My mother was raised in an affectionate family with a father who was also in the Navy therefore, not home much. Very clichéd, her dad drank and had lady friends while out on tour. His frequent tours away from the family left Nydia, my maternal grandmother, lonely with three children. My grandmother and the kids would travel to Puerto Rico a lot to spend time with her family. Eventually being with family was not enough to get her out her slump and she grew depressed, later to be diagnosed as bi-polar. Michael, my maternal grandfather, and my grandmother had a very strained relationship because of his infidelity which eventually led them to divorce, twice.
My mother, Jennie, was very close to her father and her mother. She could do no wrong …show more content…
I was exhausted every day, I had a hard time focusing on simple tasks and I was either angry or sad most of the time. I chalked up this feeling as my new life with two boys but at the same time I felt like a failure because I was not able to keep up the household and care for my two babies. A year went by and I broke my hand out of rage. I found this time of my life to be very scary and out of control. At this moment I realized that I had post-partum depression. Sadly, my OB/GYN never screened me for post-partum at my 6 week follow-up appointment after having my youngest son nor at my annual visit. To this day I pray my youngest son does not have developmental issues from my distant behavior during his first …show more content…
I did start seeing a therapist briefly but then stopped.
After I the post-partum subsided and my children grew older I still had self-doubt as a parent. I am so conscientious about not messing up my kids. I wanted to be ideal, perfect. This was not the case. I started to see a therapist to help me articulate my feelings, to learn coping skills for my feelings and to learn positive ways to discipline my children. I went to counseling for any entire year without my parents knowing.
In my heart I wanted to speak with an objective person. Someone who can help me articulate my feelings. Speaking to my mom was helpful but if I had a question on how I was raised the conversation quickly turned defensive and my mom would self-reflect on her own past parental skills. I often ended up feeling guilty that I even brought up my
My mother, Jennie, was very close to her father and her mother. She could do no wrong …show more content…
I was exhausted every day, I had a hard time focusing on simple tasks and I was either angry or sad most of the time. I chalked up this feeling as my new life with two boys but at the same time I felt like a failure because I was not able to keep up the household and care for my two babies. A year went by and I broke my hand out of rage. I found this time of my life to be very scary and out of control. At this moment I realized that I had post-partum depression. Sadly, my OB/GYN never screened me for post-partum at my 6 week follow-up appointment after having my youngest son nor at my annual visit. To this day I pray my youngest son does not have developmental issues from my distant behavior during his first …show more content…
I did start seeing a therapist briefly but then stopped.
After I the post-partum subsided and my children grew older I still had self-doubt as a parent. I am so conscientious about not messing up my kids. I wanted to be ideal, perfect. This was not the case. I started to see a therapist to help me articulate my feelings, to learn coping skills for my feelings and to learn positive ways to discipline my children. I went to counseling for any entire year without my parents knowing.
In my heart I wanted to speak with an objective person. Someone who can help me articulate my feelings. Speaking to my mom was helpful but if I had a question on how I was raised the conversation quickly turned defensive and my mom would self-reflect on her own past parental skills. I often ended up feeling guilty that I even brought up my