All of us have days where the job of being mum feels too hard. Sometimes we begin to feel stuck and start to find it hard to connect with the people we love and engage with the things which matter to us. Perhaps your feelings are overwhelming you, or you feel tearful or numb. You might find your thoughts are racing and you cannot relax. If so, you may benefit from getting in touch. So many women don’t have the birth they wanted, the birth they hoped they would have. There are so many factors which make a birth traumatic. If you felt a loss of control, if you or your baby felt unsafe during birth, if you didn’t feel well looked after by professionals, if you or your baby suffered an injury, if there was a lot of unexpected medical intervention, if it felt traumatic to you… then you experienced a traumatic birth. You may be isolating yourself, feeling confused and anxious, struggling to bond with your baby, avoiding social situations, finding yourself reliving the birth in your mind, or feeling on high alert at all times. If this is true for you get in touch and begin to heal. Was your breastfeeding relationship with your baby a struggle? Did you have to stop for reasons beyond your control, or perhaps you weren’t able to get started? These factors and more can have a deep and long-lasting psychological impact. I can support you to process this experience. Grieving the loss of a breastfeeding relationship is normal and understandable. Other people can struggle to understand why it brings up such intense feelings. It brings up strong emotions because it matters to you. Therapy can help you process the loss and aid you in moving to the next stage of your journey with your baby. Sadly, babies are often lost during pregnancy, birth or in their first few weeks. I have supported women (and men) who have experienced the loss of their baby in all these stages. Sitting alongside these courageous parents I have watched them describe their experience and over time transform their pain, so they can continue to live their life, taking the memory of their little one with them. Our mind is constantly generating all sorts of unwanted, intrusive thoughts. For lots of people this increases when they are sleep deprived, or under a lot of pressure and responsibility. It makes sense that motherhood can be the perfect storm for creating difficult and shocking thoughts. Lots of women have thoughts related to harming their baby, which is common but very distressing. These thoughts can distract us away from our life around us and create distress. To escape the thoughts and the distress they create some of us perform certain behaviours, or begin avoiding some responsibilities in life, such as holding our baby, or using cleaning products. If these experiences sound familiar to you get in touch. Perhaps getting pregnant was hard than you imagined? Or maybe adjusting to having a little one in your life has thrown up unexpected struggles? The difference in what we expected motherhood to be and what it actually is can leave us with big emotions and challenging thoughts. However, it is possible to navigate this and find your stride. Contact me here to find out how. I offer ACT therapy supervision for professionals. Both on a one to one basis and in groups. Please contact me for more details. I speak at events and am available to run workshops. Please contact me for more information. I work in close association with Kez Louise, an Infant Sleep Practitioner. Kez can help you and your child achieve restful nights. Explore her support packages and let’s get you both sleeping better! To receive occasional email updates with psychological wellbeing tips, and my local events – simply enter your email address here. You can unsubscribe at any time. *no spam, ever.
Postnatal depression and anxiety
Birth trauma
Breastfeeding trauma
Baby loss
Intrusive thoughts and OCD
Adjusting to motherhood
Other things that I do
ACT supervision
Speaking
Sleep Coaching
You are not alone if some part of the motherhood journey has led you to feel overwhelmed, isolated or stuck.
Join the Fortitude
Mums Collective