You’re exhausted all the time, people take you for granted, you feel invisible, can’t find joy in anything… that’s just motherhood, yeah? Not necessarily. We’re always being told to “mind” ourselves, but how can we when we’re just so fecking frazzled all the time?!
After my first child, I should have been on anti-depressants, yet I denied myself that help because I didn’t want to be “that person.” If only I could go back in time and given myself a friendly shake and a jovial boot up the hoop…
Instead of blathering on about yet another personal experience, here is a link to some extremely helpful advice imparted by Today FM’s go-to agony aunt Niamh Fitzpatrick. Speaking on her regular slot on Neil Delamere’s Sunday Best yesterday, she responded to a mum who has been struggling for quite some time. Fitzpatrick included the following nugget that should not be ignored if you are/know someone who may be struggling to tread water too…
A combination of talk therapy and medication together can be very effective for a lot of people when it comes to moving through depression. Dr. Harry Barry (Flagging Depression: A Practical Guide) observes that anti-depressant medication can often “help someone to feel better so that they can get better.”
That is essential. They can get you to a point where you can start to deal with the nub of the issue. Unfortunately, (cue my) there is no public/government subsidised form of talk therapy available in this country (rant). This leads us to push everything down, tell ourselves we’re fine, and sure why would we be paying in the region of €50 a session to talk about ourselves – JJJEEEEEESUS… Sorry, but it’s unavoidable. You can’t run from yourself forever.
If the price of therapy is putting you off getting help, try to get the below book out of the local library (it’s €25 to buy from Hodges Fidges). It’ll give you practical tips for CBT and maybe you’ll identify with some of the case studies.
Onwards and upwards.
