Even if you live in Florida, with its perpetual sunshine and endless beaches, the post-pregnancy period can be full of emotional ups and downs for new mothers. In addition to the joy a new baby brings, women can become overwhelmed, and this can lead to postpartum depression in the first year after the baby’s birth. In addition to depression, women can experience profound sadness that is frequently accompanied by anxiety and even dread.
Research has also demonstrated women can begin experiencing depression as early as the second trimester, referred to as perinatal depression. While the negative emotions are typically temporary for most women, these negative emotions can quickly evolve into a serious situation if the feelings hang on and go untreated. Many women report they experience feelings of extreme sadness or anger with no warning, mental confusion, feeling as if they are just going through the motions of life, and feeling like they are a failure as a mother.
In the most serious cases, women who experience depression and anxiety may become unable to perform even the everyday activities required to care for themselves and their new baby. While the conditions are poorly understood, some research suggests these feelings may be brought on by prolonged stress. Research has also discovered the best way to deal with perinatal and postpartum depression is to take a proactive approach by regularly engaging in relaxation-promoting activities before negative feelings have a chance to take hold or become more serious.
If you live in or are visiting northeast Florida, there are a number of options for stress therapy in Jacksonville. If you live outside the area, you can locate treatment options and facilities by performing an online search for “ways to relieve stress near me.” To help get you started, here is a list of several ways you can support your mental health as a new mother:
Commonly called “deprivation tank” therapy, float therapy involves floating in a tank filled with a high-salinity solution of body-temperature warm water and Epsom salt. This provides enough buoyancy to allow you to float effortlessly on the surface of the water. Tanks can be completely enclosed to block out all external stimuli or can be an open tanks in a light and sound-proof room. As you float with your body effortlessly suspended in dark, peaceful silence, the mind is relieved of all obligations to process all stimuli to produce the ultimate state of stress-relieving bliss. Research has shown sensory deprivation therapy helps to reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and lower heart rate. The typical float-therapy session lasts for about an hour, although longer sessions can provide greater relief and are one of the most effective ways to relieve stress.
Sound Healing
Sound healing is performed by directing precisely tuned, soothing sound frequencies to specific parts of the body to balance mind and body. Sound healing works by creating a meditative state by triggering the same theta brainwaves produced during the deep regenerative part of the sleep cycle. This helps induce a therapeutic status that promotes deep rest so the nervous system can rebalance itself to release tension, stress, and anxiety more easily. Sound therapy also encourages healthful deep breathing and is often used in conjunction with guided visualization exercises and meditative prompts.
MLS Laser Therapy
The Multiwave Locked System, commonly referred to as MLS, is a patented and trademarked medical dual-range laser that uses a synchronized pulsed and a continuous-emission laser. MLS laser therapy was developed to address the limitations of earlier laser treatments that did not produce adequate results in pain relief and healing. The balanced dual-wave system produces a synergistic effect that has shown to be effective at reducing pain and inflammation and helping to speed up the healing process. This treatment can be beneficial for women who underwent strenuous labor or cesarean section to reduce pain that can lead to stress as well as shorten recovery time and improve sleep.
Traditional saunas are a fairly popular, if somewhat ineffective, method of soothing sore muscles and detoxing the body through purging impurities through sweating. The problem lies in many people needing help tolerating the high heat from traditional saunas. However, the full-spectrum infrared sauna produces a gentle, effective, deep-penetrating therapeutic warmth that can help reduce post-delivery pain and stress and improve sleep without the insufferable high temperatures. An infrared sauna helps treat a variety of conditions by promoting immune system response by increasing circulation that carries more oxygen and antibodies to the affected areas. The term “full spectrum” refers to the various levels of infrared wavelengths. Whereas single wavelengths are able to affect only the surface, mid-, or deep-level tissues independently, producing a full spectrum allows it to reach all three.
Massage Therapy
Tissue and joint massage has been used to treat a variety of health conditions, as well as to just enhance overall wellness, in both Eastern and Western medicine throughout history. Massage has been clinically proven to help reduce and even alleviate pain throughout the body caused by injury and illness. Massage therapy is also one of the best ways to relieve stress by inducing a more relaxed state by increasing the body’s natural opiates, namely the hormones serotonin and dopamine. Additionally, the results of over 30 studies on the benefits of massage therapy for premature infants showed marked improvement in weight gain for most underweight newborns. However, no benefits were found for full-term infants of average weight.
Given the physical stress placed on the pelvic region during delivery, it is not surprising that many women experience incontinence after childbirth. It is also not surprising that this can result in psychological stress for women. While all forms of incontinence result in the loss of urinary control, “stress” incontinence is the most common type affecting women after childbirth. This occurs during some type of physical exertion or stress, such as exercise or even coughing, sneezing, or laughing, and affects roughly 30 percent of new mothers. While incontinence may be temporary and correct itself as the body recovers, the strain of delivery can result in long-term issues. It is also important to note that the sooner incontinence is addressed, the less likely it is to become a life-long problem. A revolutionary treatment known as Emsella is highly effective at treating all forms of incontinence by sending a harmless electromagnetic current throughout the pelvic region. The current induces contractions of all the pelvic-floor muscles, simulating performing hundreds of Kegel exercises in each 20-minute session.
It is critical for new mothers to take care of both their physical and mental health, both for themselves and their baby. While the causes are not always easy to identify, the treatment of stress and anxiety are not necessarily dependent on knowing the origins, and the methods explained here will all help support your mental health as a new mother. Be Still Float wellness studio offers stress therapy in Jacksonville, Florida, that includes float therapy, Emsella, massage therapy, as well as infrared sauna, MLS therapy, and sound healing in Jacksonville. Visit them online at BeStillFloat.com or call 904-593-2316 to schedule a consultation or appointment.
