While postpartum depression and anxiety are becoming more well-known and understood, many mothers struggle with anxiety and depression later on in their parenting journey, often due to burnout from trying to do it all with so little support.
Balancing career obligations, growing children, and a wide range of emotions that often get neglected can trigger an overwhelming mental health crisis in some moms. In author Julie Chavez's case, debilitating panic attacks stopped her in her tracks, waving a red flag that her mental health was suffering in the midst of what her therapist described as a "mid-mom crisis."
Chavez is not alone. In fact, one study found an increase in generational rates of persistent generalized anxiety disorders and a range of less persistent disorders in millennial moms (Najman et al., 2021). While it is not clear whether this finding reflects actual changes in symptom levels over a generation or whether there has been a generational change in the recognition of and willingness to report symptoms of mental illness, it is notable that today's moms are struggling with their mental health.
When moms struggle, their entire family struggles too. Research has demonstrated that anxiety not only lowers the quality of life for the mom suffering from anxiety, but it also can lead to negative emotional, behavioral, and social outcomes for her children, no matter where they are in their development (Sweeney, S., & Wilson, C., 2023).
Reading can be therapeutic, and sharing our stories offers an opportunity to feel less alone in our inner struggles with mental health (Jack, S. J., & Ronan, K. R., 2008). Chavez shares her reflections on her mental health journey in her memoir, Everyone but Myself, published this year by Zibby Books.
1. The first line of your book reads, “In the moment it’s happening, a panic attack can convince you of nearly anything.” Share a bit about experiencing your first panic attack at 38—what precipitated the onset of debilitating anxiety at this time in your life?
I had just returned to work after nearly a........