Catelynn Lowell Says Seeking Treatment for Postpartum Depression Was the 'Hardest Decision' She Had to Make

"My thing then was that I just needed to get help," Lowell tells PEOPLE about seeking treatment for her depression

Published on August 19, 2016 01:45 PM

Catelynn Lowell did one of the bravest things a mother could do, she sought treatment for her postpartum depression.

The Teen Mom OG star checked herself into a treatment facility on March 16 in the hopes of getting the necessary care needed to battle her postpartum depression, but it wasn’t easy.

“I think it was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to come to, but I need to do for myself and my family,” Lowell tells PEOPLE. “It was really just one day where I was like, ‘You know what, I think I need more help than what I’m getting here. I need time to focus on myself,’ and I kind of just was like ‘I need to do it.’ And I did it.”

Lowell wasn’t alone in her fight. The reality star had the help of her “very supportive” husband, Tyler Baltierra, 24, who stood by her and took care of their one-year-old daughter Novalee Reign while she was away.

“He was very supportive,” Lowell recalls. “He was like ‘Alright. I think it will be good for you and don’t worry about anything here – I got it and everything will be fine. Just go focus on yourself and don’t hide anything. Don’t worry about protecting anybody.’ ”

Lowell does admit to having had scared feelings for their daughter, her biggest fear being Nova growing up and witnessing depressive episodes.

“My thing then was that I just needed to get help,” she says. “I didn’t want [Nova] to grow up and remember that ‘Oh, my mom had really bad episodes of being depressed all the time.’ Or her having to worry about me; I didn’t want her to worry about her mom. So that was my biggest fear. I needed to get this taken care of now before she gets any older.”

Following her return from treatment, Lowell is “feeling great” and admits to Nova keeping her on her toes.

“Her favorite word is no,” the 24-year-old says with a laugh. “She now stands on steps and she performs and sings for us. She just loves to sing and dance – she loves music and she talks pretty well, I think. She says a lot of words and communicates well and she always says please and thank you, but she’s also very sassy.”

Teen Mom OG‘s two-hour season 6 premiere airs Monday at 10 p.m. ET on MTV.