Interview with Halsey, Artist and Advocate for Postpartum Depression Awareness and Clinical Ketamine Therapy

There are moments when “getting better” is not the same as feeling better. Halsey’s experience after childbirth, lupus, chronic pain, major health challenges, and postpartum depression speaks to that painful gap with uncommon honesty.

In this conversation, she joins Dr. Thais Aliabadi and Mary Alice Haney to talk about the hidden aftermath of illness, the pressure to keep performing when our bodies are asking for care, the reality that postpartum depression can persist long after the newborn stage, and why mental health support must be treated as a real part of physical recovery.

Table of Contents

• Recognizing That Recovery Has More Than One Layer
• Postpartum Depression Does Not Follow a Deadline
• Living in a Public Body During Illness
• Why Clinical Ketamine Therapy Became Part of the Conversation
• What Happens After an Infusion Matters
• Safety, Stigma, and Staying Yourself
• Love That Makes Room for Reality
• The Case for Education and Self-Advocacy

Recognizing That Recovery Has More Than One Layer

You had reached a point where your physical health was improving, but you still did not feel like yourself. What made you realize depression was part of the picture?

Halsey: It took me a while to see it because my instinct was to assume something else was medically wrong. My lupus was in remission, another condition was being suppressed, and yet I was exhausted, in pain, and emotionally not okay. I thought, “Oh no, here comes another disease. I have to start this whole process over again.”

Then I had this very blunt moment with myself. I realized I was depressed.

We can be medically stable and still be carrying the emotional and psychological weight of everything that happened to us. That was true for me. I had spent so much time in survival mode that once I was physically better, I tried to move through the world as though nothing had happened. I wanted to go right back to work, creativity, travel, performing, fashion, and making things. But I had not actually stopped to process the trauma.

Creative work helped me. It gave me light during a really dark period. But being productive is not always the same thing as being well. We can keep showing up, make deadlines, care for our children, travel, work, and still be deeply depressed.

Why was it difficult to identify depression while you were still functioning day to day?

Halsey: Depression does not look the same every time. For me, it can show up as executive-function problems. Things that appear simple, like taking a shower, washing my face, brushing my teeth, or initiating a task, can become incredibly difficult.

But I had a toddler. That meant I had to get out of bed, get him where he needed to go, take him to the park, and keep the day moving. I was technically doing things, so I assumed I could not be depressed. The truth was that I was showing up physically, but I did not feel present. I did not feel like I was in the driver’s seat of my own life.

This is why we need a broader understanding of depression. It is not only lying in bed unable to move. It can be numbness, exhaustion, disconnection, self-neglect, indecision, or doing every task required of us while feeling completely absent from our own lives.

Postpartum Depression Does Not Follow a Deadline

You realized that postpartum depression was still affecting you years after giving birth. What did that realization change?

Halsey: It was a huge lightbulb moment. I had postpartum depression, then I got sick, then I was getting better physically, but I still had postpartum depression. I had internalized this idea that I should not still be struggling because time had passed. I thought, “Why am I still feeling postpartum? It has been two years.”

But postpartum depression can last much longer than people realize, especially when childbirth, health complications, loss, trauma, chronic illness, pain, or major life stress are also part of the story. We have to give ourselves more compassion than that artificial deadline allows.

Postpartum depression is not a moral failure, a lack of love for a child, or evidence that we are ungrateful. It is a clinical mental health condition that deserves support. For a fuller explanation of symptoms, contributing factors, and treatment options, we can explore this postpartum depression resource.

We need to normalize asking the question: “What if I am still postpartum?” The answer may be yes, and that may help us understand why we have felt unlike ourselves for so long.

 

How did physical illness and postpartum depression affect your relationships?

Halsey: They affected everything. We do not always talk enough about the personal consequences of postpartum illness and chronic disease. There can be emotional changes, physical changes, changes in intimacy, stress, fear, fatigue, and the enormous adjustment of caring for a new baby. That combination can be very hard on relationships.

Illness also reveals who is genuinely able to show up. Before we are sick, we can build relationships around hypothetical ideas. We tell ourselves that someone would be there if something serious happened. Then a serious thing happens, and sometimes people do not show up in the way we imagined they would.

That realization is painful, but it can also bring clarity. It teaches us to re-evaluate what support actually looks like, rather than what we hoped it would look like.

Living in a Public Body During Illness

You faced intense public commentary about your appearance while managing illness. What did that experience teach you?

Halsey: There was a lot of commentary about my weight loss, changes in my face, and hair loss. Some of the accusations were particularly cruel. I was told that I was irresponsible for looking the way I looked while having a platform and being visible to young women.

But it was simply the body I had at that time. My body was experiencing illness. I still wanted to do the things that brought me joy and made me feel creative and alive. That does not make us irresponsible. It makes us people trying to live while our bodies are changing.

There is a huge difference between concern and entitlement. We can care about someone without demanding private medical details. “No” is a complete answer. “Something is going on with my health” should be enough. People are not owed a detailed explanation in order to respect someone’s boundaries.

What made keeping parts of your experience private so difficult?

Halsey: I felt shame about things I could not do and opportunities I had to decline. When we give a vague explanation, people often push for more details, almost as if they need to decide whether our reason is acceptable. That pressure can make us feel like we have to prove that we are sick enough or struggling enough to deserve understanding.

We do not. Privacy is allowed. Rest is allowed. Changing plans is allowed. Our health does not have to be publicly legible to be real.

Why Clinical Ketamine Therapy Became Part of the Conversation

What led you to consider clinical ketamine infusion therapy?

Halsey: I came to Dr. A and said, “I am better, but I am not better.” I initially asked about SSRIs and what options might make sense. Ketamine infusion therapy came up, and I had already done research. Once it was recommended, I moved quickly because I felt ready to pursue care.

My experience was in a clinical setting, after psychiatric evaluation, with medical staff involved. This is important. Ketamine is not something to approach casually or outside medical supervision. It is a medication used in hospital settings, including anesthesia, and mental health treatment with ketamine should take place through qualified professionals in a regulated clinic.

Clinical ketamine therapy may be considered for conditions including treatment-resistant depression, longstanding clinical depression, suicidal ideation, complex PTSD, anxiety, OCD, chronic pain, and postpartum depression. It is not right for everyone, and any treatment decision requires an individualized conversation with qualified medical and mental health professionals.

For broader information on recognizing depressive disorders and seeking care, we can also review this women’s depression and mood disorders guide.

What did the clinical process look like for you?

Halsey: The process began with a psychiatric consultation. At the clinic, I had my vital signs checked, including blood pressure and oxygen levels. The team explained the process, placed an IV catheter, and prepared the infusion. Sometimes anti-nausea medication may be used.

The infusion created a dissociative experience, but for me it felt more like an intense dream than the exaggerated version of a psychedelic experience people may imagine. I had memory and motor control. I felt warmth and calm. The medication could be adjusted during the infusion, and because it was administered through an IV, changes in dosing could take effect quickly.

Doctors monitored how the medication was affecting me. The care was highly supervised, and that environment mattered. There were clinicians, nurse practitioners, doctors, psychiatrists, follow-up, and opportunities for talk therapy and reintegration.

How did it feel emotionally during treatment?

Halsey: Everybody can have a different experience. Some people cry, laugh, or revisit old trauma. For me, I began with older pain that existed long before I was sick. It felt like my brain was helping me understand that I did not need to stay trapped in certain experiences anymore. Then I was able to move toward more recent trauma.

The dissociation gave me a sense of safety around thoughts and feelings that had previously felt overwhelming. I could consider them without being consumed by them. That was the most valuable part for me.

I was initially anxious that I would somehow do it wrong. That is very much my personality. After my first session, I worried that I had not processed enough or had not had the “right” experience. But the psychiatrist reminded me that the location of our thoughts during an infusion is not the point. The opportunity afterward is what can be especially meaningful.

What Happens After an Infusion Matters

You were told that the period after treatment was important. How did you use that time?

Halsey: I was told that neuroplasticity may be highest in the roughly 72 hours following an infusion. The way it was explained to me was that this could be an opportunity to reinforce healthier patterns, journal, make decisions, confront feelings, and consider what needs to change in our lives.

For me, that meant giving myself a very simple structure during the treatment period. I decided I would:

• Wash my face in the morning and before bed.
• Take a bath and do yoga.
• Spend intentional, quality time with my son.
• Think honestly about which relationships were serving me.
• Identify old resentments and unresolved feelings.
• Practice showing up for my own basic care.

The point was not perfection. It was to create small actions that gave me evidence I was returning to myself. That made the treatment feel connected to real life rather than separate from it.

When did you begin noticing a difference?

Halsey: I noticed it after the second or third session. The first session was difficult. A lot of trauma came up, and I left crying. It helped that I had been warned not to judge the entire treatment by the first experience.

By the third session, I felt better and started making changes quickly. I also felt that my pain had improved, which made the experience feel like a double benefit for me. Still, every person’s response is different. A single person’s result should never be treated as a guarantee for someone else.

What was the treatment schedule you described?

Halsey: At the clinic I attended, the initial protocol involved six infusions over about two and a half weeks. The general schedule was three sessions during the first week, two during the second, and one during the third. Each infusion took around an hour, with additional time needed for IV placement and monitoring.

We could get ourselves to the clinic, but we needed transportation home because driving afterward was not allowed. In my case, I felt like myself within about 20 minutes after the catheter was removed, but I still could not drive.

Some people later have booster sessions, perhaps around six to eight weeks afterward, and the timing can vary significantly from person to person. What matters is that treatment plans are created and monitored by an appropriate clinical team.

Safety, Stigma, and Staying Yourself

What would you say to someone who feels afraid of ketamine because it is a drug associated with dissociation or psychedelics?

Halsey: Drugs can feel scary. That is understandable. But the environment matters enormously. My treatment was fully staffed, medically monitored, regulated, and followed by reintegration support. We should never seek ketamine treatment from someone unqualified or in an unregulated environment.

For me, one of the most reassuring things was how much I still felt like myself. My sense of humor was the same. My interests were the same. I did not come out of treatment feeling like I had lost my identity. I was still me, but with more room to process and heal.

At first, I took time to myself after sessions because I wanted space to understand my feelings. As treatment continued, I was able to reintegrate comfortably. By later sessions, I could return home, take calls, and handle ordinary life while allowing the treatment to do its work.

It is crucial to be direct about safety: clinical ketamine therapy is a medical procedure. It should only be considered with qualified healthcare professionals in a controlled setting. Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis, thoughts of self-harm, or concern for immediate safety should seek urgent help through emergency services, a crisis line, or an appropriate emergency mental health provider.

Love That Makes Room for Reality

How did your experience with illness reshape what you need from relationships?

Halsey: It taught me that people need to be able to love us when we cannot do, be, perform, or produce. We should not have to be at our best to be worthy of care.

Being a single mom while managing chronic illness added another layer to dating and relationships. I was not only deciding whether I liked someone. I was considering whether this person could potentially be around my child, whether they could understand my health realities, and whether they would be scared away by the amount of information I had to share.

There is a lot of vulnerability in saying, “I am a mother, I am sick, and this is the reality of my life.” The right relationship does not make us feel like a burden for being honest. It makes room for truth.

What does a supportive partner look like when someone is navigating chronic illness?

Halsey: Sometimes it is not about grand gestures. It is being able to say, “We were supposed to go to brunch, but would you sit with me in a doctor’s office for three hours instead?” and having someone understand that life may need to change.

It is also about accepting that a person may not feel well, may need rest, may need to cancel, or may have to prioritize treatment. The right fit is not necessarily about blame. Sometimes two people simply are not compatible in the realities they can carry together.

With the right support, we can learn to accept ourselves more fully. We can say no without apologizing. We can tell the truth about pain. We can believe that we are still lovable when we are not at our most polished or productive.

The Case for Education and Self-Advocacy

What do you hope people take away from sharing this story?

Halsey: For a long time, I did not know who to ask. I did not know what resources existed, and I did not always know whether I would be believed. That is why education matters so much.

A conversation, article, podcast, post, or shared resource can help somebody find language for what they are experiencing. It can be the thing that gives someone permission to ask for help. We cannot underestimate how meaningful that can be.

We need more compassion for the person who seems fine but is struggling. More respect for boundaries. More attention to postpartum mental health. More willingness to treat trauma as something that deserves care after the immediate medical crisis has passed.

There is always a path toward light, even when we cannot see it yet. It may start with a doctor, a therapist, a trusted friend, a support group, a treatment conversation, or a simple admission: “I am not okay, and I need help.” For mothers seeking connection alongside mental health support, community options such as The Mom Walk Collective can offer a meaningful reminder that we do not have to carry postpartum life alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can postpartum depression continue for years after childbirth?

Yes. Postpartum depression may persist beyond the first year, particularly when there are additional factors such as traumatic birth, chronic illness, pain, loss, relationship stress, or unresolved trauma. A qualified healthcare professional can help assess symptoms and recommend care.

What did Halsey describe as signs of depression?

Halsey described exhaustion, feeling disconnected from daily life, difficulty with executive function, and struggling with basic self-care tasks despite still meeting parenting and work responsibilities.

What is clinical ketamine infusion therapy?

It is a medically supervised treatment in which ketamine is administered in a clinical setting, often after psychiatric evaluation and with vital-sign monitoring. It may be considered for certain mental health conditions, but suitability and protocols must be determined by qualified clinicians.

Can someone drive after a ketamine infusion?

No. Halsey described needing transportation home after each infusion. Anyone receiving this treatment should follow the clinic’s safety and discharge instructions.

What should someone do if they think they have postpartum depression?

Speak with an OB/GYN, primary care clinician, psychiatrist, therapist, or another qualified medical professional. If there is immediate danger, suicidal thinking, or concern for safety, seek emergency assistance right away.