In this episode of The Courage to Change, Ashley Loeb Blassingame speaks with author and illustrator Amanda Davis about two deeply connected experiences: growing up in a home impacted by alcohol use disorder and later navigating postpartum OCD as a new mother.

Amanda shares what it was like to lose her father to alcohol-related illness at a young age and how growing up in an unpredictable, high-stress environment shaped her nervous system, anxiety, and sense of responsibility. She explains how those early experiences laid the groundwork for postpartum OCD years later, when multiple major life changes collided at once.

The conversation takes an honest, clear-eyed look at postpartum OCD, including intrusive thoughts, “sticky” thinking, reassurance-seeking cycles, and the fear many mothers feel about admitting what’s happening in their minds. Amanda walks through how her symptoms showed up, why they were so frightening, and how an intensive outpatient program specifically for postpartum OCD helped her recover.

Together, Ashley and Amanda also discuss how we talk to children about hard things, including addiction, loss, anxiety, and recovery, and why silence often does more harm than age-appropriate honesty. Amanda shares how these experiences led her to write Sometimes Stormy, a children’s book that gives families language for talking about emotional storms without shame.

This episode is for mothers, clinicians, educators, and caregivers who want to better understand postpartum OCD, intrusive thoughts, and how recovery can look when the struggle is internal, invisible, and deeply misunderstood.

www.AmandaDavisArt.com

"Sometimes Stormy: A Story About Finding Calm and Staying Safe When Someone You Love Drinks Too Much" by Amanda Davis

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