Halle Bailey Opens Up About 'Severe' Postpartum Depression After Welcoming Son Halo: 'Trying Not to Drown'
The actress shares her son, whom she quietly welcomed last year, with boyfriend DDG
Halle Bailey is speaking out about her experience with postpartum depression.
The actress, who quietly welcomed her son last year, recently posted a video on her Snapchat that was shared to Instagram on Tuesday, April 16, opening up about her struggles with the condition. Bailey began by saying she was "triggered" by some comments she saw on social media about her family.
After first sharing how in love she is with her "perfect" son Halo, Bailey went on to talk about her postpartum journey since becoming a new mom.
"I have severe, severe postpartum [depression], and I don't know if any new moms can relate, but it's to the point where it's really bad, and it's hard for me to be separated from my baby for more than 30 minutes at a time before I start to kind of freak out."
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Related: Halle Bailey's Boyfriend DDG Adorably Gives Her Award for 'Best Mother' After Losing at NAACP Awards
Bailey went on to say that she knows her boyfriend DDG is the "most amazing daddy in the world" and has been supporting her since her struggles began.
"Halo is a miracle. He is perfect. He is beautiful. When I look at him, I cry because of how special he is. The only thing that's been hard for me is feeling normal in my own body," the Little Mermaid actress said.
"I feel like a completely different person. When I look in the mirror, I just feel like I'm in a whole new body. Like, I don't know who I am."
She explained it has been difficult dealing with her postpartum depression, especially since she feels there's a stigma against discussing depression in general.
"Before I had a child and I would hear people talk about postpartum, it would kind of just go in one ear and out the other. I didn't realize how serious of a thing it actually was," Bailey shared. "Now going through it, it almost feels like you're swimming in this ocean that's like the biggest waves you've ever felt and you're trying not to drown. And you're trying to come up for air."
Bailey continued, saying that she wanted to emphasize that her depression had "nothing" to do with her son.
"It has nothing to do with my baby. It has everything to do with me and who I am right now," Bailey said. "I guess today I was just triggered — especially [since] social media is just not a good thing to be on when you have postpartum — but I was just really triggered today, especially by seeing some of the things that have been said about me and my family, and the one that I love and the ones that I love."
She concluded by sharing a reminder that just because she's in the public eye doesn't mean that she's impenetrable to words that people write on the internet.
"Even though you may look up to certain people and you think that they are celebrities, and they appear it have it all together, you never know what somebody else is going through, especially someone who just had a baby literally," Bailey said.
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