Admitting I needed help was the turning point but it was also just the beginning.
Once I said it out loud, once I called the doctor, scheduled therapy, and opened up to Chris, something inside me shifted. It didn’t mean everything magically got better, there were still hard days, tears, and moments of doubt but for the first time, I wasn’t carrying it all alone.
Therapy reminded me that I wasn’t broken. Postpartum anxiety and depression weren’t signs of weakness, they were signs I had been surviving in overdrive for too long. I started learning how to slow down, to breathe, to notice what my body was trying to tell me instead of always pushing through.
I also had to relearn how to love myself not just as “Patricia, the mom,” but as me. A whole new me who had walked through birth, sleepless nights, financial struggles, relationship strain, and deep loneliness and was still standing. Not the same person as before, but maybe stronger, softer, and more real.
Motherhood is beautiful, yes. But it’s also messy, exhausting, and complicated. And the truth is, you can hold both. You can love your baby with your whole heart and still struggle. You can feel joy and pain in the same breath. Postpartum anxiety and depression is such a wild ride.
So this is where I am now, still struggling at times, still learning, still healing, still growing into this new version of me. And I know I’m not the only one. That’s why I created this space. Because no mom should ever feel like she’s the only one walking through it the way I did. I would have gotten help a lot sooner. I hope this inspires you to reflect and check in with yourself.
❤️🩹❤️🩹 If you feel comfortable, I’d love for you to share: What part of your journey has been the hardest to talk about but the most freeing once you did?
