Nilupulie Karunaratne, a mother of twins, started her very painful mental health journey right after giving birth back in November 2019. She’s originally from Sri Lanka. In 2016, she took that leap—relocating to Miles, Queensland, a small town home to only about 2,000 residents. Karunaratne now lives in Ballarat, Victoria. Her motherhood journey is one marked by joy and elation but has been colored by the destruction of postpartum depression.
After welcoming her son Gaven and daughter Gloria, Karunaratne experienced an unexpected wave of emotion. These extreme emotions soon turned into issues with her overall mental health. Her immediate excitement was soon replaced with heavy social anxiety and feelings of inferiority. These experiences were further aggravated by her lack of knowledge regarding mental health issues.
Struggles with Mental Health
Upon returning home with her child, Karunaratne found herself grappling with a reality most new mothers experience but are made to feel like they cannot speak about candidly. She felt an internal struggle, admitting, “I knew something was happening in my mind, but I was so scared to express my feelings with others.” This fear was based in cultural stigmas and traditional myths regarding mental health, especially prevalent in immigrant communities.
Karunaratne explained her personality changed completely after she had the baby. “I used to be a social person, but after delivering my kids I got social anxiety and I couldn’t go into public,” she explained. As she sunk deeper into depression, her everyday activities became overwhelming. “I became mentally unwell and fell into a depression. I couldn’t manage day-to-day tasks,” she stated.
The isolation she experienced was compounded by the lack of availability to mental health services in Miles. Without any local resources at her disposal, she was forced to turn to virtual care to manage her mental health issues. This lack of accessibility reinforces the urgent need for improved service provision in small towns right across Australia.
Recognition and Support
Karunaratne’s husband, a general practitioner, was amongst the first to spot her distress. He encouraged her to find a therapist. His backing turned out to be pivotal because it unlocked the funding that allowed her to receive the psychological care that she so needed. “I thought that seeking help was a weakness,” Karunaratne admitted. She says it took the support of her husband for her to realize that it was OK, even necessary, to prioritize her mental health.
With the help of therapy and counseling, she was able to start addressing those feelings, as well as understanding new ways to cope and manage her anxiety and depression. Karunaratne stressed the need for increased awareness and education about mental health services available in Australia. “Proper education is a must because most people don’t know about free mental health services we have in Australia, especially immigrants,” she said.
Giving Back Through Volunteer Work
Having come through her own black dog days, Karunaratne now volunteers with the Gidget Foundation. This community-based organization is deeply committed to advancing parent mental health. These experiences ignited a fire in her to help other parents who faced the same struggles. She hopes that by sharing her story, she can encourage others to look for support and fight for their mental health.
“People are minimising their own experiences and a lot of parents feel their symptoms are not severe enough to get professional support,” said Mathew Aquilina from the Gidget Foundation. Karunaratne’s experience powerfully echoes this feeling. She uses her platform to encourage conversations on mental health and help erase the stigma that lives in our communities.
Karunaratne discussed her journey and emphasized the need to address cultural obstacles. Yet these barriers often preclude any meaningful conversations surrounding mental health within immigrant communities. “As immigrants, we don’t want to talk about our mental health situations in public because of cultural barriers and traditional myths,” she noted.
