losing my mind.
My anxiety never felt so out of control. I was having panic attacks regularly which, as anyone who has ever had a panic attack, it quickly took away my enthusiasm about being a new mom. Instead of enjoying this major milestone in my life, I was in sheer panic because of it.

Then, Postpartum Depression Crept In

It didn’t take long for my panic attacks to trigger my depression. In fact, it began to eat away at me like it did when I was younger. So, I finally sat down with my husband with tears in my eyes, holding my son and saying “John, I can’t do this anymore…. Either I get help or I am going to die.”

My husband and I went back to my OB and he was able to officially diagnosed me with Severe Postpartum Depression and Anxiety. He prescribed me some medication ( I still take it every single day) that was okay and safe to take while breastfeeding, and he recommended that I seek additional health, such as speaking to a therapist.

​

Reaching Out Saved My Son From Growing Up Without a Mom

Today,  my son is 15 months old. Although I still have bad days, there are finally some good days, and each day, I am getting better. My son is my world and I could not imagine my life without him. All I want is to make him happy and the only way I can do that is make sure to take time for myself and take time to do some self-care, go to therapy, take my medicine and just take it one day at a time. It has been a hard journey of motherhood this past year but I can shout to the sky that “I MADE IT, I SURVIVED MY FIRST YEAR OF MOTHERHOOD”! I cannot be more proud of myself. I know my journey is not over, but I know that I am now equipped with the right coping methods and tools to survive and thrive as a mom.
***
Follow Ana’s journey through motherhood on social media. Don’t forget to check out her amazing art online too!
  • Ana’s Personal Instagram
  • Ana’s Art Instagram
  • Ana’s Website

Related

ShareTweet
Advertisement Banner
Previous Post

The Stress and Sleep Connection: Understanding How Stress Impacts Your Sleep

Next Post

Selecting the Best Quality CBD Products for Anxiety and Depression

Chantal McCulligh

Chantal McCulligh

Chantal is the heart and soul behind this mental health and wellness community. Her journey into the world of mental health is deeply personal, stemming from her own battles with anxiety and panic disorder. This personal connection fuels her passion for making mental health discussions more accessible, relatable, and free of stigma.

Next Post
CBD products for anxiety and depression, CBD products, highest quality CBD products, ways to use CBD, how to take CBD, CBD gummies, CBD edibles, CBD oil, cannabinoids, CBD tinture, CBD spray, CBD supplements, THe CBD Palace, natural anxiety relief, natural cures for anxiety, anxiety attack, dealing with anxiety, overcoming anxiety, anxiety program, overcoming anxiety, coping with anxiety, help with anxiety, how to treat anxiety, anxiety subscription box, anxiety box, mental health subscription box, wellness subscription box, healthy subscription box, monthly subscription boxes, subscription box anxiety, subscription box for anxiety, subscription box for mental health, overcoming panic attacks,

Selecting the Best Quality CBD Products for Anxiety and Depression









Mental Health, Right In Your Inbox

✨ Free Mental Health Tips Weekly

Sign up and receive calming tools, expert advice, and special offers to help support your mental wellness.














Most Helpful

increase dopamine levels

How to Boost Dopamine: 14 Ways to Increase Dopamine Naturally

7 years ago
Billy Bob Thornton's mental health, interview, weird facts, phobias, mental illness, child abuse, trauma, OCD, success stories, celebrities with mental illness

The Pain and Glory of Billy Bob Thornton: A Mental Health Journey Like No Other

5 months ago
calming plants for anxiety and depression

12 Most Calming Plants for Anxiety and Bringing Peace Into Your Space

5 days ago
A young woman holds the full moon in her hands against the backdrop of a red sunset, understanding the full moon effects and impacts the full moon has on humans

The Full Moon Effects on Your Mood, Emotions and Mental Health

6 years ago
personal boundaries, relationship boundaries, setting boundaries

7 Types of Boundaries to Have in Place For Your Mental Health

2 years ago
























































Top Recommended



















































Join The Club On Our Socials

♥ Your digital calm corner.
Rest; don’t quit.

Connect with people who actually get it & receive your daily dose of dopamine & serotonin at the same time.
























Follow us

Recent News

Syn Pharma supplements displayed on a clean surface, representing performance-enhancing products and wellness tools.

How Companies like Syn Pharma Are Innovating Mental Health Treatment in 2025

May 26, 2025
Close-up of a person gently spinning a fidget ring on their finger, illustrating a calming self care practice for anxiety and stress relief.

What Should You Do If Life Is More Stressful Than Usual?

May 27, 2025

Categories

Depositphotos
  • About
  • Donate
  • Join Newsletter
  • Mental Health Resources
  • Contact
  • Privacy & Policy

© 2025 Anxiety Gone

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Shop
  • Mental Health
  • Techniques
  • Tools
  • Treatments
  • Parenting
  • Lifestyle

© 2025 Anxiety Gone

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.