233: Healing from Birth Trauma and Postpartum Anxiety

I love hearing personal stories about someone’s experience, and I’m always honored to share those with you on this podcast. It is powerful to hear someone describe their struggles and journey to healing in their own words. Connecting through the story of a similar struggle can be extremely validating as it allows you to acknowledge what you have been through and find ways to cope. Join us now for Angela’s story of healing.    Angela Martin is the mom of two boys, and her professional background is in the field of finance and accounting. She currently enjoys her part-time work in real estate, and she fills her free time with baking, hiking, and reading. She and her family live in a large college town in the Midwest. Having just completed her memoir titled Dirty Laundry, Angela is looking for an agent to help publish her book and put her healing message out to a wider audience.   Show Highlights: How Angela realized in retrospect that she suffered from anxiety even before motherhood How the birth of her firstborn son didn’t go well, requiring a C-section, blood transfusions, and general anesthesia How the world seemed like an unsafe place after the loss of her infant nephew ten years ago Why Angela’s relationship with her sister became strained because her son lived and her sister’s did not How we find pieces of healing along the way on our journey, even years after the trauma Why we, as a society, don’t share, help, and advocate for each other as we should Why Angela didn’t seek therapy help for five years after the birth of her first son How EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) helped Angela process her trauma and heal from it How Angela’s life was filled with worry and anxiety that depleted her quality of life–but she looked totally fine on the outside Why one of the most important messages for any woman with similar experiences is “You are not alone” Angela’s advice to others about advocating for themselves How journaling became an important healing activity for Angela