As stars of MTV’s hit reality TV series Teen Mom, Catelynn and Tyler Baltierra have not had it easy this season. The couple has gone through multiple hardships this season, from dealing with Catelynn’s mental health issues which put a strain on their marriage, to coming to terms with the fact that they might not ever visit with their firstborn daughter Carly after her adopted parents Brandon and Teresa didn’t respond to their annual visitation request.
But things seem like they’re getting better between Catelynn and Tyler. The Teen Mom OG stars were guests on the syndicated daytime talk show The Doctors and they opened up about Catelynn’s struggle with postpartum depression after she gave birth to their daughter Nova. It looks like the couple is stronger now after Tyler helped Catelynn battle her mental illness.
During their segment, Dr. Mike Dow explained that there are two ways that a spouse can deal with their spouse going through depression and postpartum depression. He said that asking questions like “What’s wrong with you?” can lead their spouse to respond defensively and it might make them not want to seek professional help. But by asking simple questions like “How can I help you?” it makes the spouse more likely to want to seek treatment.
Tyler explained how he decided to approach his wife Catelynn about her postpartum depression, and he simply asked her if there was anything he could to do help. After Catelynn said that she wanted to go away for treatment, he did some research and found a rehab—the facility in Arizona that Catelynn visited earlier this season on Teen Mom OG.
Catelynn explained that she thought that she needed help and she wanted to seek treatment at a rehab facility, but she kept telling herself that she could deal with her mental illness on her own.
“And then it was like finally coming to this realization where it’s like, I don’t think this is just panic disorders and depression, I think this is a little bit more like postpartum, I started noticing,” Catelynn said.
Tyler said Catelynn was in denial for a long time about having postpartum. He said that he learned that a lot of women don’t even know that they’re going through postpartum depression when they’re experiencing the symptoms—which includes irritability and increases or decreases in appetite and sleeping patterns. But by speaking up and talking to Catelynn, he helped her realize that what she was experiencing wasn’t just depression and anxiety, it was really postpartum and she was able to find the help she needed to overcome her illness.
Watch Catelynn and Tyler’s full interview on “The Doctors” above.
Photo credits: The DoctorsTV.com
