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20th Nov 2018

Humans Of New York’s latest post about a father’s postnatal depression is going viral and you need to read it

'Part of me definitely died when our daughter was born.'

Denise Curtin

“Part of me definitely died when our daughter was born.”

Human’s Of New York is the raw story of the people who make up the city of New York – through images and captions, Brandon Stanton tells the story of the citizens. Often upsetting, usually relatable and very, very real – HONY has a fanbase of over 8.4m followers as well as two published books all dedicated to the beautiful stories of the “ordinary person”.

And in yesterday’s post, a light was turned on one man’s story. Travelling to New York on a short break to clear his head after his wife gave birth, a man who remained unnamed explained how his life has changed since his wife gave birth and how he’s finding his new world overwhelming.

This image featured on Human’s Of New York on Tuesday.

 

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According to The Guardian, one in three new fathers worry about their mental health and being fit enough to care and look after their child once it arrives into the world.

Speaking about how he was feeling while on a break from his new family in NY, the man said:

“Part of me definitely died when our daughter was born. I was always a free spirited person. I travelled a lot. I never had a boss. I had all the choices in the world. But a lot of that disappeared in order to make things possible for my daughter.”

Continuing he revealed that he’d love his daughter to be with him but his worry wouldn’t go away.

“It would be great if my daughter was here right now. It’d be so fun to watch her run around the park. But I’d also be worried about her safety. And the diaper bag. And the car seat. And the stroller. And our next meal. And our next place to stay. There’s always a flickering flame of worry that doesn’t go away.”

And lastly, he revealed what he does to now try and combat the overwhelming feeling when it arises.

“If my wife ever senses that I’m getting overwhelmed, she tells me to go jump in the ocean. And that resets me for a few days. It’s all I need. I just need a little space to be me. Because it can be so easy to get lost in helping a new person become someone.”

You can check out HONY here.