Scheana Shay Says OCD Is a 'Battle Every Day in My Brain' (Exclusive)

The 'Vanderpump Rules' star shares that she’s been getting treatment for her disorder, which she says is often “misdiagnosed”

• Vanderpump Rules star Scheana Shay says she's getting treatment for her postpartum OCD, which includes a brain and power supplement pack.

• The reality star says the "very traumatic" birth of daughter Summer Moon, 2, triggered the disorder.

• Although it is "a battle every day in my brain," Shay says she's "in a good place."

Vanderpump Rules star Scheana Shay shared how she’s managing her OCD — which she says she was diagnosed with after the birth of daughter Summer Moon, now 2.

“I feel like, especially as a mom, postpartum OCD is something that's not talked about,” Shay, 38, told PEOPLE exclusively at the red carpet premiere of Vanderpump Rules season 11.

“It's misdiagnosed. A lot of people don't know what's wrong with them. And so once I figured this out, I was like, ‘Oh my God. Now it makes sense,’ " she said.

Postpartum OCD includes a hyper-focus on the child, often fraught with anxiety, according to the International OCD Foundation.

“The obsessions and compulsions usually focus on the newborn (or unborn) infant. For example, there may be obsessions about the baby getting hurt, contaminated, or lost; and compulsive rituals involving checking, mental rituals, and seeking reassurance," per the foundation.

“I've since had a brain scan,” she told PEOPLE exclusively. ”I'm on a whole brain and power supplement pack. And I feel like those have been really helping my intrusive thoughts and just overall how I'm feeling.”

Related: 'Vanderpump Rules'' Scheana Shay Says 'Stress and Anxiety' Led to Unhealthy Weight Loss

“But I mean, it is, you know, a battle every day in my brain.”

Shay — who hosts the podcast, Scheananigans — talked about her decision to get treatment for her OCD in an episode last July, saying, “I did finally make an appointment with my doctor last week to get on some sort of medication, because my anxiety, OCD, everything, I mean — it’s been bad since I had her.”

“I obviously had a very traumatic labor,”  Shay added about Summer’s birth, which she’d previously said was “really scary.”

Related: Scheana Shay Claps Back at Claim She Is 'Worried' About Her Vlog and Not 'Focused' on Newborn

“My blood pressure spiked really high,” Shay revealed on a 2021 episode of her podcast, where her guest was Summer’s “baby daddy” — and the reality TV star's now-husband — Brock Davies.

“It was stroke level, seizure level,” she had said, adding that she’d had undiagnosed preeclampsia — a complication that usually develops after 20 weeks, per the Mayo Clinic. It’s marked by high blood pressure and proteinuria (protein in the urine) that can lead to kidney or other organ damage.

This spiraled into HELLP syndrome, which the Cleveland Clinic explains stands for hemolysis, elevated liver, low platelet. Although it’s rarely life-threatening, it can cause “severe health complications” if it’s not treated.

The treatment was a magnesium drip. “I was borderline about to have a stroke or a seizure if they didn’t get me on this magnesium drip,” Shay said at the time, adding it made her “so sick” and made “poor baby Summer sleepy.”

“It was a lot of scares,” she contiuned. “She comes out. I see her. She’s just, like, blue. She’s not screaming.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“I’m terrified that I just delivered a stillborn,” Shay said, adding that her daughter eventually started crying and “everything was okay” since it was the magnesium making her drowsy and not another medical issue.

But the entire experience — along with a miscarriage she suffered in 2020 — gave her PTSD.

During her podcast episode she said, "the only blessing” of Scandoval — the infamous scandal where costar Tom Sandoval cheated on Ariana Madix with costar Rachel Leviss — was that  “my OCD took a back seat,” she said.

Shay added that that once “[the scandal] calmed down for me, personally, 'My OCD’s like, ‘Hello! I’m still here!’”

But now, she tells PEOPLE, "I'm in a good place."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.