Us moms feel awful and ridden with anxiety, stress, and depression, and we don’t even have the energy to figure out why. We do our best to internalize all of our feelings because we don’t have the time to even eat some days, let alone take time for our mental health.
We are sleep deprived and barely surviving the day, and we have a long list of to-do’s that never seems to have an end in sight. Some of us are still grieving our old lives before kids, even while loving our children with all our hearts.
Hear us loud and clear: your mental health matters!
You don’t need to settle for feeling anxious or depressed or feeling bad. You deserve to feel good emotionally and be better.
Last year, I finally decided to do something about bettering my mental health. I was so tired of feeling the way I was. I was putting off getting the help that I needed because I didn’t know where to start.
How do I find a therapist?
What resources are available to me?
It seemed like such a daunting task to even know where to begin.
I see mothers putting their needs on the back burner, but right now is the time to stop what you are doing and figure out a mental health plan for yourself.
Your mind, body, and soul will thank you later for taking this big first step to seek help.
It can be overwhelming to know where to start, but we have put together a comprehensive list of resources to empower you.
Xo,
East Valley Moms
What resources are available to me at work?
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Ask your Human Resources at your company for information on the EAP. This assistance usually has an allotted amount of free therapy sessions. This program can also apply to spouses or other family members such as your children. The program won’t tell your company that you have used this assistance and will keep everything confidential.
- Health insurance: Look into finding out how much your health insurance benefits will cover for therapy sessions. Your coverage provider will share if any deductibles need to be met and help provide a list of therapists in your area that work with your insurance.
- Paid leave: If you truly need a mental health break, you can ask to set up short-term disability or paid leave.
What is the difference between a therapist and a psychiatrist?Therapists and psychiatrists work together to help provide mental health treatment. Therapists help address the cause of the problem through various therapy and psychiatrists help prescribe and monitor medications.
Tips for Getting Started with Therapy
- It may feel uncomfortable at first but keep showing up and keep going. I remember feeling weird sharing so much of my personal feelings and life with someone I didn’t know and sharing feelings that I have never shared with anyone before. It may feel uncomfortable to be so vulnerable, but you are in a safe space! After word-vomiting so much during my first therapy session, I felt so much better just to get the feelings off of my chest without anyone judging me.
- Date your therapist! It is okay if you aren’t feeling it with your therapist, and it is okay to start over with a new one. You might not find the right therapist the first time, but don’t settle and keep looking.
- Seek a therapist that can relate to you. It is important that your therapist be able to relate to you, whether that be through race, gender, sexuality, motherhood, etc. This will help you feel seen and heard.
- You are not going to feel better right away. It takes time and work on yourself to truly feel like yourself again. There will be ups and downs through this journey of your mental health, so some days are going to be easier than others.
Two local resources we personally recommend
WHI Arizona
WHI Arizona is a licensed outpatient treatment center specializing in the mental health needs in pregnancy, postpartum and parenting.
All their therapists are trained by Postpartum Support International with their Executive Director serving as a national trainer with PSI. They offer individual, group and couples counseling. WHI also supports your parenting needs specializing in young children birth to six.
Paperflower Psychiatry
A gentle reminder: being an amazing mom begins with self-care. Sometimes that means realizing that motherhood is not synonymous with living with constant anxiety and mental anguish. Sometimes that means “store-bought” neurotransmitters can be okay — especially when our bodies need a little help. Paperflower Psychiatry offers telepsych services for moms.
If you’re looking for more self care recommendations, browse our full Self Care Guide here, from physical wellness to mental wellness, we share our teams best recommendations from personal experience.
