Today I wanted to take some time to talk about things that people go through daly. Now, this isn’t just something that should resonate with parents of a child with special needs or parents of a typical developing child, but all people.
My husband and I both work full time jobs. For me, I can say I put in 40-45 hours a week, depending on the issues that come up. For my husband, I can say he easily puts in 50-60 hours a week, if not more. Now, on top of that we have 2 boys, Carter, who will be 4 in March and Jackson, who just turned 2 in October. Then, factor in that I started a new career in a new industry in May 2019 and then received Jackson’s diagnosis in August. That would be enough to send anyone’s stress levels through the roof and it takes a lot to stress me out. I made it to 35 before hitting my breaking point…not bad!
In this short amount of time from receiving Jackson’s diagnosis to December, I found myself having difficulty coping, some days I wanted to cry for no reason and some days, I did. I found myself taking out my stress on Carter, getting a short fuse with him, when in reality, he is just a 3 year old being a 3 year old, but the stressors from work and raising Jackson, just overwhelmed me. That is not fair to Carter or anyone else in my life. He is literally one of the greatest kids (I am not biased at all)! So, I finally called my doctor and asked for help. I was prescribed a medication to help with my anxiety and depression. Some days are better than others and that is to be expected, but what I really want to stress here is DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP. You are not weak, if anything you are strong for realizing you can’t do this on your own and you don’t have to.
Another thing I wanted to share, is the power of love/kindness. Last night, I ran into a friend at the grocery store and when we saw each other both our faces lit up. We hugged and chatted for a bit and it was so nice. The best part of that encounter though was her hug. Maybe it is that I see her as more than a friend, like another mother to me, but her hug was something I didn’t even know I needed until it happened. She made me feel like I was in a safe space. A hug or a kind word can really help a person out. Today and every day, I ask you to spread kindness. I know it might not be the easiest task, because you might also be having a rough day, but if we all do our part to spread kindness/love it would be a much better place!
XOXO
Our Fragile Xperience 