Were you diagnosed with PNI from the outset, or did you have other diagnoses?

[HopefulPNI]

[wanagetoverthis Administrator TRUSTEE PNI ORG UK Volunteer]

I didn't have a definitive diagnosis for a long time, this only made me feel much worse. Because of the intrusive thoughts I was getting, I really needed a Docor to tell me it was PNI so that I could stop blaming myself for the thoughts.

When I had CBT, he told me it was an Anxiety Disorder. Again, this didn't help as I was talking to you guys here at PNI ORG UK but I felt like a fraud, like I didn't belong because nobody had said the words 'Post Natal Depression'. It made my recovery that much harder.

When I eventually had it out with the Doctor, he eventually told me it was PNI. I blieve the reason they didn't say it sooner was because they thought I'd feel better if it wasn't PNI. This was very very wrong.

In my experience, many women need a clear reason as to why they are feeling this way - towards her child, otherwise it is very difficult to move on and believe in herself again. She needs to know that these feelings are directly related to her pregnancy, labour, hormonal changes etc and not 'her own thoughts'. For me, being given that clear diagnosis helped me to no end. Ifelt I belonged in that group of women suffering and wasn't just an evil monster on the outskirts looking in.

N xxx