Looking through a window, Stephen Curry‘s family looks perfect. But only Stephen and Ayesha Curry know the struggles they had to endure. Take Mrs. Curry, for instance. Juggling her family while also carving her own path as a businesswoman was difficult, but her toughest test was something most people wouldn’t want to endure: Postpartum depression (PPD).

Back in October 2021, she revealed how she experienced postpartum depression after the birth of her second child, Ryan, in 2015. She felt like a failure because she stopped breastfeeding her daughter when she was six months old, but Ayesha didn’t really understand her thoughts and feelings. “Now, I can say without a shadow of a doubt [that] I had postpartum depression. But I didn’t know what that was at that time,” she revealed.

No one really talked to her about PPD, and these were conversations that never took place in her family. “It was this invisible thing. They didn’t experience that? I don’t know. But it was pretty bad when I look back at it.” While it can manifest as feeling empty, feeling disconnected from one’s baby, and several other symptoms, for Ayesha, it came as negative thoughts about her body. That pushed her to make, what she considers today, a rash decision. In 2016, she got a breast augmentation done to cope with her feelings but later regretted it.

“I got the most botched b–b job on the face of the planet. They’re worse now than they were before.”

This caused her to spiral further and finally ask for help. She started taking medications for her depression. However, she had a similar experience after the birth of her third kid, Canon, in 2018. In a new interview with ‘The Cut‘, Ayesha Curry revealed, “At first I was going really, really hard and had too much on my plate. I was coming from a place of gratefulness for all of the opportunities. Then I had to tone it down and scale back because I needed to breathe. After I had my third child, I had pretty severe postpartum depression, and that shifted things a lot too. I was very hard on myself.”

But let us not forget that the COVID pandemic hit the following year. That was a tough time for Ayesha.

“Then, boom, the pandemic hit, and I lost my taste buds for nine months. That was super-depressing — still hasn’t come back full, and that’s been a journey for me. That’s made work look very different for me from a food standpoint, too.”

That happened at a time when she teamed up with award-winning chef Michael Mina to open their restaurant, International Smoke, in Vegas. Of course, a change in smell or taste would create problems in such a business. But that’s not the end of it.

It created hindrances in the workings of her line ‘Sweet July Skin’. She stated, “We’re a very Caribbean food-focused skin-care line. It’s something I’m actively navigating on a daily basis, to just feel normal again in that department. It’s also given me the space and allowed me to unlock different interests, devote more time to Sweet July Skin. Our formulas are founded on “what goes in your body can go on your body,” so I’ve been able to do a deep dive from that perspective and refocused my efforts there.”

What Ayesh Curry experienced was not an outlier!

Today, Ayesha Curry is doing good. “I’m coming back up for air, and it’s really exciting,” is how she describes life.

“I have a new vibrancy for everything that we’re doing. I’m able to come back to the table with new ideas and reinvigorated energy. I’m back in that full-speed-ahead mode but in a more balanced, refined way. It made a huge difference with the postpartum situation. It’s been such a night-and-day experience this time around. I’m glad that I took the time to reset myself and be with my baby.”

However, as shared by Mrs. Curry in 2021, she initially didn’t know she was experiencing postpartum depression. That’s also the case with many new mothers. Awareness about PPD began in the late 1980s and since then, many studies have been conducted to understand the signs, symptoms, risk factors, and treatment avenues. But let us talk numbers for a moment.

As per ‘PostpartumDepression.org’, about 1 in 10 women in the U.S. experience PPD after giving birth. There are studies that report it to be higher—1 in 7 women. The stats are quite similar to the UK.

Unfortunately, in the U.S., it is estimated that about 50% of women experiencing PPD go undiagnosed. On the flip side, statistics also indicate that 80% of women with PPD achieve full recovery. This makes it essential to seek medical and psychological help.

In fact, in 2021, Ayesh Curry also spoke about her approach to mental health and wellness. “I didn’t know it was necessary to take time for yourself until after having kids, so I’ve been backtracking trying to understand that aspect and it is life-changing.” Owing to this, she formed her own morning routine and also a night-time routine, which allows her some precious moments to reflect on the day and her feelings.