May is Mental Health Awareness Month. As moms, we’ve probably all have had some type of mental breakdown or burnout. There’re so many stages in a mom’s life whether we are getting pregnant, or our babies are getting married. So, in the in-between there are so many things that trigger our mental capacity, and we go into overload. Our emotions get the best of us sometimes they can spiral out of control.
I had big moment like this in the beginning of the year, I was ruminating a lot about my current life situations and everything I had on my plate. I was losing sleep, I was gaining weight, I was having crying outbursts, I had the desire to do nothing, I had a lot of moody days and felt irritable all the time and I knew something was not right.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it’s important to shed light on mental health conditions, especially those who experience certain illnesses like depression or anxiety. Most people have an idea what it is, but what if you know something is not right, what do you do? Â Who do you talk to? Where to start?
When I first began Googling my symptoms, it brought to me to diagnosis that I didn’t want to accept, but I decided to talk to my husband about what I had been feeling for months! It totally changed the way we interacted with each other moving forward, he was more understanding and patient.
Here are things that I did to improve my mental health:
- Try to manage my stress
- Find ways to get out of my head (nature walks, creative outlets, connect with others)
- Continued to get my physical activity
- Try to Improve my sleep quality
- Breaking Ruminating thoughts
I also started looking into talking to therapists online since they have gotten so popular and simple to use and honestly, I needed that. Online works best for me. I couldn’t see myself going to an office and lying down on a couch…does everyone have that same vision of a therapist session?
I’ve tried Talkspace, a few years ago when I had some baby blues. With insurance it was super simple. I talked to my therapist through the app and their availability was awesome. Better Help and talking to your primary provider are great places to start, too. They will have resources that will allow you to understand what you are going through.
Even if you don’t have mental concerns is good to check how you’re feeling now and again. I know in my iPhone when you go to the health app, you can take a Depression/ Anxiety Screening, and share the results with your provider.
I want you to know that we are not alone. Allow yourself to share your worries, your thoughts, your ruminating ideas. When we share what’s in our minds, in our heads, we have the opportunity to help someone else that is struggling too.
