Zoe Hendrix, who appeared on the first season of Married at First Sight, has shared an empowering picture of herself nursing her one-year old daughter on Instagram.
Zoe married fellow MAFS star Alex Garner and they welcomed daughter Harper, in November 2016.
In the post she encourages her fans to ‘normalise breastfeeding’ as she captions the picture ‘anytime, anywhere.’
Zoe Hendrix, who appeared on the first season of Married at First Sight, has shared an empowering picture of herself nursing her one-year old daughter on Instagram
Fans flooded her feed with words of encouragement and support saying the image was ‘beautiful and natural’.
The image shows Zoe smiling as she breastfeeds outside in public wearing a simple strappy dress.
Only last week, Zoe revealed her harrowing experience with postnatal anxiety and depression. Following the birth, Zoe said she struggled mentally.
‘I want to talk about that simmering, unexpected overflow of rage that happens in those silent lonely spaces and results in bitter words. That same rage that brutalises your mind and exhausts your body,’ she wrote in an article for Mamamia.
Zoe Hendrix, who appeared on the first season of Married at First Sight, has revealed her harrowing experience with postnatal anxiety and depression
Zoe revealed that she didn’t know she was suffering from postnatal anxiety and depression.
It came to Zoe in a flurry of anger that she said was irrational, aggressive and explosive, which is something she had never dealt with before.
She explained that the feeling would come in moments where she would be holding her newborn baby all day only to have her incessantly scream whenever Zoe tried to put her in her cot.
‘The rage that took over me that in my darkest moment as a mother, riddled with the pain of mastitis and weak in body and soul – I envisioned throwing my tiny baby across the room. Into the wall,’ Zoe said.
Zoe said she had rage and thought about harming her baby daughter
With this rage that Zoe felt also came feelings of guilt and shame and her thoughts would leave her ‘shaking, shocked and in pain’.
She explained that because of how she was feeling she would often lash out at her partner and inner most thoughts would turn toxic.
Zoe often found herself telling herself that she was failing as a mother, although midwives would tell her she was doing well.
With this rage that Zoe felt also came feelings of guilt and shame and her thoughts would leave her ‘shaking, shocked and in pain’
She explained that because of how she was feeling she would often lash out at her partner and her inner dialogue would turn toxic
Zoe said she often found herself telling herself that she was failing as a mother
‘[I would tell myself] how sh*t you are as a mum, as a partner, as a modern women. How you are worthless. The critical voice in the back of my head that would become the soundtrack to my daily routine,’ she explained.
Zoe is not alone, with one in seven women giving birth in Australia currently being affected by postnatal depression.
She said that although the general public tend to hear about sadness and despair when talking about post natal depression or anxiety, rage and anger isn’t spoken about nearly enough.
Zoe is not alone, with one in seven women giving birth in Australia currently being affected by postnatal depression
She said that anger is an emotion like any other and is often a result of feelings of fear, insecurity, guilt and shame.
To this day Zoe still speaks with a therapist to help her understand that her anger stems from her anxiety and depression.
Zoe shared her battle to help encourage others to seek help and realise that they’re not alone.
If you think you or someone you know may be suffering from anxiety or depression, contact Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14. You can also call PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia) on 1300 726 306.