Browsing Tag

motherhood

Chronic Depression And Deciding To Become A Parent

Posted on May 3, 2019

Deciding to have children is a tough decision at the best of times. Deciding to start a family when you have chronic depression and anxiety, and take regular medication is another thing altogether. Years ago, I read an article in The Guardian that discusses the July 2014 guidelines that were issued to GPs by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE). These guidelines give doctors advice on how they should treat female patients who suffer from depression. In particular, it recommends that…

Thoughts & Inspiration

Life Lessons that I Thought I’d Have Learnt By Now

Posted on September 28, 2018

A photograph of a woman sitting in a garden looking into the distance - The Life Lessons I Thought I Would Know By Now - Mrs H's favourite things

When I was a young adult and I looked at people in their 30s or 40s, I always assumed that they had this game of life sussed. They were mature adults. Surely, they knew exactly what they were doing. Surely, they’d learnt the lessons of how to live a happy and contented life. I looked at them in awe and believed they all lived perfect lives. They seemed filled with wisdom and knowledge and a confidence I couldn’t imagine possessing.…

Mental Health

The Importance Of Validating Your Children’s Emotions

Posted on June 3, 2018

A photograph of a mother and her son - the mum is reading a copy of the Love book from My First Emotions Box by Skylark Learning - The Importance Of Validating Your Children's Emotions - Mrs H's favourite things

Tonight we had chicken stir fry for dinner. Mr H had spent 20 minutes cooking a lovely meal that we could all enjoy as a family. And it was a yummy dinner. Mr H and I ate the whole thing. However, Little Mister H was not happy about his dinner. He clearly wanted fish fingers and chips or jacket potato with cheese and beans. So he became angry and ended up throwing some of his food at me. He’s a…

Motherhood

The Declaration of Motherhood

Posted on January 28, 2018

I hold these truths to be self-evident that all mothers are created equal. Irrespective of the road you’ve travelled down to become a mother, you are endowed with certain undeniable rights, and these include not being judged, being supported and being allowed to parent as you see fit. That to secure these rights, you merely need to have the position of Mother. Whether your child was conceived naturally, through IVF, was adopted or fostered you are a mother and I’ve been…

Baby Loss Mental Health Motherhood

The Grief Of Baby Loss

Posted on January 14, 2018

Our first baby was due on 14th January 2013. Although, I struggle to remember the due dates for the other babies I’ll always remember the day that our first baby was due to enter our lives. Sadly, that little boy or girl was never meant to be ours to hold. At 11 weeks pregnant, we discovered that the baby was dead. Their heartbeat had stopped when I was 6 weeks pregnant. When the midwife told me that the baby didn’t…

Finding Happiness

50 more things that make me happy

Posted on January 7, 2018

A photograph of a mother who is walking in the woods and looks happy. She is smiling at the camera and her little boy is asleep in the Pao Papoose Baby Carrier - 50 More Things That Make Me Happy - Mrs H's favourite things

“The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.” William Morris The past few months have been tough. Yet I’ve entered 2018 with a new and positive outlook. I’ve set myself some goals and I’m looking forward to the year ahead. Like most people, I’m constantly in the pursuit of happiness. I want my life to be filled with experiences and moments that make me happy. But recently I’ve realised that happiness…

Mental Health Thoughts & Inspiration

When The Words Won’t Flow

Posted on January 5, 2018

A photograph of a woman with brown hair wearing a red plaid shirt and red lipstick - she is looking down and away from the camera - she looks pensive - When the words don't flow - talking to children about Depression and Anxiety - Mrs H's favourite things

Sometimes when I write about my depression the words just flow. It’s as if they were always there just waiting to be written down in black and white. On other occasions, I want to write but the words aren’t forthcoming. They won’t flow. Words are created and deleted. Sentences are written and rewritten. Paragraphs are formed and unformed. I can start a post about one thing and then it becomes about something completely different. For example, when I sat down to…

Thoughts & Inspiration

18 for 2018

Posted on December 29, 2017

Over the past few months, I’ve begun to listen to Podcasts. One of my favourite podcasts is Happier by Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project. In one of her recent podcasts, she shared her list of 18 things she plans to do in 2018. As soon as I heard Gretchen and her sister discuss their 18 for 2018 lists, I knew that I had to write one for my blog. It’s part bucket list and part goal setting but…