Carnie Wilson is opening up about her difficult struggle with postpartum depression, and sharing her story of support and hope with other mothers in a new documentary, When the Bough Breaks.
Wilson sat down with Mark Steines and Debbie Matenopoulos on Hallmark Channel's Home & Family, where she got candid about her own painful battle with postpartum depression following the birth of her first daughter, Lola, in April 2005.
"Part of the issue with postpartum is that women are afraid of their feelings and they're afraid that they're crazy," she shared. "They're scared when [they're having] what should be the most joyous and wonderful times of their lives, but they're feeling sad or they're feeling scared or they're feeling, in my case, psychotic."
According to the songstress, her struggle went far beyond the so-called "baby blues," and was nearly unbearable. She would often have "frightening thoughts," and anxiety-ridden visions of her little girl getting hurt or even killed.
"I started hearing voices about the devil," Wilson said. "It was psychotic. It was so frightening. And every time I would look over at my husband [Rob Bonfiglio] holding our beautiful new baby, if he would say her name, 'Lola,' I couldn't handle it. It made me sad."
It was when she began experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations and couldn't find any joy in her newborn daughter that she realized the severity of her situation.
"That was the moment I knew I was suffering heavy duty postpartum depression," she explained.
She dedicated herself to working through her issues and healing. "Some people turn to drugs, some people turn anti-depressants. I myself didn't… I talked to myself," Wilson recounted.
"I told myself, 'This is what God is intending. I'm a mother, this is new, my body is going through something. Go with the flow, talk about it. I can do this,'" she said.
Wilson also sought help by hiring a baby nurse -- which she admits that not every new mom has the resources to do -- but the nurse she hired helped her navigate the difficulties of caring for a newborn."
"I fell into her arms and I said, 'I don't know what I'm doing!'" Wilson recalled. "And she was really cool. She just said, 'I'm gonna teach you.'"
Wilson also commended celebrities like Chrissy Teigen and Brooke Shields -- who is also a producer on her documentary -- for being so open about their own experiences with postpartum depression.
"Sometimes it takes someone in the public eye to be able to get that word out," Wilson shared. "Women need to know: You're not crazy, there's help out there, and don't hold it inside. Talk to someone about it."
Wilson and Bonfiglio welcomed their second daughter, Luci, in June 2009, and she said that her struggle with postpartum depression the second time around was far less intense than after her first pregnancy, and attributes a great deal of that to how she faced her first battle head-on.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm proud to admit that vulnerability," said Wilson, who concluded with some advice for other moms facing similar issues: "Go with the flow, let life happen and feel your emotions."
When the Bough Breaks is available on iTunes on March 14. Wilson's interview with Home & Family airs Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET/PT, 9 a.m. CT on Hallmark Channel.