Chrissy Teigen hopes people won’t "tiptoe around" her after she opened up about suffering with postpartum depression.
The 31-year-old bravely penned an essay for the April issue of Glamour magazine in which she spoke candidly about the physical and emotional changes she faced after giving birth to her 10-month-old daughter Luna, whom she shares with her husband John Legend.
After sharing the moving article on her Twitter account on Monday (06.03.17), the ‘Sports Illustrated’ model took to the social media site again to urge people not to treat her any differently, as it would make her feel "uncomfortable".
She wrote: "Important note: please don’t feel like you have to tiptoe around me! It is the most uncomfortable feeling ahhhh only downside to sharing PPD
"All of a sudden everyone’s "how are you!" turns to "how arrrrrre you??????" know what I’m saying? No? Yes? Ah (sic)"
In the article, Chrissy explained she couldn’t "figure out why" she felt unhappy after the birth of her daughter.
She said: "I went back to work on ‘Lip Sync Battle’ in August, when Luna was four months. The show treated me incredibly well … But I was different than before. Getting out of bed to get to set on time was painful. My lower back throbbed; my shoulders – even my wrists – hurt. I didn’t have an appetite. I would go two days without a bite of food, and you know how big of a deal food is for me. One thing that really got me was just how short I was with people.
"I would be in my dressing room, sitting in a robe, getting hair and makeup done, and a crew member would knock on the door and ask, ‘Chrissy, do you know the lyrics to this song?’ And I would lose it … They would leave. My eyes would well up and I would burst into tears. My makeup artist would pat them dry and give me a few minutes.
"I couldn’t figure out why I was so unhappy. I blamed it on being tired and possibly growing out of the role, ‘Maybe I’m just not a goofy person anymore. Maybe I’m just supposed to be a mom.’"
And Chrissy admits it wasn’t until she saw her doctor that she began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
She continued: "Before the holidays I went to my GP for a physical. John sat next to me. I looked at my doctor, and my eyes welled up because I was so tired of being in pain … My doctor pulled out a book and started listing symptoms. And I was like, ‘Yep, yep, yep.’ I got my diagnosis: postpartum depression and anxiety …
"I remember being so exhausted but happy to know that we could finally get on the path of getting better. John had that same excitement. I started taking an antidepressant, which helped. And I started sharing the news with friends and family – I felt like everyone deserved an explanation, and I didn’t know how else to say it other than the only way I know: just saying it. It got easier and easier to say it aloud every time."
Chrissy Teigen hopes people won’t ‘tiptoe around’ her after postpartum depression essay
