Halle Bailey, who welcomed her first child last year, is getting candid about her experience with postpartum depression. The Little Mermaid actress shared a video on Snapchat detailing her “severe, severe” battle with the condition since giving birth to son Halo.
“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 revealed.
The 24-year-old singer said while she’s deeply in love with her “perfect” son, she has struggled with a profound sense of disconnect from her own body and identity after childbirth.
“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 admitted. “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.”
Halle Bailey also credited her boyfriend DDG for being an “amazing daddy” and supporting her through the challenges. She emphasized her depression has “nothing to do” with her love for Halo, but rather an internal battle.
“It has everything to do with me and who I am right now,” she explained.
The actress said she was “triggered” to speak out after seeing hurtful comments about her family online. She acknowledged the stigma around openly discussing postpartum depression and other maternal mental health issues.
“Even though you may look up to certain people…you never know what somebody else is going through, especially someone who just had a baby,” Halle Bailey reminded fans.
