The journey into motherhood can be filled with moments of joy, despair, anxiety, sadness, exhaustion, excitement, and everything in between. Here are some tips for navigating those emotions and prioritizing your mental health after having a baby.
Four Benefits of Seeing an Online Therapist During Your Pregnancy
If you are pregnant, you probably have heard from friends, your family, your doula, or your OB-GYN about the possibility of experiencing postpartum anxiety and depression after delivery. Perhaps you’ve even considered that you might reach out to a therapist after your baby arrives if you feel like you are struggling with your mental health. But beginning to see a therapist while you’re pregnant can have significant benefits throughout your pregnancy and in your postpartum period. Here are four benefits of seeing a therapist during your pregnancy.
Dear Mil Spouse: It’s Okay if You’re Not Okay! Coping with Anxiety and Depression During a PCS
For anyone not in the military, it may sound cliche when someone says, “When the service member serves in the military, the whole family serves.” But for those of us who are family members of an active-duty service member, we know that this saying actually rings true. As the spouse of a service member, we may not serve on the front lines, but we make lots of sacrifices in support of our spouses’ duties and responsibilities.
How To Use Your Tricare Benefit To See A Tricare Authorized Non-Network Provider
If you have Tricare Prime benefits, it makes sense to see an in-network Tricare provider as it would not cost you anything to see a counselor and you wouldn’t need a referral. But if you aren’t able to find an in-network provider with any openings, there is another option for you to receive therapy services.
How the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline Can Support Your Struggle With Postpartum Depression and Anxiety
Postpartum Support International and the U.S. Health and Human Services Department’s Health Resource Services Administration (HRSA) recently launched the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. This support line is truly the first of its kind in that it is specifically focused on providing mental health support for moms, and even their partners and families.
4 Ways to Cope With Change as a Mom
Becoming a mom, whether for the first or fifth time, thrusts your life into a consistent cycle of change. Whether you’re figuring out how to adjust from breastfeeding to bottle feeding, preparing for your kid to go from Pre-K to Kindergarten, moving from a career outside the home to staying at home with your kids, or sending your teen off to their driver’s license test, the changes that present themselves in motherhood are like waves – both big and small – that never stop breaking on the shore.
Coping With Anxiety as a Mom: Is Social Media Making You More Anxious?
Over the last decade, the use of social media in our everyday lives has impacted us tremendously. With the continuous development of new social media platforms, our world has become exponentially connected in ways it never has been. And while the importance and influence of social media in our lives has been in the negative spotlight for some time, the truth is that social media can have some really positive impacts on our lives, especially as moms.
Coping With the Stress of Motherhood: You’re Not a Bad Mom for Needing a Break
Many moms are beyond the point of needing a break from their kids. We are all exhausted and burned out from parenting the last two years. Yet despite the consensus that we are tired, I can’t tell you how many times I hear moms say, “I feel guilty for needing time alone and away from my kids. Shouldn’t I always want to be with my kids? I feel like I’m a bad mom for needing a break.”
Coping With Anxiety from the Pressures of Motherhood: Stop “Shoulding” Yourself
Combating Toxic Positivity: Learning to Accept Your “Negative” Emotions
When we dig deeper and stop to explore why there is a belief that something is wrong with having these “negative” emotions, there usually has been some kind of overarching message in that woman’s life that has said, “It’s not okay to be mad, angry, sad, depressed…” and the list could go on. This message could have begun early in childhood by parents, siblings, teachers, and friends, or it may have appeared later in life from professors, employers, romantic partners, or the community within which they live. While the message is that those emotions are bad, the other message communicated is “You just need to be happy. Just focus on the positive.” And this is where “toxic positivity” begins to take root.
Coping With Anxiety as a Military Spouse: Triggered by the Invasion of Ukraine
The last couple weeks have been filled with worldwide tension as Russia invaded Ukraine. We have watched in horror and sadness as the Ukrainian people have fled from their homes and been separated from their family, friends, and loved ones, but also united together to protect their homeland. And while our hearts are breaking for the people of Ukraine, many military spouses’ anxieties and worries are running high for their own reasons. Military conflict has a way of stirring up our fears because of the unknowns of what the conflict may mean for our own families. If you are a military spouse and are feeling anxious and triggered by the invasion of Ukraine, that is completely understandable.
Coping With Burnout in Motherhood: How to Complete the Stress Response Cycle
The last two years have been filled with stressful situation after stressful situation for moms. Between frequent class quarantines, trying to work from home, and limited support from family and friends, many moms feel like they are emotionally and mentally hanging on by a thread. The stresses of the pandemic combined with the normal exhaustions of motherhood are enough to make any person feel like they are breaking. At times, it has been like a never-ending tsunami of overwhelm and anxiety.
While we would love to be able to wave a magic wand and make the stressors disappear, unfortunately that isn’t real life. Instead, learning to cope with the stress by completing the stress response cycle can help reduce the experience of burnout.
Learning to Let Go of "Mom Guilt"
Motherhood is hard, like really hard. And parenting in the time of a global pandemic is a whole other level of stress and difficulty. We aren’t going to always get it right. Rather than heaping guilt on yourself, almost as a form of self-punishment, try approaching yourself with a sense of self-compassion.
Five Tools to Help Cope With Anxiety in the New Year
As 2022 rolls off to a fresh start, you may be reflecting on how to prioritize your mental health in the new year. Whether you’ve been dealing with anxiety for most of your life, or have found yourself feeling more anxious in the last two years than you ever have been, addressing your anxiety can have positive impacts on your mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Sometimes when you are feeling anxious, it can be overwhelming to know how to actually deal with it. Here are five tools to help you cope with anxiety in the new year.
Five Ways to Prioritize Your Mental Health as a Mom in the New Year
Our minds and bodies are not designed to be under the constant and consistent stress that they’ve experienced the last two years. The majority of moms I’ve spoken to feel burned out, overwhelmed, and exhausted. While there isn’t a quick fix or a pill that will simply take the overwhelm and exhaustion away, by taking small steps to prioritize your needs and your mental health, you may begin to feel some relief or a reprieve from the stress. Check out these five ways to prioritize your mental health as a mom in the new year.
What is Postpartum Depression?
Adding a new baby into your family can be a really big adjustment. Whether you are bringing home your first baby or your fourth, this new little life can be beautiful and all-consuming at the same time. You feel overwhelmed, exhausted, cry so easily, and no longer feel interested in the things you used to love.
When you talked with your friends during your pregnancy, they told you that caring for a newborn would be hard, and now you’re thinking to yourself, “Well, this must be what my friends were talking about.” It can be very easy to try to attribute these feelings to “This is just how it is,” but there may be something bigger going on.
Four Ways to Cope With Depression as a Military Spouse During the Holidays
The holidays can be challenging for many people – it is a time of year filled with celebration, but with that celebration comes reminders of things that are now different or people who are no longer with us. The holiday season can be a dichotomy of happiness and sadness at the same time. If you are a military spouse, the holidays can be extra challenging for a variety of reasons.
What if an Online Therapist Doesn't Take My Insurance Plan?
Deciding that you need to seek out someone to talk to about your mental and emotional well-being can feel like a big step. It can be challenging to admit to ourselves that we need help and support. When you finally decide it’s time to talk to someone, you are probably looking to begin therapy as soon as you possibly can. And thus, the search for an online therapist in your state begins.
How to Use Your Tricare Benefit for Online Therapy
If you are someone who has Tricare for health insurance, you know first-hand that navigating the world of Tricare can often be confusing and frustrating. While Tricare provides great benefits for military members and their dependents, it can be really annoying trying to figure out what Tricare will and will not cover – and this is speaking as someone who has Tricare and also takes Tricare insurance in their online therapy practice!
One of the most common questions that has been asked many times throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is “Does Tricare cover online therapy?” And here’s the answer: Yes!
How Can A Psychiatrist Help You During Pregnancy?
When I see patients in my office or through telepsychiatry, I typically hear that they are confused and upset by their symptoms. Often, it can be very isolating. Most women just want to enjoy what is supposed to feel like “the happiest time in my life.” While postpartum depression has started to get more press, peripartum anxiety is not often talked about, suspected or diagnosed. The good news is that peripartum disorders are often VERY treatable. The important thing is to be working with someone who has experience in this area, as symptoms can show up a little differently.