Up To The Surface

  How I will keep my sanity A guide to the ways that I make the effort every day  to keep my mental health in check as a busy mom, wife and homemaker with a tendency  to suffer from anxiety and depression.   Though having proper help from a therapist can be very good, even crucial for you, you don’t have to shell out hundreds of dollars every month to stay sane when you’re a mom.  Even if you’re a mom who’s not quite “okay”.  So many predispositions can be managed with  the proper amount of self care.  So here’s my list.   1.      I eat a balanced diet.  This doesn’t mean “no treats”. It just means I balance a small amount of the not-so-healthy indulgences with a large amount of healthier choices when I eat. A single day’s eating for me might consist of five or six servings of fruits and vegetables, three servings of protein like chicken or beef and a serving of healthy carbs like rice...but also a little piece of cho...

  There are two sides to my new assignment as  Stay-at-home mom.   On one side of the coin, I am full of a joyous feeling. It may be a rather sad truth, But after years of experiencing the plethora of  Disappointments and frustrations That come with adulthood in a wrecked economy, when you suffer from depression and  don’t know what your true calling is, That appearance of passion... ...of unbridled joy and enthusiasm about something, anything at all... is a rarity. Most of the time, you just accept things. You feel fine about them But you don’t feel like the sky is the limit anymore Like you did as a teenager.   Getting a good bank job and going to work Made me feel relief and some hope for the future But after awhile, I fell into routine. Routine is good.  But overall, life felt more like it was powered By a sense of obligation. Being freed up from my 9-to-5 felt like life was switching from obligation to opportunity. This probably sounds a bit odd f...

  After my first child was born,  I was more than happy to return to work. Circumstances were quite different then. For one, my marriage had been rocky since the year before. Space was good for us. Also, I had rather intense post partum depression  And rages at times. Getting out of our tiny condo and into my quiet office Was good for me. At the time, I had been the one working And my husband was staying home. He had to take some time for his mental health. He was preparing to return to school  And get his accounting degree. So when my very short (seven week)  maternity leave was over,  I didn’t feel upset at all about leaving our son in the hands of my very capable husband at home. he loved children. He wanted them very much. I was the one who had not planned to have any And who had been totally surprised, Even blind-sided, by the unexpected pregnancy that year. This didn’t make my son any less valid. He was small and pudgy and adorable. I often ended up b...