All The Hard Things

Welcome to my Anonymom series.  Real moms talking about their deepest and darkest moments - anonymously.  Anonymom episodes may consist of difficult topics including miscarriage, infertility, separation, anxiety, depression, trauma, and other potentially triggering issues.  Names have been changed to protect the identity of the mom.

This episode features Megan, a mom who became pregnant at 18 and was a single parent for her daughter's entire life.  Now that her daughter is also 19, Megan is working through what it means to be an empty nester and how to get herself "back on track".  She also talks about..

- how her daughter's biological father was abusive, in and out of jail, and planned to kidnap their child

- what it was like working full time and having a child to raise on her own

- how she copes with her daughter's medical and mental health issues

This podcast should not be substituted for legitimate mental health treatment.  If you or a mom you know is struggling with mental health difficulties during pregnancy, postpartum, or beyond, contact Postpartum Support International at 800-944-4773 or visit www.postpartum.net.  If you are worried about your safety or the safety of a loved one, please call for help immediately at 911 or by reaching out to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

In this episode, you'll learn about...

- the Yerkes-Dodson curve and what it means for your anxiety/performance

- why you have poor performance in both high AND low anxiety states

- why moderate levels of anxiety are actually ideal for peak performance

- practical ways to either decrease your high anxiety or increase your low pressure state so that you can get to the moderate level of anxiety and achieve peak performance

- additional tips for how to handle new, intellectually demanding tasks vs monotonous, repetitive tasks

See visual referenced in episode here: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Illustration-of-Yerkes-Dodson-law-1_fig1_320592240

This podcast should not be substituted, nor is meant to act as a substitute, for legitimate mental health treatment/a legitimate mental health treatment provider.  This podcast and any information in it is solely the reflection of general knowledge and cannot be taken as a personal therapeutic recommendation.  To find a therapist near you to work more directly with these issues, head over to psychologytoday.com or nami.org.

Welcome to my Anonymom series.  Real moms talking about their deepest and darkest moments - anonymously.  Anonymom episodes may consist of difficult topics including miscarriage, infertility, separation, anxiety, depression, trauma, and other potentially triggering issues.  Names have been changed to protect the identity of the mom.

This episode features Kim, a work from home mom who had preeclampsia twice, has struggled with OCD since she she was an adolescent, and had a baby during a global pandemic.  You'll also hear about.. 

- how her OCD symptoms showed up in motherhood

- what it's been like parenting during a global pandemic

- what her suggestions are for expecting or soon to be moms

- her 5 year old's suspected sensory issues and how she copes with this

This podcast should not be substituted for legitimate mental health treatment.  If you or a mom you know is struggling with mental health difficulties during pregnancy, postpartum, or beyond, contact Postpartum Support International at 800-944-4773 or visit www.postpartum.net.  If you are worried about your safety or the safety of a loved one, please call for help immediately at 911 or by reaching out to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

Welcome to my Anonymom series.  Real moms talking about their deepest and darkest moments - anonymously.  Anonymom episodes may consist of difficult topics including miscarriage, infertility, separation, anxiety, depression, trauma, and other potentially triggering issues.  Names have been changed to protect the identity of the mom.

This episode features Crystal, who talks about her difficult pregnancy, preeclampsia, and her unexpected delivery for her premature baby.  You'll also hear about... 

- what it was like meeting her baby for the first time as he was hooked up to machines and various tubes 

- going home without her baby

- spending time at the NICU (was it too much time? not enough time?) while her son was there for 5 weeks

- only having 2 weeks of maternity leave left by the time she got to bring her baby home

This podcast should not be substituted for legitimate mental health treatment.  If you or a mom you know is struggling with mental health difficulties during pregnancy, postpartum, or beyond, contact Postpartum Support International at 800-944-4773 or visit www.postpartum.net.  If you are worried about your safety or the safety of a loved one, please call for help immediately at 911 or by reaching out to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

Welcome to my Anonymom series.  Real moms talking about their deepest and darkest moments - anonymously.  Anonymom episodes may consist of difficult topics including miscarriage, infertility, separation, anxiety, depression, trauma, and other potentially triggering issues.  Names have been changed to protect the identity of the mom.

This episode features Claire, who talks about postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) after having her daughter during the COVID-19 pandemic.  You'll also hear about ...

- what it was like being pregnant and giving birth during a global pandemic 

- how, out of nowhere, she started to have thoughts of harming herself and her baby

- how her OCD/harm intrusive thoughts manifested in her day to day life

- how her anxiety built up so much that she found herself depressed and unable to drive, go in public, and be alone with her child

- how she was failed by the maternal mental health care system and fought for resources

- how you can beat the system and get the support you need

This podcast should not be substituted for legitimate mental health treatment.  If you or a mom you know is struggling with mental health difficulties during pregnancy, postpartum, or beyond, contact Postpartum Support International at 800-944-4773 or visit www.postpartum.net.  If you are worried about your safety or the safety of a loved one, please call for help immediately at 911 or by reaching out to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

In this episode, you'll learn about...

- why anxiety related accommodations in the school setting may actually make anxiety worse

- considerations for therapists, teachers, parents, and students so the accommodation can be helpful vs hurtful

- what you need to be doing IN ADDITION TO the accommodation that many therapists/teachers fail to set up

- why you might still benefit from accommodations even if they can be detrimental

This podcast should not be substituted, nor is meant to act as a substitute, for legitimate mental health treatment/a legitimate mental health treatment provider.  This podcast and any information in it is solely the reflection of general knowledge and cannot be taken as a personal therapeutic recommendation.  To find a therapist near you to work more directly with these issues, head over to psychologytoday.com or nami.org.

In this episode, I share my experience with the type of mom guilt no one really talks about - DOG MOM GUILT.  You'll learn how my relationship with my 2 dogs changed once I had my son, and how I've coped with feelings of guilt and overwhelm related to them.  You'll get the solidarity you need to know you're not alone, and I'll remind you that you're doing great at all of this parenting stuff - even with the dogs - no matter what. 

This podcast should not be substituted, nor is meant to act as a substitute, for legitimate mental health treatment/a legitimate mental health treatment provider.  This podcast and any information in it is solely the reflection of general knowledge and cannot be taken as a personal therapeutic recommendation.  To find a therapist near you to work more directly with these issues, head over to psychologytoday.com or nami.org.

In this episode, I describe why things seem to get worse before they get better.  Whether you're dealing with anxiety or OCD, quitting smoking/drinking/any other bad habit, or just saying no to a toddler - you'll learn what to expect once you start to change things up.  You'll learn what an extinction burst is, how long it will last, and what it actually means for you in the long term. 

This podcast should not be substituted, nor is meant to act as a substitute, for legitimate mental health treatment/a legitimate mental health treatment provider.  This podcast and any information in it is solely the reflection of general knowledge and cannot be taken as a personal therapeutic recommendation.  To find a therapist near you to work more directly with these issues, head over to psychologytoday.com or nami.org.

In this episode, I describe what happens to your anxiety when you give into it with safety behaviors and compulsions/rituals.  I also go over the habituation curve, i.e. when you, instead, sit with those feelings - without engaging in safety behaviors or compulsions/rituals.  You'll see what happens to your anxiety over time in both scenarios and why you're better off biting the bullet, sticking to it, and doing the hard things vs. ritualizing.  I'll tell you what to expect so that you feel more prepared and better equipped going into your first exposure or challenging situation.

This podcast should not be substituted, nor is meant to act as a substitute, for legitimate mental health treatment/a legitimate mental health treatment provider.  This podcast and any information in it is solely the reflection of general knowledge and cannot be taken as a personal therapeutic recommendation.  To find a therapist near you to work more directly with these issues, head over to psychologytoday.com or nami.org.

Click here for a visual of the habituation curve described in the episode: https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/habituation/

Welcome to my Anonymom series.  Real moms talking about their deepest and darkest moments - anonymously.  Anonymom episodes may consist of difficult topics including miscarriage, infertility, separation, anxiety, depression, trauma, and other potentially triggering issues.  Names have been changed to protect the identity of the mom.

This episode features Monica, who struggled with postpartum anxiety for the first year and a half of her daughter's life.  She talks about how her symptoms manifested, how she suffered in silence for the longest time due to ignorance in the maternal mental health care system, and how therapy helped her.  She talks about her passion for speaking up about postpartum issues so that other moms don't have to suffer alone.  She also discusses having a miscarriage and how that affected her postpartum experience. 

This podcast should not be substituted for legitimate mental health treatment.  If you or a mom you know is struggling with mental health difficulties during pregnancy, postpartum, or beyond, contact Postpartum Support International at 800-944-4773 or visit www.postpartum.net.  If you are worried about your safety or the safety of a loved one, please call for help immediately at 911 or by reaching out to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.