The Unseen Battles of New Motherhood

Olivia Munn has been open about her struggles with postpartum depression. She found it more challenging than her cancer battle. She had her first child, a son named Malcolm, in 2021. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023. She was not able to breastfeed. She had to stop breastfeeding immediately. This caused her hormones to drop suddenly. This is when her postpartum depression hit her like a storm. She felt like she was falling into a deep hole with no end. She had never felt anything like it before. Not even her cancer diagnosis and treatment were as tough. She started feeling anxious just a month after Malcolm was born. She would wake up in the middle of the night, gasping for air. Her chest would feel tight all day long. It felt like she was living in a horror movie. Her body was constantly on edge. She felt physical pain from her depression. She had to hold onto her partner's arm to move around. It was like she had sprained her knee. She was functioning normally on the outside. But inside, she was deeply depressed. This feeling got worse when she couldn't lose the baby weight. She started comparing herself to other moms. They seemed to bounce back so easily. She felt like she was failing. She didn't have the energy to pretend to be happy. She was too far gone for medication to help her. She was in too deep. She believes her anxiety started because she couldn't breastfeed. She tried everything to make it work. But it just wasn't happening. She saw multiple lactation coaches. She took vitamins and drank lots of water. She tried heating pads. But she could barely fill one bottle a day. It was a constant struggle. She had a double mastectomy and a partial hysterectomy after her cancer diagnosis. She and her partner had their second child, a daughter named Mei, through a surrogate. She was born in September 2024. She was devastated that she couldn't carry her daughter. She loved being pregnant with her son. But her postpartum anxiety was brutal. She had to face many challenges as a new mom. She had to deal with her own expectations and the pressure to be perfect. She had to learn to be kind to herself. She had to accept that it's okay to ask for help. She had to remember that she is not alone. Many new moms go through similar struggles. It's important to talk about these issues. It's important to break the stigma around postpartum depression. It's important to support each other. It's important to remember that it's okay to not be okay all the time.