Alanis Morissette with her husband and son (PacificCoastNews.com)Alanis Morissette is the latest celebrity mom to reveal her struggle with postpartum depression.
When the 38-year-old singer welcomed son Ever in 2011, the new mom summed up her baby's arrival with one word: "amazing." And while she has embraced motherhood, gushing that she was "moved beyond words" about the new chapter in her life and "so in love with my nuclear family," at times it has been difficult.
In a new interview, Morissette said she couldn't shake a lingering bout of depression after Ever's birth. "I just thought it was a swampy chapter, if I soldiered it out, that it would go away," Morissette, who is married to rapper Mario "Souleye" Treadway, told ET Canada. "I came to realize that the longer I waited, the more intense it would become."
Morissette went into a little more detail with the British magazine You. "The degree and intensity of my postnatal depression shocked me," she said.. "I am predisposed to depression, but what surprised me this time was the physical pain. I hadn't realized the depths to which you can ache: limbs, back, torso, head, everything hurt — and it went on for 15 months. I felt as if I was covered in tar and everything took 50 times more effort than normal. I wished I could have cried but there was no relief during that time; my version of depression is almost below crying where there is just despondency. ... I had various therapies and now I feel all light and springy. Thankfully, it didn't interfere with the bond with my son, although I think that has strengthened since I got better in April."
By telling her story, Morissette hopes to "eradicate the shame around it," which many other celebrity moms — from Brooke Shields to Gwyneth Paltrow — have also helped to do by sharing their personal battles with postpartum depression. Morissette added: "It's just what happens sometimes and, for me, I just waited way too long to reach out for help."
The seven-time Grammy winner was inducted into Rockwalk in Hollywood this week (Getty Images)Morissette has also been vocal about attachment parenting and her plans to breastfeed until Ever "is finished." She elaborated on that topic with You, adding, "I intend to breastfeed for as long as Ever wants, whether that's two, three years, I don't care. Americans are freaked out about this. There may be some dirty looks as he gets older."
In addition to letting Ever decide when to stop breastfeeding, the Grammy winner, whose latest album is "Havoc and Bright Lights," said the boy sleeps in bed with her and Treadway. "We're definitely skin-on-skin connected as much as possible," she revealed on "The Billy Bush Show," noting that she and her husband carve out their own time to be alone. "He's a very robust virile man," Alanis laughed. "You gotta take care of your husband."
More Celebrity Features on Yahoo!:
- Debra Messing talks about her new life as a single mom
- Robert Pattinson: 'I buy everything off Craigslist'
- Sofia Vergara gets a Lucille Ball makeover
Want to see the hottest stars in music?! omg! is giving you an opportunity to attend the SOLD OUT iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas on Sept 21 and 22. Don't miss your chance to win — enter now!
LATEST BLOGS
