When parents post pictures online, people expect to see cute and happy photos of their baby.
Instead, one mom used her Instagram account to post a brutally honest photo that captured her journey through postpartum depression.
Her unedited and unfiltered photo is giving hope to other moms struggling with this condition.
She posts about plus-size fashion and body positivity, but mostly she posts about her life as a mom to her son, Bodhi.
This beautiful picture announcing Bodhi's birth is just one example of that.
Tori is actually one of the women behind the #this_is_postpartum movement on social media.
The movement encourages women to share their postpartum photos to help moms embrace their bodies and beauty.
"This photo here was one of them, the pinnacle of my suffering from PPD. I was ashamed for the longest time for having to take medicine to feel normal," she wrote in an Instagram post.
She shared the picture to highlight how far she'd come over the past year.
"Looking back at this photo I remember perfectly the pain I felt, the dread in waking up everyday, the physical pain that engulfed me from thoughts in my brain," she wrote.
Postpartum depression is extremely common, but many moms still feel ashamed to speak about their experiences.
With women like Tori sharing their stories, we can help others going through the condition.
She made it to the other side and her post is a reminder that other women can do it, too.
Each time she reposts it, she takes another opportunity to reflect on how she overcame postpartum depression.
Motherhood is a tough job, but with women like Tori sharing their experiences, we can help and support any mom out there who might need it.
