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Returning to work—with postnatal depression

feat. Mel Murphy, People Lead at birdie

In this episode...

Mel couldn’t remember the first six months of her son’s life. In a blur of intrusive thoughts and postnatal depression, she’d thrown herself into work, living on Slack and locked away in her office. And then she burnt out.

Therapy and the right medication helped her find balance—and then she set out to make sure other working parents didn’t have to go through the same thing.

You’ll hear how Mel managed her PTSD & postnatal depression, why lockdown was one of the best things that happened to her, and how companies can properly support people taking parental leave.

About the guest

Straight out of school, Mel Murphy joined a tech startup and never looked back. She has over a decade of experience in the tech-for-good industry and now looks after the team at birdie as their People Lead.

As a second generation immigrant, she’s keen to hear more diverse voices joining the conversation about mental health and medication.

About Oliva

Oliva is the employee mental wellbeing partner for companies that want to take decisive action to support & keep their best people.

By indexing & specialising in the top wellbeing challenges your people face—specific to your industry and your business—we help employees & managers respond to tough situations, foster sustainable company cultures, and ultimately slow staff turnover.