Halle Bailey is so deep in ‘severe’ post-partum depression that she feels like she is drowning
HALLE Bailey is so deep in the grip of “severe post-partum depression” that she feels like she’s drowning and suffers dissociation from her body.
The Little Mermaid actress, 24, had her first child, a son named Halo, with her rapper and vlogger husband DDG, 26, in January and has now told fans she has been suffering a serious case of what some casually dub “baby blues” – but which can be hormonal changes so serious they can spark anxiety, constant crying and restlessness that require urgent medical intervention.
In a video posted on her Snapchat, Bailey said that even though she is with her “perfect” baby boy, she is stricken with a “really bad” case of the condition.
She added: “I have severe, severe post-partum (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.”
Bailey added that her partner DDG – whose real name is Darryl Dwayne Granberry jr – is the “most amazing daddy in the world” and has been supporting her through her struggle.
She went on: “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.
“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.”
Bailey added that she feels there is still a stigma surrounding depression in general.
“Before I had a child and I would hear people talk about post-partum, it would kind of just go in one ear and out the other.
“I didn’t realise how serious it actually was. Now going through it, it almost feels like you’re swimming in this ocean that’s got the biggest waves you’ve ever felt and you’re trying not to drown.
“And you’re trying to come up for air.”
Bailey stressed her depression had “nothing to do” with Halo.
She said she had been “triggered” the day she made her video by seeing comments online about her and her family.