The Mystery of Mindfulness

6 / 20 / 196 / 19 / 19

Let’s talk about one of the biggest mental health buzzwords floating around right now: mindfulness. We all hear how we should be practicing mindfulness in our daily lives. It’s the key to staying content, being healthy, and living a long life. It will change your life!

Or so they say. I mean, how is eating an orange super slowly going to help me manage my illness?

Basically, mindfulness feels like some weird little thing therapists and friends throw around when we talk about our unending depression or inability to feel anything. Like somehow that orange is going to save me. What even is this mindfulness thing anyway?

How To Prevent Missed Moments – A Guide

6 / 13 / 196 / 12 / 19

I hear this one a lot lately: I’m scared of all the memories I’m missing out on because I’m sick. And honestly, I feel ya. I spent 3 1/2 years living in a separate state from my husband and daughter so I could go to college. That’s 3 and some years of missed moments, like preschool, kindergarten, plays, all sorts of firsts, and so on.

And now that my mental health has taken a turn for the worse, I’m living everyday with the fear that I’m missing out on even more.

So how do we prevent missing out on everything important even when we’re feeling at our worst?

Parenting Over Summer Break – Rigging the Game

6 / 6 / 196 / 6 / 19

Guess what! Summer break is here! Hooray for sleeping in, running around outside, watching tv all day and playing video games! Isn’t it great to have months with no commitments?

Wait. What? We don’t get to do that? Well what’s in it for the parents, then? Man, parenting over summer break sucks!

Parent Without Regret

5 / 30 / 195 / 30 / 19

Just before Mother’s Day, we talked about a tricky subject, parenting guilt. For a lot of us, it’s such a natural part of life that we don’t necessarily even notice it. Guilt over mistakes, not being as amazing as that other parent, over missed moments because our illness eats away at our life. We have a lot of regrets.

But that’s something we don’t have to live with. It is possible to find those moments to connect with our kids even when we’re in a bad place. It is possible to parent without those missed moments. Even without regret.

A Moment of Truth

5 / 16 / 195 / 30 / 19

I’ll be honest, I’ve started and stopped this week’s post a number of times. Every draft I put together wasn’t quite right, so I’d walk away and come back thinking I’d figured it out. The end result? 3 separate drafts. All of which should be great blog posts, mind you, but they’re just not right for today.

So, what are we going to talk about today? Truth. Specifically how telling the truth about our illness affects us, our friends, partners, and most importantly, our kids.

Parenting Guilt, Mama’s Got It

5 / 9 / 195 / 8 / 19

I went into parenthood with a lot of confidence. “Parenting guilt” wasn’t on my radar at all. After all, I’d spent a lot of time honing my skills on my younger siblings since I was the oldest child, and wasn’t guilt a by-product of failing at the basics? I knew the basics. Diapers? I’ve had that on lockdown. Nursing? Well, that’s easy! Just give the baby the boob, right? Sleep, cuddles, burping, and all that? Yup, no problem. I was ready!

Guess what? I didn’t got that.

Postpartum Depression – The Boogeyman of Pregnancy

5 / 2 / 195 / 3 / 19

It’s the boogeyman of pregnancy. The creepy monster hiding in your head. It’s the thing that keeps you second guessing yourself every time you start sobbing because the baby just won’t sleep, or eat, or stop crying. You wonder… is this postpartum depression?

As scary as it may feel, it’s critical that we talk about this remarkably common condition. PPD shows up for approximately 15% of new parents, and while it’s not even vaguely guaranteed that you’ll have it, it’s essential we be aware and vigilant in catching and treating it. I learned the hard way that without proper care, can become a lasting, possibly chronic, condition.

Agh! I’m Losing It! How do I Calm Down?

4 / 25 / 194 / 24 / 19

When you’re in the middle of a complete freakout, it can seem nearly impossible to calm down. The world is spinning, you can’t hear anything but noise, everything starts aching, and so many more things. How on earth are you going to be able to reach that moment of zen?

Honestly, it can be hard. But if you take the time and try a few different tricks, chances are good you’ll find something to ease the stress enough for you to be able to function again. So, without further ado, here’s some of my top choices!

My Favorite Ways to Prevent Overwhelm

4 / 18 / 194 / 17 / 19

It happens to all of us. No matter how skilled, or strong, or capable, we all eventually hit that moment. We’ll be going along, doing our thing, when suddenly we realize it’s just all too much… We become overwhelmed. Some call it the straw that broke the camel’s back, or maybe the age old “when it rains, it pours,” but it will happen.

And honestly, it sucks.

But guess what! It’s at least a little bit preventable. I mean, it’s part of life, but you can definitely decrease the likelihood of your day going under. Much like taking your car in for an oil change can reduce problems later, taking the right steps now can prevent overwhelm. So, how do we do it? Let me share some of my favorite ways!

How do I know if it’s Stress or Depression?

4 / 11 / 194 / 12 / 19

Is it stress or depression?

Man, as a kid I never would have imagined needing a question like that, but, alas, that’s how it is. We live in an era of too much to do and not enough time, which means additional stress. Additional stress, though, can lead to a whole host of symptoms that ultimately lead to some pretty nasty symptoms, many of which are incredibly similar to depression. So how can we tell the difference? And more importantly, what can we do about it?