Reese Witherspoon, the Oscar-winning actress known for her roles as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde and June Carter Cash in Walk the Line, has opened up about her battle with postpartum depression. The 50-year-old actress revealed that her mother warned her about the potential genetic nature of mental health issues, a concern that proved prescient given Witherspoon's own history with depression during her teenage years.
Motherhood and Mental Health Struggles
Witherspoon is the mother of three children: daughter Ava Phillipe and son Deacon Phillipe with her ex-husband Ryan Phillipe, and son Tennessee James Toth with her ex-husband Jim Toth, as reported by People. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar for their December-January issue, she described the early months after childbirth as a tumultuous period. “It was really bad,” she said. “In the first six months, I was simultaneously happy and depressed. I just cried all the time, I was up all night, I was exhausted.”
During an episode of Jameela Jamil’s podcast, the Little Fires Everywhere actress shared that she began therapy at the age of 16. “My brain is like a hamster on a wheel and it won't come off,” she explained, as reported by ABC News. “I've been managing it my entire life.”
Different Experiences with Each Child
Witherspoon noted that her postpartum depression varied with each child. “After each child I had a different experience,” she said. “One kid I had kind of a mild postpartum. One kid I had severe postpartum, where I had to take pretty heavy medication because I just wasn't thinking straight at all, and then I had one kid where I had no postpartum at all.” She admitted that she was unprepared for the hormonal fluctuations after giving birth, particularly when she stopped nursing after six months.
Gradually, as she opened up and sought help, Witherspoon realized she was “completely out of control” after the birth of her first child. “We don’t understand the kind of hormonal roller coaster that you go on when you stop nursing. No one explained that to me,” she said on the Earwolf podcast, as reported by People. “I was 23 years old when I had my first baby and nobody explained to me that when you wean a baby, your hormones go into the toilet. I felt more depressed than I’d ever felt in my whole life. It was scary.”
The Importance of De-stigmatizing Mental Health
Witherspoon emphasized the need to “de-stigmatize” mental health and take women’s experiences seriously. “I didn’t have the right kind of guidance or help, I just white-knuckled back,” she said. She added that she wasn’t able to be with her mother, who worked as a pediatric nurse for 35 years and had always been open about mental health. At the time, “there wasn’t the type of communication we have now.”
What is Postpartum Depression?
According to UNICEF, postpartum depression typically occurs two to eight weeks after giving birth but can happen up to a year after the baby is born. “One of the important things about postpartum depression is it's not just feeling sad,” Dr. Stuebe explains. Feelings of intense anxiety are also common. Symptoms to look out for include feeling overwhelmed, persistent crying, lack of bonding with your baby, and doubting your ability to care for yourself and your baby.
