'I know that there's a light at the end of the tunnel.'
Alanis Morissette is getting candid about her struggle with postpartum depression.
In a taped interview with CBS This Morning on Tuesday, the 45-year-old singer opened up about going through postpartum depression for a third time following the birth of her son, Winter, in August. Morissette -- who also shares Ever, 8, and Onyx, 2, with her husband, Mario "Souleye" Treadway -- first revealed her third-time struggle in a personal essay earlier this month.
"This time around it's less depression, it's more anxiety and a little more of the compulsive, obsessive thoughts," she said, adding that those thoughts include "images that are horrifying."
"A lot of times [they are] about safety, about the people you love, your loved ones, your children," she explained. "And then me just having to remind myself, like, 'Oh, nope. This is just postpartum depression swooping in again. Stop.'"
Morissette initially decided to seek help after her first pregnancy, when her "survival strategy [was] just to push through."
"I spoke with a professional who knew all about postpartum depression, and I asked her, 'Does this go away if I just white knuckle through it?' And she said, 'No, it actually gets worse,'" she recalled. "So, as soon as I heard that, I thought, 'It can get worse than this.' So I went on medication right away."
Though she admitted to having "moments where I think, 'This is gonna be kinda easy,' or I do get a little cocky," Morissette acknowledge that postpartum depression isn't something that goes away overnight.
"I don’t think of it in terms of cured, because I know that postpartum isn't something that lasts a week," she said. "For me, it is at least two years, maybe a little longer."
In addition to meditating, Morissette copes with the depression through her music. "When I'm in any state emotionally -- sad, angry, freaked out, lonely, isolated, depressed -- I can write," she said. "Thank God for that."
Despite the struggle that she's been through, Morissette shared that she'd be open to going through another pregnancy, postpartum depression included.
"I know that there's a light at the end of the tunnel," she said. "I'd be willing to go through it again. I know that sounds a little insane, but, you know, I'm willing to present sacrifice for future gain. I've done it a million times."
As for why she decided to be open about her own postpartum journey, Morissette said, "If the goal is stigma-free perception of any mental illness or mental health conversation, understanding and giving the details of what it really looks like from the inside is important."
Watch the video below for more on Morissette.
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