Mum As You Are

You find an hour to yourself. A moment you’ve potentially been anticipating for weeks. What do you do? You fantasize about what you *could* do - book a massage? see a friend? read a book? Then the moment comes. Is this excitement or anxiety in your body? Is this feeling calm or am I just frozen? Somehow you can’t think of a single thing you want to but instead are filled with thoughts – I’m feeling ok now, maybe I should just fold laundry. I’ll just go online for a bit, just to get ideas and chill. Next thing you’re looking at photos of your kids on your phone and the hours is almost up. Now you’re all frustrated and angry at yourself again for not doing alone time ‘properly’. What happened? As a mother, I’ve found myself fantasising about the second I can hand the kids over to be alone, only to find that the moment I’m truly alone, I don’t know what to do with myself. Social Media Detox for Mums ⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ More than a healthy baby: finding strength and growth after birth trauma ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3cAuvfu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you'd like to follow along my slow living journey on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my YouTube channel ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ I also send a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠weekly email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and have old school-style pen pals rather than use social media :) My Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mental health courses I teach: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Inquiries: [email protected]

*NB this episode is available on YouTube if you want to follow along with the visuals Life in the Five Senses, Gretchen Rubin https://amzn.to/3qjroyI   Feeding the Soul (Because it’s my Business), Tabitha Brown https://amzn.to/439h0Zd   The Art of Growing up, John Marsden and Take Risks, John Marsden https://amzn.to/43tAhEq https://amzn.to/3C0tLsV   Coretta: My Life, My Love My Legacy, Coretta Scott King https://amzn.to/3C5kb80   Dissociation made Simple, Jamie Marich https://amzn.to/3C19NhD Other books I often recommend to clients The Postnatal Depletion Cure, Dr Oscar Seralach https://amzn.to/3IHgvx6 The Power of Fun, Catherine Price https://amzn.to/3IGrO8T   Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting, Dr Laura Markham https://amzn.to/3MYWWmA AKA Calm Parents, Happy Kids (UK adapted version) https://amzn.to/3OK6nr5 There's also my books :) Social Media Detox for Mums ⁠⁠⁠Amazon Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠ More than a healthy baby: finding strength and growth after birth trauma ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3cAuvfu⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you'd like to follow along my slow living journey on ⁠⁠⁠⁠my YouTube channel ⁠⁠⁠⁠ I also send a ⁠⁠⁠⁠weekly email⁠⁠⁠⁠ and have old school-style pen pals rather than use social media :) My Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mental health courses I teach: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠ Inquiries: [email protected]

Getting up at dawn to journal, exercise and smash goals might work well for well-rested people. But what if you're not yet a member of the well-rested Mum's club? Is getting up earlier the answer? Social Media Detox for Mums ⁠⁠⁠Amazon Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠ More than a healthy baby: finding strength and growth after birth trauma ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3cAuvfu⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you'd like to follow along my slow living journey on ⁠⁠⁠⁠my YouTube channel ⁠⁠⁠⁠ I also send a ⁠⁠⁠⁠weekly email⁠⁠⁠⁠ and have old school-style pen pals rather than use social media :) My Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mental health courses I teach: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/shop⁠⁠⁠⁠ Inquiries: [email protected]

Wintering doesn’t have to occur in the physical season of winter. It can represent a time in life that’s challenging and depleting. A time when your soul needs to rest and pull back. Today I share 4 lessons I've learned in wintering   This book might also be helpful: Wintering: The Art of Rest in Difficult Times https://amzn.to/43a1Pio Social Media Detox for Mums ⁠⁠Amazon Australia⁠⁠⁠ More than a healthy baby: finding strength and growth after birth trauma ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3cAuvfu⁠⁠⁠ If you'd like to follow along my slow living journey on ⁠⁠⁠my YouTube channel ⁠⁠⁠ I also send a ⁠⁠⁠weekly email⁠⁠⁠ and have old school-style pen pals rather than use social media :) My Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/⁠⁠⁠ Mental health courses I teach: ⁠⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/shop⁠⁠⁠ Inquiries: [email protected]

Some of the best anxiety tools around are ones that people often assume are just for kids. I'll share with you a few fun, playful tools to introduce or re-introduce into your stress and self-care practise. I recently learned about a tool called Calm Strips. I haven’t tried them yet, and not sponsored, but they look interesting. They look like a sensory toy in sticker form. You can choose a range of textures – bumpy, soft etc. for focus and de-stressing.  Social Media Detox for Mums ⁠⁠Amazon Australia⁠⁠⁠ More than a healthy baby: finding strength and growth after birth trauma ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3cAuvfu⁠⁠⁠ If you'd like to follow along my slow living journey on ⁠⁠⁠my YouTube channel ⁠⁠⁠ I also send a ⁠⁠⁠weekly email⁠⁠⁠ and have old school-style pen pals rather than use social media :) My Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/⁠⁠⁠ Mental health courses I teach: ⁠⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/shop⁠⁠⁠ Inquiries: [email protected]

Like pretty much every mum I know, I have too many tabs in my brain open: when did I last worm the dogs? How am I going to find time to go to the dentist? Does my youngest have allergies? Is it bad that I stopped taking my kids to swimming lessons? Is every choice I make as a mum somehow always "wrong"? The internet regularly gives the message that if only you tried a bit harder, or focused a bit more, you could have the cake and eat it. But don’t eat cake, OK? Because of sugar, white carbs and gluten, oh my. Am I doing anything right?   Turns out there's a is a word for this experience: Paro It means the feeling that everything you do is somehow wrong. It works best as a visual example, so if you haven’t seen this short video explaining it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7l2hUp0CkQ I encourage you to watch it. It comes from a book I just discovered and am slightly obsessed with – the dictionary of obscure sorrows by john Koenig. Basically its new words for emotions we all feel but don’t have the language for. https://amzn.to/3OMlu3A Social Media Detox for Mums ⁠Amazon Australia⁠⁠ More than a healthy baby: finding strength and growth after birth trauma ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3cAuvfu⁠⁠ If you'd like to follow along my slow living journey on ⁠⁠my YouTube channel ⁠⁠ I also send a ⁠⁠weekly email⁠⁠ and have old school-style pen pals rather than use social media :) My Website: ⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/⁠⁠ Mental health courses I teach: ⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/shop⁠⁠ Inquiries: [email protected]

One of the dirty secrets of parenting that not too many mums seem willing to talk about is that sometimes parents don’t enjoy playing with their children. Or maybe they never enjoy playing and would go so far as to say they hate it. There’s a few reasons for this, and with a few tweaks the concept of ‘play’ might shift for you. *NB* that's cockatoos in the background in case you're wondering. I live in the bush, this is life! Social Media Detox for Mums now on sale! ⁠Booktopia⁠ ⁠Angus & Robertson⁠ ⁠Amazon Australia⁠ ⁠Amazon US & REST OF THE WORLD⁠ ⁠Book Depository for UK/EUROPE⁠ Get a copy of my birth trauma book: ⁠https://amzn.to/3cAuvfu⁠ If you'd like to follow along my slow living journey on ⁠my YouTube channel ⁠ I also send a ⁠weekly email⁠ and have old school-style pen pals rather than use social media :) My Website: ⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/⁠ Mental health courses I teach: ⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/shop⁠ Inquiries: [email protected]

Something like 90% of new parents will have intrusive, scary thoughts. I'll explain what they are about, how to cope with them and a bit about what situations are expected or 'normal' and what situations would be considered problematic or a psychiatric emergency. Social Media Detox for Mums now on sale! ⁠⁠Booktopia⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Angus & Robertson⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Amazon Australia⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Amazon US & REST OF THE WORLD⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Book Depository for UK/EUROPE⁠⁠ Get a copy of my birth trauma book: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3cAuvfu⁠⁠ If you'd like to follow along my slow living journey on ⁠⁠my YouTube channel ⁠⁠ I also send a ⁠⁠weekly email⁠⁠ and have old school-style pen pals rather than use social media :) My Website: ⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/⁠⁠ Mental health courses I teach: ⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/shop⁠⁠ Inquiries: [email protected]

Following on from last week's episode about EMDR for birth trauma I thought it would be useful to delve into birth debriefs. They've become popular, and I do offer them myself but are their practice standards? What does the research say? And, in what circumstances could they make trauma symptoms worse? You can read the accompanying blog post on EMDR for birth trauma ⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/2023/04/21/emdr-for-birth-trauma/⁠ Social Media Detox for Mums now on sale! ⁠⁠Booktopia⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Angus & Robertson⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Amazon Australia⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Amazon US & REST OF THE WORLD⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Book Depository for UK/EUROPE⁠⁠ Get a copy of my birth trauma book: ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3cAuvfu⁠⁠ If you'd like to follow along my slow living journey on ⁠⁠my YouTube channel ⁠⁠ I also send a ⁠⁠weekly email⁠⁠ and have old school-style pen pals rather than use social media :) My Website: ⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/⁠⁠ Mental health courses I teach: ⁠⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/shop⁠⁠ Inquiries: [email protected]

In this episode, I explain as best I can in lay language what EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) is and how it can help process past and future births. This type of therapy is intense but it tends to work faster than exposure therapy or CBT based techniques. You can read the accompanying blog post on EMDR for birth trauma https://doctorerin.com.au/2023/04/21/emdr-for-birth-trauma/ In 2019 I interviewed Krysta Dancy about EMDR for birth trauma on the birth trauma training for birth workers podcast. If you’re in the USA, Krysta’s work would be a great place to start. Social Media Detox for Mums now on sale! ⁠Booktopia⁠ ⁠Angus & Robertson⁠ ⁠Amazon Australia⁠ ⁠Amazon US & REST OF THE WORLD⁠ ⁠Book Depository for UK/EUROPE⁠ Get a copy of my birth trauma book: ⁠https://amzn.to/3cAuvfu⁠ If you'd like to follow along my slow living journey on ⁠my YouTube channel ⁠ I also send a ⁠weekly email⁠ and have old school-style pen pals rather than use social media :) My Website: ⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/⁠ Mental health courses I teach: ⁠https://doctorerin.com.au/shop⁠ Inquiries: [email protected]