Tag Archives: twitter

#PPDChat 04.11.16: Power of Peer Support

#PPDChat 4.11.16: Power of Peer Support 9pm on TwitterIn honor of National Volunteer Week, tonight’s #PPDChat will highlight the power of peer support in the lives of women and families journeying to heal from Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders.

Peer support matters. It’s the “me, too” we hear when we can’t hear anything else. It’s the “you’re not alone in this” when you can’t find any hope anywhere. It’s the hand reaching toward you as you fight against the darkness threatening to swallow you whole. It’s the sunshine that breaks through when you need it most, washing your soul in hope.

Every story matters, every voice matters, every experience matters. Peer support validates so many aspects of the fight against Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders. How powerful is peer support?

Look at the #PPDChat community.

Check out Postpartum Progress, Postpartum Support International, and so many other volunteer based support programs for Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders literally changing the landscape of what support looks like for women and families on a daily basis.

Tonight, we talk about all of it. So please, join us, as we celebrate the uniqueness that makes us all matter on this journey.

#PPDChat: 02.29.16: The Great Medication Debate

PPDChat 2-29-16No, we’re not going to tell you if you should medicate or not. But we will be discussing the various methods women use to treat their Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders. Everything from natural to pharmaceutical medication. The methods vary just as greatly as the women who end up in battle with a Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorder. Yet, many of these women still find themselves judged for whatever method they choose. You know what? It’s all about finding what WORKS for you, not what works for those around you and makes them feel better. They’re not the ones inside your heads.

Please join me tomorrow evening for this chat. We’ll let it all hang out – vent away about any judging you have received, how stigma may or may not have kept you away from a certain method, or what kind of surprising support you received – we’ll be there to hear ALL of it. Because in the end, we’re all just moms who want to get back to living and loving our lives.

See you on Twitter at 8pm ET, y’all!

#PPDChat 11.16.15: Holiday Survival

PPDChat Holiday SurvivalThe holidays. A time of year when we all celebrate our various faiths. They seem to blend together faster and faster these days, don’t they? Stores putting out Christmas decorations before we have even reached the end of October, seemingly skipping both Halloween and Thanksgiving. What ever happened to one holiday at a time?

Everyone counting down the weekends, the ensuing panic about gift shopping (thank goodness for Amazon, am I right?), and then the logistics of who is doing what where.

It’s enough to exhaust anyone.

The holidays are when our boundaries are truly tested. When our mental health is stretched to the limit for the sake of spending time with family and loved ones because it is expected. But what if you need time to recharge? What if being alone with your couch and Netflix is what heals you? How do you fit in time for yourself if you are dashing to and fro?

Tonight, we will explore how to fit in self-care during the holidays. We’ll discuss strategies to make that get together with your annoying relatives a little bit more manageable. And we’ll also chat about how to keep them from playing hot potato with a newborn little one (because yeah, everyone wants to hold the baby!).

Join us at 9pm ET for a chat that will help you survive the holidays without losing your sanity.

See you then!

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#PPDChat 10.05.15: Say NO to Stigma

Having the Conversation SquareToday’s #PPDChat announcement is a slight departure from the norm as we are not using our standard announcement graphic. Today is National Day Without Stigma, according to Active Minds. You can read more about their movement here.

It’s also the 25th anniversary of National Mental Health Awareness week this week.

With both of these in mind, #PPDChat is following suit and will be chatting about signs and symptoms of all that is on the Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorder spectrum this evening at 9pm ET.

We encourage you to join us. Not only on Twitter, but perhaps by downloading some of the tools Active Minds has made available. By calling and checking in on a new mother. By standing with those that you love. By refusing to let stigma keep us silent any longer.

I’ll see you on Twitter at 9pm tonight.

#PPDChat 02.09.15: Sharing PPD With Family

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Family is supposed to have your back, right? That’s what society says, anyway. But each family is different and every person holds “support” in their own box. They think they are helping but they are instead tearing you down with suggestions meant to heal you.

How do you decide when to share your diagnosis? What about when a beloved family member shames you for fighting this battle?  How large do you make the circle of people who are able to know?

Please join me tonight at #PPDChat to discuss this very issue. It’s one that is extremely important. See you on Twitter at 8:30pm ET!