Mid Hudson Valley Walks for 'Climb Out of the Darkness'

From Climb Out of the Darkness:

On Saturday June 18, 2016, Climb Out of the Darkness took place on the Dutchess County Rail Trail. This is the first year that this event has taken place is Poughkeepsie; Team New York Poughkeepsie raised $2189 and had twenty four participants. Climb Out of the Darkness® is the world’s largest event raising awareness for maternal mental illnesses like postpartum depression.

The event is held on or near the longest day of the year annually to help shine the most light on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. It features mothers along with their family and friends joining together to climb mountains and hike trails to represent their symbolic rise out of the darkness of maternal mental illness and into the light of hope and recovery. The money raised goes to Postpartum Progress which is a nonprofit organization focused on improving awareness of maternal mental illnesses and providing peer support for women who suffer from them. They create innovative programs that connect women to information and help, and they support them through recovery.

We are looking forward to next year’s walk which will take place on June 17th, 2017. If you are interested in sponsoring or would like to learn more information please email Climboutnypk@gmail.com.

About Postpartum Progress

Postpartum Progress is a nonprofit organization focused on improving awareness of maternal mental illnesses and providing peer support for women who suffer from them. We create innovative programs that connect women to information and help, and we support them through recovery.

For more information, visit postpartumprogress.org, follow on Twitter at @postpartumprog or like our Facebook page.

About Climb Out of the Darkness®

Climb Out of the Darkness® is the world’s largest event raising awareness for maternal mental illnesses like postpartum depression. The event is held on or near the longest day of the year annually to help shine the most light on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. It features mothers along with their family and friends joining together to climb mountains and hike trails to represent their symbolic rise out of the darkness of maternal mental illness and into the light of hope and recovery.

To find a Climb near you, visit here.

Key Facts

• One in every seven mothers – nearly 1 million moms in the U.S. annually – will get a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder like postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety. That’s more than the number of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.
• Survivors of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders become fierce advocates after recovery because they understand how isolating life with these mental illnesses can be. Our community is active, influential, and represents a diverse range of voices.
• PostpartumProgress.org is considered the leading site and non-profit organization focused on postpartum depression and has been covered extensively in the media.
• Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders like postpartum depression are temporary and treatable with professional help. It is a maternal mental illness that may take the form of depression, anxiety & OCD, PTSD, psychosis, and / or bipolar/peripartum onset.
• Only 15 percent of women will seek help for their disorder - this means there are 500,000-750,000 untreated moms suffering without treatment for their PPD each year.
• Ninety-five percent of respondents to an audience impact survey reported that Postpartum Progress helped them learn more about mood and anxiety disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period; 79 percent reported Postpartum Progress helped them recognize they were suffering from a maternal mental illness.
• Ninety-seven percent of impact survey participants felt less alone in their experience thanks to Postpartum Progress. Eighty-six percent of audience survey respondents reported that Postpartum Progress led them to share their story of maternal mental illness more openly with others.