Tag Archives: Monday Twitter Chat

#PPDChat 03.21.16: Self-Care with @HonestlyMamaG

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Self-care discussion with @HonestlyMamaGYou know I am a HUGE proponent of self-care. Huge. So when I run into someone else who is actively creating a community around this concept, particularly for mamas, I have to get them involved in #PPDChat. Because self-care is at the core of our philosophy here.

Today, I’m so thrilled that Graeme of @HonestlyMamaG will be joining us. I had the pleasure of meeting her at last year’s first maternal mental health patient centered conference held by Postpartum Progress. We’ve kept up via social media. Every Saturday, Graeme would post Self-care Saturday posts. My self-care, particularly on the weekends, has increased because of these posts. (I am also a huge proponent of walking the walk so if I post something, better believe I’m going to do it!)

She’s recently started Periscoping and a separate community specifically for self-care. When I asked if she’d be willing to do a #PPDChat to talk about it, she enthusiastically said YES.

I hope you’ll join us tonight as we discuss the importance of self-care as a woman, as a wife, as a mother, heck… as a human. See you on Twitter at 9pm ET, y’all!

#PPDChat 02.15.16: On Being the Village

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PPDChat 02-15-16It takes a village to raise a child. We are not meant to raise our children on an island by ourselves, and yet, that is what motherhood has become for so many in this modern age. That’s not to say that Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders are a new fangled issue, nay, they have existed in tandem with motherhood for quite some time (even Hippocrates addressed the issue of mothers who went mad after childbirth).

Mothers need help. But often, their village is unprepared to help them when these mothers are struggling with challenges well beyond the scope of standard child-rearing issues. How do you help a mother who is fighting against the darkness of a Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorder, exactly? What should you do? What shouldn’t you do?

We’ll examine this and more during tonight’s chat. I sincerely hope you will join us at 8pm ET on Twitter. See you there!

#PPDChat 01.11.16: That Pesky Thyroid

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PPDChat 01-11-16: That Pesky Thyroid. Join us at 8pm ET on Twitter.Did you know that the thyroid can cause issues that mirror several symptoms of Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders? It absolutely can. But – not a lot of people know it can. This is why tonight’s chat is SO important. I hope you will join us as we discuss the various ways in which the thyroid can cause symptoms which mimic PPD, how to deal with them, how to push your doctor to test for them, and why it is important to test for any thyroid issues.

Look forward to seeing you this evening at 8pm ET on Twitter!

 

Celebrating by Giving Back: Pregnancy & Postpartum Support MN

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I’m excited to share with you about Pregnancy & Postpartum Support MN. I’m even more excited to tell you that their Associate Director, Crystal Clancy, will be our guest on Monday evening. We will be discussing how a Postpartum Helpline functions and what goes into getting it up and running.

According to Crystal, here’s a bit about the organization:

How we started:

We started in 2006 as a small group of mental health practitioners with a desire to support new /expectant parents who are struggling with mental health difficulties. Our goal was to provide resources and education to professionals and new/expectant parents.

What we do: What PPSM offers that is unique are two things:

1) The resource list for practitioners and parents. This is a list of vetted mental health practitioners and psychiatrists who specialize in perinatal mental health. We also list support groups, classes, and are working on adding alternative options.

2) The HelpLine, which is a call in line for parents and providers who are looking for resources and ongoing support. They can be paired with a trained peer volunteer, most of whom have survived their own experience with a PMAD, or know someone very close to them who has. The peer volunteer offers phone support, and we make it clear that it is NOT a substitute for therapy, but more of a “am I going to get through this?” helping hand.

Planned events:

The annual Beyond the Baby Blues Conference in June, sponsored by NAMI; we are also hoping to pull together a 5K for next fall! In addition, we try to have “Meet and Greets” 3-4 times per year for people who would like to know more about PPSM and how they can get involved.

How people can donate/volunteer:

On our website (which should be back up and running soon), or they can contact us through our Facebook page and we can find a workaround that they can donate to Paypal for PPSM or find out how they can volunteer.

Here’s the link to PPSM’s FB page. Click there to find out more about them and nose around their social media presence. As Crystal shared, the website is under construction at this time and they hope to have it up and running soon.

I hope y’all have a great weekend! Crystal and I are looking forward to chatting with you on Twitter on Monday night at 8:30pm ET, 7:30pm CT, and 5:30pm PT. Just follow the hashtag #PPDChat. See you there!