Shortly after my son was born, the panic attacks started
I was fortunate to get quick and effective treatment for my post-partum anxiety. But many Indigenous women, however, aren’t so lucky.
Photo: Kelly Boutsalis
My first panic attack happened while I was browsing shelving units at Ikea. I was shaking, my leg kept banging into my seven-month-old son’s stroller and my heart was beating like crazy. But as soon as I got into the parking lot, the feelings dissipated.
A second attack hit me a few days later at an empty grocery store: I felt like I was being squeezed tightly by the aisles around me, and this feeling followed me and my stroller all the way home and lingered for a few hours.