I have the privilege of working with our partners to help educate their communities about Counslr and ensure people feel empowered to seek support for their wellbeing when they want or need it. I recently got my favorite title yet: Mom. As I transition back to work after maternity leave, I feel compelled to raise awareness for an important issue and explore how our health and mental health intertwine.
Many people know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. If I had to guess, I think that most people do not know May is also Preeclampsia Awareness Month. I didn’t. I didn’t know that May 22nd marks World Preeclampsia Day until a few days ago. I barely knew much about preeclampsia…until I had it myself.
When I learned that mental health and preeclampsia share their awareness months, it reminded me that our physical and mental health intertwine. You may hear people say, “Mental health is health,” indicating that our mental health holds just as much importance as our physical health; but I think the reverse can hold true for many of us, too—“Health is also mental health.”
First let’s define preeclampsia. It is “a hypertensive disorder that affects 3–8% of women who give birth worldwide.” Some common symptoms include high blood pressure, severe headaches, upper right quadrant abdominal pain, and swelling in the hands and face. It varies from person to person. In some cases it can lead to eclampsia, which involves seizures and can be life-threatening.
In my case, I began experiencing headaches that wouldn’t go away with Tylenol about a week after I gave birth and generally didn’t feel right. I checked my blood pressure, and it was high for me, but not as high as what is typically associated with preeclampsia. So I thought, “Maybe this is fatigue from being a new mom,” but I ultimately trusted my gut and put a call in to my doctor. When the results of my bloodwork showed my liver enzyme levels were more than three times what they should have been, we knew something was wrong, and I got sent back to the hospital, along with my husband and newborn child, for treatment of postpartum preeclampsia. It was actually a requirement that my husband stay—although he would have anyway! The medical staff informed us that the medication would make me largely unable to care for our baby and that he (or another trusted family member) would need to be present at all times to care for our daughter.
The nurse set up my IV of medication, which continued to drip slowly over a 24-hour period. The best way I can describe those 24 hours is that I felt as if I was in the deep end of a pool and having an out-of-body experience, sometimes extremely hot and sometimes frigid. I had intense headaches. I felt incredibly out of it, and I kept dozing off.
So, what exactly does preeclampsia have to do with mental health? Well, I found that as my body needed, in addition to the right medicine, some extra TLC—so did my mind. This unexpected and frightening diagnosis brought up more questions that didn’t always have answers, and those uncertainties often caused (and still cause) me to worry. I wanted so badly to be soaking in all of the new moments with my husband and our daughter, but all of the side effects from the medication made that really difficult. So many emotions existed at once: fear of what the diagnosis might bring, sadness that so many moments were blurred by medication, and overwhelm from the newness of parenthood amidst a serious medical condition.
And this rollercoaster of emotions isn’t a unique experience. It can accompany any medical diagnosis (or the uncertainty that comes with the lack of one in a sea of symptoms). In fact, “the prevalence of health anxiety in the general adult population…is estimated to range between 2.1–13.1%.”
I know I’m not alone when it comes to health anxiety; that statistic confirms as much.
So what can we do about that?
I, and probably you, have heard the saying “it takes a village,” and now I understand why. My “village” included my husband and family, my faith, my friends, and countless medical professionals. They all helped take care of me in different ways. But there was one constant: talking to them. It wasn’t always easy to take the first step—for example, calling to say something didn’t feel right and wondering if I was overreacting, or would be wasting a doctor’s time. However, my family’s encouragement to make that phone call and advocate for myself turned out to be exactly what needed to happen to keep me safe.
During this Mental Health and Preeclampsia Awareness Month, I share a part of my story with you for two reasons:
- Mental health is health, and health is mental health, too. Every one of us comprises a whole mind-body system, and our experiences impact us in more ways than we may ever realize. So be sure to check in with your whole self and prioritize your well-being, both mentally and physically.
- Talking matters, and it helps. Yes, taking the first step to talk with someone or advocate for yourself can be hard—but do it. It is worth it.
I feel privileged to work at Counslr, where we prioritize the well-being of our whole selves—both for ourselves as employees and for the communities we support. My hope is that you, reader, feel empowered to prioritize your well-being, too. So, whether it be to a friend, spouse, a licensed mental health professional on the Counslr app, your doctor, or any trusted source, remind yourself that there isn’t a “right” way to say what you need or what you feel. It all counts. You are not a bother. You matter, and your “village” wants to hear from you and wants to help however they can.
I mentioned before that I felt a wide variety of emotions throughout this experience—I was scared, sad, and overwhelmed. But the most salient emotion of them all was, and is, gratitude. I’m grateful to have found what was wrong, grateful for a treatment that helped me get better, grateful for my faith, grateful for my village, and grateful beyond words for our daughter.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and should not be attributed to Counslr, Inc., its partners, its employees, or any other mental health professionals Counslr employs. You should review this information and any questions regarding your specific circumstances with a medical professional. The content provided here is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as counseling, therapy, or professional medical advice.
I have the privilege of working with our partners to help educate their communities about Counslr and ensure people feel empowered to seek support for their wellbeing when they want or need it. I recently got my favorite title yet: Mom. As I transition back to work after maternity leave, I feel compelled to raise awareness for an important issue and explore how our health and mental health intertwine.
Many people know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. If I had to guess, I think that most people do not know May is also Preeclampsia Awareness Month. I didn’t. I didn’t know that May 22nd marks World Preeclampsia Day until a few days ago. I barely knew much about preeclampsia…until I had it myself.
When I learned that mental health and preeclampsia share their awareness months, it reminded me that our physical and mental health intertwine. You may hear people say, “Mental health is health,” indicating that our mental health holds just as much importance as our physical health; but I think the reverse can hold true for many of us, too—“Health is also mental health.”
First let’s define preeclampsia. It is “a hypertensive disorder that affects 3–8% of women who give birth worldwide.” Some common symptoms include high blood pressure, severe headaches, upper right quadrant abdominal pain, and swelling in the hands and face. It varies from person to person. In some cases it can lead to eclampsia, which involves seizures and can be life-threatening.
In my case, I began experiencing headaches that wouldn’t go away with Tylenol about a week after I gave birth and generally didn’t feel right. I checked my blood pressure, and it was high for me, but not as high as what is typically associated with preeclampsia. So I thought, “Maybe this is fatigue from being a new mom,” but I ultimately trusted my gut and put a call in to my doctor. When the results of my bloodwork showed my liver enzyme levels were more than three times what they should have been, we knew something was wrong, and I got sent back to the hospital, along with my husband and newborn child, for treatment of postpartum preeclampsia. It was actually a requirement that my husband stay—although he would have anyway! The medical staff informed us that the medication would make me largely unable to care for our baby and that he (or another trusted family member) would need to be present at all times to care for our daughter.
The nurse set up my IV of medication, which continued to drip slowly over a 24-hour period. The best way I can describe those 24 hours is that I felt as if I was in the deep end of a pool and having an out-of-body experience, sometimes extremely hot and sometimes frigid. I had intense headaches. I felt incredibly out of it, and I kept dozing off.
So, what exactly does preeclampsia have to do with mental health? Well, I found that as my body needed, in addition to the right medicine, some extra TLC—so did my mind. This unexpected and frightening diagnosis brought up more questions that didn’t always have answers, and those uncertainties often caused (and still cause) me to worry. I wanted so badly to be soaking in all of the new moments with my husband and our daughter, but all of the side effects from the medication made that really difficult. So many emotions existed at once: fear of what the diagnosis might bring, sadness that so many moments were blurred by medication, and overwhelm from the newness of parenthood amidst a serious medical condition.
And this rollercoaster of emotions isn’t a unique experience. It can accompany any medical diagnosis (or the uncertainty that comes with the lack of one in a sea of symptoms). In fact, “the prevalence of health anxiety in the general adult population…is estimated to range between 2.1–13.1%.”
I know I’m not alone when it comes to health anxiety; that statistic confirms as much.
So what can we do about that?
I, and probably you, have heard the saying “it takes a village,” and now I understand why. My “village” included my husband and family, my faith, my friends, and countless medical professionals. They all helped take care of me in different ways. But there was one constant: talking to them. It wasn’t always easy to take the first step—for example, calling to say something didn’t feel right and wondering if I was overreacting, or would be wasting a doctor’s time. However, my family’s encouragement to make that phone call and advocate for myself turned out to be exactly what needed to happen to keep me safe.
During this Mental Health and Preeclampsia Awareness Month, I share a part of my story with you for two reasons:
- Mental health is health, and health is mental health, too. Every one of us comprises a whole mind-body system, and our experiences impact us in more ways than we may ever realize. So be sure to check in with your whole self and prioritize your well-being, both mentally and physically.
- Talking matters, and it helps. Yes, taking the first step to talk with someone or advocate for yourself can be hard—but do it. It is worth it.
I feel privileged to work at Counslr, where we prioritize the well-being of our whole selves—both for ourselves as employees and for the communities we support. My hope is that you, reader, feel empowered to prioritize your well-being, too. So, whether it be to a friend, spouse, a licensed mental health professional on the Counslr app, your doctor, or any trusted source, remind yourself that there isn’t a “right” way to say what you need or what you feel. It all counts. You are not a bother. You matter, and your “village” wants to hear from you and wants to help however they can.
I mentioned before that I felt a wide variety of emotions throughout this experience—I was scared, sad, and overwhelmed. But the most salient emotion of them all was, and is, gratitude. I’m grateful to have found what was wrong, grateful for a treatment that helped me get better, grateful for my faith, grateful for my village, and grateful beyond words for our daughter.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and should not be attributed to Counslr, Inc., its partners, its employees, or any other mental health professionals Counslr employs. You should review this information and any questions regarding your specific circumstances with a medical professional. The content provided here is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as counseling, therapy, or professional medical advice.
I have the privilege of working with our partners to help educate their communities about Counslr and ensure people feel empowered to seek support for their wellbeing when they want or need it. I recently got my favorite title yet: Mom. As I transition back to work after maternity leave, I feel compelled to raise awareness for an important issue and explore how our health and mental health intertwine.
Many people know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. If I had to guess, I think that most people do not know May is also Preeclampsia Awareness Month. I didn’t. I didn’t know that May 22nd marks World Preeclampsia Day until a few days ago. I barely knew much about preeclampsia…until I had it myself.
When I learned that mental health and preeclampsia share their awareness months, it reminded me that our physical and mental health intertwine. You may hear people say, “Mental health is health,” indicating that our mental health holds just as much importance as our physical health; but I think the reverse can hold true for many of us, too—“Health is also mental health.”
First let’s define preeclampsia. It is “a hypertensive disorder that affects 3–8% of women who give birth worldwide.” Some common symptoms include high blood pressure, severe headaches, upper right quadrant abdominal pain, and swelling in the hands and face. It varies from person to person. In some cases it can lead to eclampsia, which involves seizures and can be life-threatening.
In my case, I began experiencing headaches that wouldn’t go away with Tylenol about a week after I gave birth and generally didn’t feel right. I checked my blood pressure, and it was high for me, but not as high as what is typically associated with preeclampsia. So I thought, “Maybe this is fatigue from being a new mom,” but I ultimately trusted my gut and put a call in to my doctor. When the results of my bloodwork showed my liver enzyme levels were more than three times what they should have been, we knew something was wrong, and I got sent back to the hospital, along with my husband and newborn child, for treatment of postpartum preeclampsia. It was actually a requirement that my husband stay—although he would have anyway! The medical staff informed us that the medication would make me largely unable to care for our baby and that he (or another trusted family member) would need to be present at all times to care for our daughter.
The nurse set up my IV of medication, which continued to drip slowly over a 24-hour period. The best way I can describe those 24 hours is that I felt as if I was in the deep end of a pool and having an out-of-body experience, sometimes extremely hot and sometimes frigid. I had intense headaches. I felt incredibly out of it, and I kept dozing off.
So, what exactly does preeclampsia have to do with mental health? Well, I found that as my body needed, in addition to the right medicine, some extra TLC—so did my mind. This unexpected and frightening diagnosis brought up more questions that didn’t always have answers, and those uncertainties often caused (and still cause) me to worry. I wanted so badly to be soaking in all of the new moments with my husband and our daughter, but all of the side effects from the medication made that really difficult. So many emotions existed at once: fear of what the diagnosis might bring, sadness that so many moments were blurred by medication, and overwhelm from the newness of parenthood amidst a serious medical condition.
And this rollercoaster of emotions isn’t a unique experience. It can accompany any medical diagnosis (or the uncertainty that comes with the lack of one in a sea of symptoms). In fact, “the prevalence of health anxiety in the general adult population…is estimated to range between 2.1–13.1%.”
I know I’m not alone when it comes to health anxiety; that statistic confirms as much.
So what can we do about that?
I, and probably you, have heard the saying “it takes a village,” and now I understand why. My “village” included my husband and family, my faith, my friends, and countless medical professionals. They all helped take care of me in different ways. But there was one constant: talking to them. It wasn’t always easy to take the first step—for example, calling to say something didn’t feel right and wondering if I was overreacting, or would be wasting a doctor’s time. However, my family’s encouragement to make that phone call and advocate for myself turned out to be exactly what needed to happen to keep me safe.
During this Mental Health and Preeclampsia Awareness Month, I share a part of my story with you for two reasons:
- Mental health is health, and health is mental health, too. Every one of us comprises a whole mind-body system, and our experiences impact us in more ways than we may ever realize. So be sure to check in with your whole self and prioritize your well-being, both mentally and physically.
- Talking matters, and it helps. Yes, taking the first step to talk with someone or advocate for yourself can be hard—but do it. It is worth it.
I feel privileged to work at Counslr, where we prioritize the well-being of our whole selves—both for ourselves as employees and for the communities we support. My hope is that you, reader, feel empowered to prioritize your well-being, too. So, whether it be to a friend, spouse, a licensed mental health professional on the Counslr app, your doctor, or any trusted source, remind yourself that there isn’t a “right” way to say what you need or what you feel. It all counts. You are not a bother. You matter, and your “village” wants to hear from you and wants to help however they can.
I mentioned before that I felt a wide variety of emotions throughout this experience—I was scared, sad, and overwhelmed. But the most salient emotion of them all was, and is, gratitude. I’m grateful to have found what was wrong, grateful for a treatment that helped me get better, grateful for my faith, grateful for my village, and grateful beyond words for our daughter.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and should not be attributed to Counslr, Inc., its partners, its employees, or any other mental health professionals Counslr employs. You should review this information and any questions regarding your specific circumstances with a medical professional. The content provided here is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as counseling, therapy, or professional medical advice.
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