In this episode I interview Veronica Harris, who is a Registered Clinical Counsellor in Nanaimo, BC. She works in private practice and also facilitates a free support group for new and expecting parents. Veronica reached out to me to offer her story of resilience and recovery from postpartum anxiety, and our conversation did not disappoint!
In this episode we talk about:
- Why she became a counsellor with a focus on maternal mental health
- The importance of preventative mental health care
- The physical experience of anxiety that showed up before the emotional aspects
- What it looked like when she knew she wasn’t ok
- Letting go and being ok with not being ok
- Doing a masters degree while being a full time parent to two young kids – and how that led to burn out
- The lifestyle changes she made when she started to experience anxiety
- The importance of reaching out for family and community support when you have it available
- Pressures and tensions that result from expectations – our own, our partners, and societies
- The importance of having open and honest conversations with other parents – and how this helps us be ok with not being ok
- What brought her to the profession of counselling
- How our perspectives change once we become parents
- The power that our expectations have over our lives – and not always in a positive way
- How asking ourselves “what does it mean for me to be a parent” can help us tease out our expectations and figure our who we want to be as parents
- What is available on Vancouver Island for new parents who need support with their mental health
- How our physical and physiological health can impact our mental health
