Women Like Us: Poet Anne Sexton Suffered PPD

Did you know? ....  Apparently it is National Poetry Month, and because of this I have become aware that the Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet Anne Sexton suffered from postpartum depression.  Here is a bit of her biography from Poets.org:

"In 1953 she gave birth to a daughter. In 1954 she was diagnosed with postpartum depression, suffered her first mental breakdown, and was admitted to Westwood Lodge, a neuropsychiatric hospital she would repeatedly return to for help. In 1955, following the birth of her second daughter, Sexton suffered another breakdown and was hospitalized again; her children were sent to live with her husband's parents."

After that, Anne began writing poetry, as suggested by her doctor.  (photo credit: Rollie McKenna)

Comments

[Eleanor Irvington]

Thanks for the interesting article. It's a real tragedy that Ms. Sexton suffered from Post Partum Depression, but perhaps it was this suffering that her lovely poems sprang from. Anyway, I have a close friend who also suffered from ppd, and she was on prescription drugs, which didn't really help. My husband and I did a little research and found some sites, like this one, http://tinyurl.com/4jqstm, which help with natural ways to fight ppd. I think in lots of cases the natural remedies can be as effective as drugs. Anyway, thanks for the article.

-Eleanor

[Marissa Miller]

Anne Sexton also was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was hospitalized as a result of suicide attempts. She committed suicide in 1974. It's a shame that we didn't have the resources to help her back then like we do today.