Tag: mental-health
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Braving Motherhood Again After Trauma
For a long time, I grieved that I would not have a second child; a sibling for our older daughter. In fact, I was terrified that I would become pregnant, to the point where I asked my doctor about having a hysterectomy. I now know there are less extreme options, but this example illustrates the…
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More than Mama Bear Worry: Significant Anxiety in the Postpartum Period
They say that being a mother is like having your heart walking around outside your body. That. Is. Terrifying. You have no ability to control the things that happen to your helpless baby as they move through the trajectory of their life. Scary things could happen. Things you can’t prevent. Maybe scary things could happen…
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Carrying the Weight: Motherhood and the Mental Load
It may “take a village to raise a child”, but, for many mothers, the burden falls squarely on them. Although the dynamic of mothers’ roles outside the home has changed, in some families, mothers are still expected, whether explicitly or implicitly, to carry the responsibility of primary caregiving, and the entire mental load of the household…
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I Think I Might Be Jesus: Inside a Manic Episode
It’s pretty commonplace to hear people use the term “bipolar” flippantly, in a way that would not be considered acceptable for other forms of mental illness, neurodivergence, or identity (e.g., it is not acceptable to use the R-word to describe someone’s silly mistakes or to call something you don’t like “gay”) People describe the weather…
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Braving Motherhood After Trauma: Vida’s Story
For a long time, I grieved that I would not have a second child; a sibling for our older daughter. In fact, I was terrified that I would become pregnant, to the point where I asked my doctor about having a hysterectomy. I now know there are less extreme options, but this example illustrates the…
I'm Not The Same 