4. Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields is also one of the celebrities who opened up about taking antidepressants to treat PPD, after Tom Cruise criticized the use of such drugs on national television, on the “Today” show in 2005. Cruise suggested that women should treat themselves with vitamins and exercise instead of putting antidepressants into their bodies.
Brooke Shields believed his remarks were “a disservice to mothers everywhere.” The actress went public and shared her experience with PPD in an essay for the New York Times in 2005.
Shields responded, “Tom should stick to saving the world from aliens and let women who are experiencing postpartum depression decide what treatment options are best for them.” In an op-ed piece for The New York Times, she wrote, “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that Mr. Cruise has never suffered from postpartum depression,” she wrote, explaining that the doctor prescribed her the antidepressant Paxil to help her deal with the feelings of hopelessness and suicidality after giving birth to her first child.
Medically speaking, postpartum depression is caused by a significant drop in the hormones estrogen and progesterone after giving birth. PPD is even more severe and longer-lasting compared to common mood swings and is usually treated with antidepressants.
