When is it time to ask for help?

As soon as you need it!

I was sitting in the genetic office at the hospital waiting to hear the results from my daughters brain MRI scan. As I sat there, holding Chiara (my then, 5 month old baby), I was told ‘to prepare myself for a severely disabled child’, that Chiara had a serious brain-injury and would more than likely develop seizures and not be able to walk, talk or live a long life.

Life  shook me to my core, devastated is an understatement. Even though the initial shock has warn off, the reality of the diagnosis comes in waves as Chiara gets older and the some of the milestones such as crawling, sitting, standing remain untouched. In the beginning it was just words, medical terms, yet Chiara still looked like a perfect little baby. It’s only as she has gotten older, that we are able to see the physical representation of what begun as just a complicated scientific diagnosis. So the grief returns, especially when you’re with children of similar age, it’s impossible not to compare, wonder, pray and feel torn.

I’m so grateful that a close friend of mine Lena (who is also a Psychologist), passed on the details of someone I could connect with, another trained professional – Heather Marriott.

Heather has been pivotal in helping me through those challenging times. I urge any Mama who is struggling on any level to reach out. It can be so refreshing to gain insights from people other than friends, family, FB, forums etc. It comes back to the “Self Love – Self Care” mantra that I often talk about. You have to take care of yourself, in order to take care of others. It has been one of the best decisions and commitments I have made, and powerfully transformative.

This is taken from Heathers website wwwheathermarriott.com, it’s not surprising that I resonated with her and the teachings:

mindfulness and psychology

Drawing from the best of Western and Buddhist psychology, my approach encompasses understanding what it means to be in touch with our fundamental humanness. From this place of deep acceptance we can then work towards creating our lives in ways that are much more meaningful and joyful.

The interface of mindfulness and psychology allows for a more direct and complete understanding of how our thoughts operate so that we can settle our emotions. We can also cultivate a sense of kindness towards ourselves and others.