Whether you just found out you’re pregnant or you’re already taking care of your newborn, it’s never too early to start considering what kind of positive influence you will be for your kid. Are you going to be a supermom who never shows any weakness in the midst of turmoil, or are you going to be more open and honest with your kids, no matter the consequences? Ultimately, the choice is up to you, as long as you take their wellbeing into account when making your decision.
*This is a guest post and all opinions are those of the author. This post may also contain affiliate and/or paid links. Rest assured that we only work with companies and individuals that we trust. While some of those companies and individuals may work in the medical field, this post is not intended to be a substitution for medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have concerns about your mental or physical health.
Regardless of the type of mom you choose to be, there are certain aspects of your kid’s life that your actions will heavily influence. That’s why it’s good to be prepared and know how to be a positive influence on your child. That way, they grow up into the young adult you want them to become.
Act in the Way You Want Them To Act
Whether they want to or not, your kids are going to act the way you do—it’s human nature, after all. At a young age, they start noticing the things you do, and since you’re one of the most influential people they have in their life, they’ll look to you as an example of what to be. There’s a reason why you see young kids who are needlessly opinionated on topics they shouldn’t know anything about: they learned it from their parents.
In a better example, suppose you want your kid to stay fit as they get older to improve their overall health. There are plenty of ways to convince them to exercise, but none of them will stick if you’re lounging around on the couch while they’re outside riding their bike. Instead, get out there with them and go on a bike ride through the neighborhood together.
Include Your Child When Making Decisions for Them
Remember when you were a child—nothing was quite as horrible as your parents telling you that you weren’t allowed to do something, especially when they didn’t talk to you first. Avoid doing this with your own kid. Granted, you still need to make the decisions for them, but including them in the conversation and listening to what they have to say can change how they react when you tell them they can’t do the activity in question, especially if you explain why afterward.
Also, don’t be afraid to admit when you were wrong about a decision. Nobody can be right all the time, and the sooner your kid understands that the sooner they will learn to admit their mistakes when they make a bad choice in the future.
Use Positivity
The best tip on how to be a positive influence on your child is to simply be positive. Of course, we know you can’t act that way all of the time. Sometimes bad things happen, and you need to release some grief or frustration. However, having an overall positive demeanor with your kids can go a long way when shaping who they’ll become.
If you are constantly a bad influence on your child, don’t act surprised if they start acting badly when they get older. As we mentioned in our first point, they likely learned that behavior from you, so be careful with the decisions you make—because so many of them influence your child.
Author Bio
Christina Duron is a writer living in the Chicagoland area. Her passion for writing and mental health help create thought provoking and engaging pieces and hopes to use them to empower mothers and women to embrace the beauty of motherhood.
Most women with postpartum depression know two things – that they should talk about it, and that they don’t want to.
New mothers are bombarded with information telling them that they need to speak up if they just aren’t feeling right. But they don’t – and for several good reasons. So how do we bridge the gap between the terrified mothers living silently in darkness and the concerned support system who can only help if they know what’s wrong?
Ending the stigma surrounding mental illness would break down so many barriers. And more women talking about postpartum depression would help to do that.
The women who DO speak up, are courageous for doing so. They have decided to ask for help and tell their stories, despite the barriers presented by the medical system and society in general.
Here are some tips for women who want to know how to talk about postpartum depression.
*This post contains affiliate and/or paid links which means that if you click on one of these links and buy a product, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Rest assured that I only recommend products that I love from companies that I trust. Furthermore, I am not a medical professional and nothing in this post should be taken as medical advice. I am simply a mother who has been there and lived to tell the tale.
Read About It
Reading the stories of other mothers can help you figure out how to talk about postpartum depression. Try to read as many stories as you can, because each mother’s experience is different. You never know which ones will relate to you specifically. And if you find a story that feels like the author took the words right out of your mouth – then save it and read it over and over again. Share it on social media or with someone you love. Let the courage of other woman inspire you to want to share your own story.
If you want to know how to talk about postpartum depression, then you need to practice what you’re going to say. Writing it out is a great first step. You don’t need to be a professional writer nor feel any obligation to share your story with anyone. Write it just for you.
Write it out on paper, in pen, so that you can’t erase or delete anything. You can scribble words out but they will still be there like an everlasting reminder that running away from your thoughts doesn’t help.
Write about the bad stuff that you’re too afraid to say out loud. Write about the sad stuff and keep writing even when your tears soak through the paper. Write about all the hopes and dreams that haven’t come true for you yet.
When you’re done writing it out – you will want to burn it or tear it up into a million pieces and flush it. But instead of doing that, find the courage to keep it. It will help you greatly when you are ready to talk about postpartum depression.
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Help Someone Else
Helping someone else who is in the same situation as you are is a great way to learn how to talk about postpartum depression. One way to do this by joining a private online support group where you can talk more freely with strangers. Mothers are usually quite honest and open in these groups and ask questions about everything from medications to marriage problems. If you don’t feel quite ready to ask your own questions, then start by answering one for another mother.
Supporting someone else is incredibly empowering and can give you the courage to talk about your own struggle with postpartum depression.
Here are some online support groups you can join: (I am a member of all these groups as well)
No one knows how to talk about postpartum depression better than a survivor. I should mention that, when it comes to maternal mental illness, there are no REAL survivors because there is no REAL cure.
What I mean by a survivor is:
A woman who has lived through the worst of it in the first year postpartum.
A woman who decided she needed help and asked for it.
A woman who spoke up about what she was going through.
A woman who made changes in her life to avoid the chances of a relapse.
A woman who has established a treatment plan.
A woman who’s mind told her to end it all but she didn’t.
Survivors are still battling the pain of postpartum depression and/or are at risk for a relapse. But survivors have one thing that you don’t… they have spoken up about postpartum depression and lived to tell the tale. So find a survivor and ask them how to talk about postpartum depression.
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Don’t Do It Alone
Fighting a battle alone is never a good plan, no matter how much courage you have. It is much easier to talk about postpartum depression when you have someone holding your hand. Asking for help with postpartum depression doesn’t always mean asking for medication or therapy. Asking for help can mean something as simple as helping you talk to someone about what you’re going through.
Who do you want to talk to about postpartum depression? Your spouse? Your doctor? Your family or friends? Find a person or group to stand with you as you do it (physically or virtually). Having someone else there for “emotional support” can give you the courage you need to speak up, and also hold you accountable so you can’t back out at the last minute.
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One option to consider if you’d like help to speak openly about your postpartum depression to your family and friends is to access an online psychiatrist. Thanks to the privacy and anonymity that it offers, you can speak to a licensed professional, on your own time, without anyone needing to know until you are ready. Find out more at Online-Therapy.com.
Consider the Worst Case Scenario
Make a list of all the things keeping you silent. Which one do you fear the most? Are you afraid you will be treated like a criminal or child abuser? That your children will be taken away from you, or that your spouse will leave you? Maybe you’re worried that someone will judge you, say insensitive things to you or avoid you altogether?
Now make a list of all the reasons why you want to speak up. Are you struggling and don’t know how to cope? Do you want to be a better mother and wife? Do you want others to know why you’ve been acting strange? Do you feel alone? Are you scared of what you might do? Contemplating suicide?
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Which list is your worst case scenario?
Don’t wait for something bad to happen before you decide to talk about postpartum depression. Think carefully about the consequences of staying silent when you should be speaking up. Talking about it won’t be easy, and neither is battling in silence – but wouldn’t you rather have an army by your side to fight the war raging inside of you?
Make Plans For the Future
Thinking about the future can help you decide how to talk about postpartum depression. It’s easy to get wrapped up in all the darkness happening right now, but the future is that light at the end of the tunnel. Without help or a plan to get better, the future seems bleak. It seems like a never-ending life of sadness and despair.
Imagine what you want your future to look like.Do you want to have more children? Think about watching your children grow up, helping them with homework and taking family vacations. Aim to achieve it instead of mourn what would be. So make a 1, 5, and 10 year plan for your life. Having a future will give you something to fight for.
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The simple act of talking about postpartum depression can feel like an insurmountable task for many mothers.
The hundreds of reasons for staying silent are completely valid and understandable. Postpartum depression is a private matter and there is no need for the entire world to know about a mother’s inner most thoughts and feelings.
But the hundreds of reasons for speaking up are also valid. It will take a lot of courage, and make a person feel exposed and vulnerable. But it means that you won’t have to fight this battle alone. And if you don’t have to fight it alone, you have a much better chance of winning.
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