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Chrissy Teigen Says *This* Helped Her Realize She Was Suffering From Postpartum Depression

by Casey Suglia

Chrissy Teigen's honesty as a mom is one of the best things about her. She is always keeping it real — from talking about her kids, to talking about her love of food, to talking about her postpartum depression. It's this honesty that makes her so helpful for moms going through the same things. So, people might want to pay attention after Chrissy Teigen said food helped her realize she was suffering from postpartum depression — because it can happen to anyone.

Everyone knows that Chrissy Teigen loves food. She once hosted a cooking competition show on MTV called, Snack Off, and has written two amazing cookbooksCravings and Cravings: Hungry For More. Not to mention, Teigen is always posting amazing looking food (stuff that she is both eating and cooking) on her Instagram account. But after she gave birth to her daughter, Luna, in 2016, according to Entertainment Tonight, Teigen wasn't loving her favorite foods, according to People. This led her to think that something was a little off, and something was definitely was — she found out that she had postpartum depression. Her aversions to food led her to discover this.

"I started looking at food and was like 'I'm just not in the mood.'," Teigen told People. "It's like going to the grocery store when you're full. You just don't want the same things. Food wasn't thrilling for me."

"That was one of the first times I knew that something was wrong," Teigen said.

Although Teigen has made a living off of telling people how to cook delicious food with her cookbooks, she told People that she couldn't stand to be in the kitchen when she was suffering from postpartum depression in 2016. Teigen told People:

When I wasn't feeling great, being in the kitchen was like torture. It felt like such a job, and you want to be excited when you're in the kitchen. I cook because I love food and I love to eat. It makes me happy to serve people. And when you aren't feeling that way, it's like torture.

Currently, one in seven women in the United States suffer from postpartum depression after giving birth, according to the American Psychological Association (APA). For many of them, this is the first time in their lives that they are having feelings of hopelessness or sadness.

Because of this, many women might not know that they're suffering from postpartum depression at all or know how to see the symptoms of it — which is why Teigen sharing her story about falling out of love with cooking while suffering from postpartum depression can help so many women out there.

One of the first symptoms of postpartum depression is losing pleasure or interest in things that were once enjoyable, according to the APA. Experiencing mood swings or appetite problems, like Teigen did, are also big indicators of postpartum depression, according to Mayo Clinic. If women aren't feeling like themselves after they give birth, it could be something more than just being in "a funk" — it's likely it could be postpartum depression.

So, when Teigen gave birth to her second child, a son named Miles, in May, according to Us Weekly, she did her best to combat these feelings of hopelessness — she ate her placenta, according to People.

During an appearance on CBS Sunday Morning, Teigen said that she ate her placenta, which she attributes to the reason why she felt "primarily happy" after she gave birth to her son so many months ago. For someone who loves food as much as Teigen does, eating her placenta after giving birth is so fitting — but it is important to note that there has not been any conclusive research done to determine if eating your placenta can help with postpartum depression.

But what worked for Teigen might not work for everyone — and that is OK, too. In a 2017 essay written for Glamour, Teigen revealed that it took her going to therapy and being put on an antidepressant after she suffered from postpartum depression after giving birth to Luna, which allowed her to start feeling like herself again. It's also important to note that postpartum depression can be treated in a variety of ways, according to the National Institute of Mental Health — so women should consult their doctors when it comes to finding the best treatment for them.

One of the hardest parts about struggling with postpartum depression is figuring out you have it. Teigen's story about losing the joy in one of the biggest things she loves has the power to help so many people.

Thank goodness for Teigen's honesty.