Adam Busby Bravely Talks About His Postpartum Depression On 'OutDaughtered'

Postpartum depression affects as many as 1 million women per year, according to Postpartum Progress, a mental health advocacy group. But what about men? As a dad of six girls, TLC's OutDaughtered dad Adam Busby got real about his postpartum depression — and he's raising awareness about an often overlooked issue. People reported that, in a clip for Tuesday's episode of OutDaughtered, Busby meets with another dad, Jarrid Wilson, who also experienced and written about postpartum depression.

It might seem unlikely that men can get postpartum depression, but it's true — and it can be just as devastating to families as a mother with PPD. According to a 2016 study in the Journal of Affective Disorders, postpartum depression affects men in numbers approaching the PPD rate for women, affecting as many as 8 percent of dads. A 2006 national study in Pediatrics estimated that PPD affects as many as 10 percent of men. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 11 percent of mothers experience postpartum depression.

"When I'm having bad days, I just get super quiet," Busby confessed to Wilson, according to People. It's clear from the show that being a parent to 2-year-old quintuplet daughters and a 6-year-old daughter is beyond overwhelming. Even though Busby's wife Danielle is there to share in the parenting, it's still no easy task to wrangle six kids ages 6 and under.

Tuesday's episode isn't the first time Busby has opened up about struggling with postpartum depression on OutDaughtered. In July, Busby broke his silence by tweeting about his own personal experience with postpartum depression in an effort to help other dads who may be silently coping with the same issue.

Men's health is a topic burdened by machismo and invincibility. While Busby's candid admission about struggling with postpartum depression was largely met with support, there were plenty who criticized him as being somehow "weak" or "not a real man." Not only is this cruel, it's just wrong. Depression — postpartum or otherwise — does not make you less of a man. And yet, it's obvious from a clip of Tuesday's OutDaughtered that even Busby himself has struggled to push through these same misconceptions about men and mental health.

When Wilson suggested the possibility that Busby seek out professional help, Busby balked. "I’ve always felt like people who have to go see a therapist can’t control things, can’t do things on their own,” Busby shared after a moment's pause, according to People. “A big part of this is I’m still kind of scared. I just don’t know if that’s for me." However, by the end of the clip, it seems as though Busby is ready to take that next step — not just for his own sake, but for his family's, too.

The new episode of OutDaughtered will air at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday on TLC.