I can’t speak for all mamas, but this is true for myself. And I didn’t fully comprehend this until the pandemic hit. And boy, when the realization hit, it hit hard…
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Right before the pandemic, I had found a nice little routine for myself and my family. Though transitioning to being a mom of two was difficult I felt that all the challenges were not unusual for me. They were difficulties that I had heard about before from other moms.
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Then the pandemic happened.
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Suddenly I felt like I was drowning. And I had overwhelming anxiety. I felt like I just couldn’t get out of bed and do life. I couldn’t understand what was happening. I had been through what seemed like much harder challenges in my life and had been able to not just function, but live.
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And the worst part? I felt like I couldn’t explain what was happening, hence, no one could understand what I was going through. I felt so alone.
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After about four months of struggling, I decided I needed to start therapy.
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A New Understanding
My wonderful therapist first assured me that I was not alone in experiencing intense feelings because of the pandemic. She told me that so many people were mentally and emotionally struggling because of it.
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But she pointed out it wasn’t the pandemic alone that was making me feel this way. Rather, the pandemic was the last of a long list of defeats that I have endured as a mom-to-be, a mom-of-one and then a mom-of-two. I had been carrying so many struggles, so many “bruises” to my spirit and so much pain for so long. This colliding with the pandemic was the final straw that broke me (I am tearing up as I am writing this).
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And, more importantly, she helped me to realize that I had endured these struggles without being given ample time to sort through them and, more importantly, without the support I needed.
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I Am In Your Corner
I have and am surrounded by wonderful people, including a wonderful husband, who love me-as many mamas are. But many of us still feel alone, isolated and not understood. We still feel like there is no one in our corner.
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I want you mamas to know that you are not alone. I understand. I know your struggles because I have struggled through them.
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I hope my stories will help you feel and know that I am in your corner.
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With so much love and support,
Rose