Ashley Darby Opens Up About Her Postpartum Depression

Real Housewives of Potomac star Ashley Boalch Darby revealed more about her postpartum depression during a June 2020 interview with Bravo’s The Daily Dish. Darby and her husband, Michael Darby, welcomed their baby Dean in July 2019.

“I’ve dealt with quite a bit of postpartum depression after Dean was born, and I had a hard time seeing that it was going to be better in terms of feeling more comfortable with Dean being around people and not worrying that everyone or someone was gonna hurt my child,” Darby said to The Daily Dish, “It was the most crippling fear for me.”

During last week’s August 9 episode, the rest of the cast threw a party for Darby, as Monique Samuels, in particular, encouraged her to get out of the house. The women were happy that Darby was finally joining them for dinner, saying that they hadn’t seen her for a while. “It was inexplicable. I don’t even know where it came from. I’m not usually a fearful person, but for some reason I just felt like this innocent little being was so fragile and I was worried about everybody, not even on purpose, but accidentally hurting him, and it, I just wound myself up…” Darby told The Daily Dish.

Darby Ended Up Seeking Professional Help

Darby’s postpartum depression became so severe that she ended up seeking out professional help. “Well, I didn’t even recognize I had postpartum,” Darby said to The Daily Dish, “I thought I was normal. I thought every single mom feels like this and it wasn’t until I started having some really dark thoughts about myself and feeling overwhelmed. I started feeling like I wasn’t capable of protecting Dean. Very weird. Looking back on it, I’m like, gosh, I can’t believe I really felt like that, so I did have to get professional help.”

Darby explained that her son’s pediatrician was actually the one who helped her recognize it. “And actually my pediatrician recognized it first by giving me this questionnaire and I answered the questions and they were even eye-opening for myself to know that I wasn’t, things were not as right with me. So, I went and saw a postpartum therapist. She helped me.” Darby said.

Darby Often Posts Pictures Of Her Son On Instagram

Darby loves to post photos of her son on her Instagram page, as well as share updates about him. Most recently, Darby posted a video of her son crawling and playing. In the caption, Darby wrote, “This is definitely our child – pushups and bicep curls already 😂 #DeanMichaelDarby #rhop”

On June 21, Darby also posted a sweet series of videos of her husband and son together for a Father’s Day tribute. “Happy Father’s Day to my wonderful husband!” Darby wrote in the caption, “Dean and I are so lucky yo have you in our lives. You can fix virtually anything, you’re never too tired to play, and you give the best hugs. We love you so much! ♥️ #RHOP #MyMickey”

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