POST ADOPTION DEPRESSION  
Yep, it's real.  Nope, it's not just you.

Post Adoption Depression refers to a combination of symptoms that may include: depressed mood, irritability, diminished interest in most activities, significant weight loss or gain, insomnia, or sleeping too much, feeling worthless or excessively guilty, difficulty concentrating, and suicidal thoughts. The severity of PAD may vary and should be taken seriously if you have five or more of these symptoms during a two-week period. Whether an incapacitating depression that requires treatment, or simply "the blues," PAD is a very real phenomenon.

The main point is, don't develop preconceived notions about the initial adjustment period with your new child. Remember this is a transitional time for all members of the family, not just the child. Bonding takes time and you may be overwhelmed by fatigue, sickness, stress, and the new challenges of parenthood.

Tips on Handling Post Adoption Depression (Edited exerpts from lists published by June Bond who coined the phrase Post Adoption Depression)

• Recognize that Post Adoption Depression Syndrome is common. This does not mean that you have made a bad decision or are different from many other new parents
• Go to parenting seminars. Added confidence (that all parents experience certain thing) can relieve some of your feelings of anxiety and inadequacy about properly caring for your new child.
• Arrange for time to adjust to your new status. Take time off or rearrange your work schedule, if possible, to be more flexible. Make plans for food and other necessities for the first six - eight weeks, in advance.
• Many adoptive couples feel that they must be super parents.Allow yourself the same time frame to adjust as birth parents do. Take a sabbatical from other responsibilities for six weeks and learn to love your baby.
• Join an adoption support group, if you have not done so already. Share your feelings with others. We are all real parents, who get tired, irritable, and have REAL feelings. Don't bottle it up.
• If you have a predisposition to depression, you are at greater risk for PADs. Be looking for the signs before trouble strikes.
• If the loss of career (whether temporary or permanent) triggers an identity crisis, find new areas of competence and seek out opportunities for adult contact.
• Don't expect perfection from yourself (or the child). Just do your best and don't feel guilty.
• Establish time with your spouse/partner, if applicable, to nurture your relationship.

Resources
Here are just a few places on the web where you can get more information on Post Adoption Depression:
Baby Center
Connecting with Kids
Rainbow Kids
Wide Horizons

Some random news articles
"Baby Shock" by Jean MacLeod; Adoptive Families, Sept/October 2001
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/dailycourier/news/s_167912.html
http://www.emkpress.com/wordfiles/EMKPADSGuide.doc