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Chrissy Teigen Opens Up About Her Battle With Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression doesn't discriminate against anyone, just ask Chrissy Teigen.

As a Sports Illustrated model and best-selling cookbook author Chrissy is no stranger to the limelight. In fact, with an audience of over 10 million followers on Instagram alone, she has become celebrated by fans for her quick wit and honest opinions on just about everything (as well as her enviable love story with singer/songwriter John Legend).

However, the world recently had a chance to identify with a very different side of Teigen when she detailed, for the first time, her ongoing battle with postpartum depression. In a gripping essay published by Glamour Magazine, Teigen revealed, "I had everything I needed to be happy. And yet, for much of the last year, I felt unhappy. What basically everyone around me—but me—knew up until December was this: I have postpartum depression."

She continued, "Most days were spent on the exact same spot on the couch and rarely would I muster up the energy to make it upstairs for bed. John would sleep on the couch with me, sometimes four nights in a row. I started keeping robes and comfy clothes in the pantry so I wouldn't have to go upstairs when John went to work. There was a lot of spontaneous crying."

"Before, when I entered a room I had a presence: head high, shoulders back, big smile. Suddenly I had become this person whose shoulders would cower underneath her chin. I would keep my hands on my belly and try to make myself as small as possible."

As indicated by Glamour Magazine, the Center for Disease Control has stated that 1 in 9 women will experience depression, before, during or after pregnancy. From feelings of guilt and anger, to crying fits, withdrawing from loved ones and extreme worry, postpartum depression can take on many forms. But as reminded in Teigen's narrative, "postpartum does not discriminate." "I couldn't control it," she said, "and that's part of the reason it took me so long to speak up: I felt selfish, icky, and weird saying aloud that I'm struggling. Sometimes I still do."

However for Teigen, it seems that being open is a necessary part of her road to recovery, so speaking up she is. "I love John and Luna more than I can imagine loving anything, and John and I still hope to give Luna a few siblings. Postpartum hasn't changed that."

Finishing her open letter, Teigen also revealed to readers that in enduring this experience herself, she understands that it can look quite different for everyone. However, ultimately, she doesn't want those suffering to feel embarrassed or alone because of it. Like other celebrities who have spoken out about their struggles with mental illness, Teigen's personal story is continuing to help normalize the experience of postpartum depression here in the United States.

Sam Maracic is a writer, content manager and registered yoga teacher, living and working in New York. Her first book "We Are Like Wells" is available for purchase now on Amazon.com. To find more of her work visit her website, www.sammaracic.com or follow her on twitter and Instagram @sammaracic.

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