Mental Health

My Job Was Killing Me Some days I would rather walk on hot lava than go to work. Have you been there? Have you ever worked in a job that seems like you will never get anything right? How many times have you literally felt like your job was killing you? I loved my career, but my job was literally robbing me of my life and taking me from my family. That’s right, a place that will fill my position before the coroner ever reports my death to the state was killing me. Even before I set my alarm every night, my heart would race just thinking about the next workday. Then, I would snooze more times than I could count, and...

Disclaimer: While the writer does hold a perinatal mental health certification and is a licensed therapist, this is informational and is not to be taken as medical advice. As always, talk to your health care provider. I’ve heard it more times than I can count, “I don’t have postpartum.” The reasons are varied: Maybe she thinks it's not that bad, or depression and anxiety are not something that is discussed in her family or her culture. Maybe there is a fear that she will be labeled, or that it's just hormones or that she's the only one who feels this way.  It seems we (women/society) have been conditioned to think pregnancy and mothering should always be sunshine and flowers and pure...

“I look tired and feel fat.” “I have no energy and still have so much to do.” “Everyone else seems to have it all together and I struggle with even the basics of everyday life.” You don’t look the way you want to look, act the way you wish you’d act, and “mom” the way you wish you’d “mom." Sound familiar? Most of us have been in, or are currently in, this toxic relationship with … OURSELVES. It’s unhealthy and perpetuates habits of thoughts and actions that become engrained in who we are. We focus on what we do wrong, what our spouses and kids do wrong, what is not done to our standards and likings, and what falls short...

As someone who struggled with undiagnosed anxiety for YEARS before seeing a specialist after my second child was born, I am no stranger to the wild things that anxiety can do to your physical body. From breaking out in a random sweat to feeling every emotion in my gut, over the years I have learned with the assistance of professionals and Lexapro, how to cope with my condition. However, there are still days that I feel a bit out of control and cannot calm myself down despite all the things mentioned above. On days when my anxiety is at an all-time high, here are things that I do to help myself. Simple Movement. Key word here is SIMPLE. For me, this...

If you are from Louisiana, you are probably a steel magnolia. We live in a beautiful state with cypress trees and bayous, but we pay for it during every hurricane season when we roll the dice. We wait to see if a big one (or ones) is going to threaten our property, day-to-day life, and our world as we know it. But if you are going to live here, you do it. You roll your eyes when they cancel school even though it was just a strong breeze. You celebrate when November comes and the season was relatively quiet. You prepare, worry, and mourn when the worst-case scenario hits too close to home. But if you have been here long enough,...