Motherhood is the most precious, cherished role that fills me with gratitude every day. Yet, along with the boundless love, happiness, and joy that it brings, motherhood can also be an emotional rollercoaster, fraught with worry and fear as we navigate a new world of learning and experiences. For me, my feelings of worry and anxiety intensified when we had a post-natal diagnosis of Mollie having Down Syndrome as well as the multiple and ongoing hospital stays we had. It was difficult to break free from the worry as each circumstance brought more reasons for me to worry, causing things to spiral.
In the early days, we experienced a lot of shock, fear, and pain as we as we were taken on a very different journey and very quickly we had to adapt and adjust, find our way and educate ourselves on everything to do with Down Syndrome. And at the same time we had to find our way as a new mother and a parent. Then towards the end of last year we had 7 hospital stays over 5 months, which was a real trigger for my emotions and escalated the worry. So there was a lot to juggle and navigate and take on board.
It was clear that the early days of motherhood, coupled with the diagnosis and the hospital stays brought a range of intense emotions, and despite releasing and expressing my feelings, I had to suppress some of my feelings and put them on hold, as my priority was to be the best I could be for Mollie. In some ways, I also felt like I was “failing” for having such feelings, which only escalated into more worry an unease.
I soon realized that feelings and emotions always resurface, they are still there deep down, festering and gaining momentum. During the intensified times my go to was homeopathic remedies to help manage my worry, as I’ve used homeopathic remedies a lot over the last 20 years for various things and I use them frequently for Mollie and have seen so many benefits with them.
In recent months, I recognized the need to prioritize my well-being and take proper action to address my overwhelming worry. I understood that to effectively handle any potential stressful situations in the future, I needed to equip myself with the tools to respond positively and effectively and so I started a dedicated treatment plan with Christelle Rankin, who is a homeopathic and quantum healing professional. I opted for this holistic treatment that aims to address the root cause of the problem and promote overall well-being which is supported by homeopathic remedies, that stimulate the body’s healing abilities. The Quantum healing involves working with energy fields and aims to restore balance and harmony in the body with and overall goal to achieve and restore optimal health and well-being on all levels. After just a few months I am already seeing progress and I’m able to manage my worries more effectively, I know it will take time but it’s a positive change in the right direction. I’m also going to factor in some exercise into my routine again as this was always so supportive to my mindset in the past, so it’s about commuting that time to me. I’m also more comfortable speaking about my feelings and sharing how I feel, which I also believe has been part of my healing process.
My ultimate goal is to focus on living in the moment and enjoy the here and now, as opposed to worrying about what might happen, or getting too consumed with worry in difficult situations, so I am in control as opposed to worry controlling me.
Each day, especially on the challenging ones, I remind myself of the remarkable progress we’ve made in the past 20 months. We no longer harbor the same worries and anxieties as we once did. Witnessing Mollie’s growth, development and accomplishments, recognizing her incredible potential has been nothing short of remarkable. The happiness she brings us daily is unparalleled and we’re incredibly grateful to have her in our lives. Looking back, if only we had known what we know now, we could have more easily navigated those initial fears and concerns.
I’ve shared some of my personal story before and I know it resonated with a lot of mums who were experiencing similar feelings. I don’t feel ashamed to share how I felt as I know that a lot of my feelings and emotions are ‘normal’ and I’ve accepted that it’s okay to feel intense worry, anxiousness, overwhelm, and uncertainty about actual or potential problems. Seeking help and treatment can make a significant difference and I feel if we can be more open and honest about our feelings, we can help normalize these emotions and let others know that they’re not alone.
I hope that my story can inspire others to seek out the help and support they need and help open up the conversation.
Elaine & Mollie x
