We talk a lot about the physical changes of motherhood and that certainly does happen. There is however also the mental changes. I personally don’t believe that you can ever feel prepared enough for becoming a parent. It rocks your world in an incredible way. This can swing you both high and low.
Mental health is an important topic for me as I have often suffered from anxiety before that was even coined a term. I actually didn’t know what it was but have experienced episodes of anxiety that have left me with crippling stomach pains for weeks on end, trips to A&E and constant shakes (which my younger self googled and ran to my mum to tell her I had Parkinsons. She laughed).
Joking aside, we all suffer from mental health. There is a spectrum for it. It’s just some people develop symptoms or more severe elements of it that lead them to what many think mental health is – the hallucinations, the incoherent touch with reality, the suicidal thoughts.
I like to think about checking in on our mental health as taking our car for an MOT. We all should do it regularly, otherwise how can we be safe to drive our lives?
I experienced ‘baby blues’ after having my daughter which occurs with the flood of hormones your body receives after birth. It can last for up to 2 weeks and it is a huge mood swing with sudden outbursts of tears, and a general feeling of being low.
This took me by surprise and after going through this, I was compelled to follow up on a leaflet a Health Visitor gave me about ‘Mindful Mums’ which helps to support new mums in the early stages of motherhood.
What is Mindful Mums?
Mindful Mums provide award-winning, free wellbeing groups that help women look after their mental and emotional wellbeing during pregnancy and their baby’s first year. Since it started in 2016, Mindful Mums has supported over a thousand women in Bromley, Lewisham and Greenwich.
There are lots of programmes to get involved in, some are drop-in chats, another is a buddy-system and the one I did was a course where you get to explore the emotional and mental aspect of the transformation of becoming a mum.
I absolutely enjoyed it and it helped me so much. I didn’t feel alone.
It provides tips and techniques for dealing with the stresses that may arise, plus an opportunity to meet other mums and discuss your experiences.
What do you do to help your mental state of mind as a mum?