I think back to when I was first discussing my depression with the Early Childhood Nurse and she asked if I had anxiety – I said ‘no, I didn’t think so’. If she had replaced the word ‘anxiety’ with ‘worry” – I would have said ‘yes, ALOT!’. Anxious and Anxiety just wasn’t in my vocabulary.… Continue reading Anxiety: Being on guard for your baby
I know you don’t want to read this, but you have to. You have to know you will get through this moment. I know it feels like the end of the world and that nothing’s worth fighting this hard for but it’s not going to feel this way forever. Try and take a moment to… Continue reading An open letter to myself for my dark days
I was recently asked by TwoHandsStrong to create an artwork for a blog post she had written. The post is called I am a good mother and it’s about her experience of a psychotic episode after the birth of her son. It was a huge honor to be asked to create an artwork for someone’s… Continue reading My first ‘commission’
I never thought I enjoyed writing, it always seemed like a chore. I’m not sure why. I wasn’t a fan of English at school – maybe this was because we’d get asked to read out loud to the class. I was shy enough without the fear of embarrassing myself because when I read I find… Continue reading Writing
I found seeing my son very sick for the first time was a huge emotional struggle for me. With the additional sleep deprivation, from being up all night, it culminated into an emotional breakdown. It happened a few weeks before I was diagnosed with PND. I don’t think that was a coincidence. It’s heartbreaking to… Continue reading Seeing your baby sick for the first time
A technique I learnt early on, to help manage my depressing thoughts, was to simply – talk to my baby. Sounds too easy and like common sense but for me, someone of little words, it was something quite new. However, I found that by talking through my day, I would concentrate on the here and… Continue reading Baby talk
While doing some “homework” for my PND support group I started to look at the word mum. We were asked to draw something that represented our journey into motherhood and I started by doodling the word ‘mum’. It was while doing this I noticed the form of the letters appeared to illustrate the ups and downs… Continue reading The MUM wave
…how important “me time” is. Your baby’s wellbeing is directly linked to yours. So, taking care of yourself is not selfish but actually the opposite. I believe by nurishing yourself your baby will have a more positive experience of life and you will be better equipped to handle the crazy times that comes with a… Continue reading I wish someone had told me…
…it’s been a whirlwind. I remember getting a congratulations card from my cousin after the birth of my son, with the words “welcome to the roller-coaster of being a mum”. This was the first time I was given a hint that things might be a bit bumpy. I wasn’t one of those women told horror… Continue reading My journey into motherhood…
PND Recovery 