outsourcing your power to knowledge that comes from a place outside of yourself is that you leave your own knowledge behind—parents become quick to sacrifice their intuition in favor of the latest science or opinion. The trick to finding your own intuition and leaving behind the doubt is to just do what feels good and right, Lowe acknowledges. She has found in her field that when a parent is separated from what feels right, there is a dissonance that leads to constriction, fear, and insecurity. “When we ask clients to tap into their knowing and bring it into their consciousness, the body feels really full of love and compassion and almost a sense of confidence and clarity.” TOOLS TO HELP Typical adjustment to postpartum life is characterized by everything being a little off kilter, but having a general sense of the direction you’re going and staying on track with that. If it deviates from that, then it can
lead to an adjustment disorder or diagnosed postpartum depression. “Disordered means that what’s happening is significant enough in my day to day that I’m starting to fall behind. I am starting to struggle in my sense of self. I’m not really keeping up with how I want to as a mom. I’m not able to return to work, or I’m struggling with hygiene,” Lowe explains. If feeling disordered, Lowe recommends getting blood work done to make sure to rule out any medical explanation such as hormone imbalance. She says especially in the postpartum realm, hormones are quite affected. Additional resources are to seek therapy or a support group. “But really it is also about normalizing the experience and then giving the emotions permission to be here,” Lowe emphasizes. “A lot of mothers fear the stigma of ‘I’m supposed to be happy, I’m supposed to be excited, I’m supposed to want this and I’m scared to
death,’ or ‘My body’s in shock, and I don’t know where to go to not feel judged.’” Tools that Lowe gives her clients include mindful self compassion, cognitive behavioral therapy, identity work, and mostly just talking. “If someone doesn’t feel their symptoms warrant talking to a therapist, a simple thing a person can do is talk to someone who loves them and cares about them and helps them remember who they are, helps them remember their strengths, helps them remember their goals, their why.” Move your body, go for a walk, get good sleep, eat, and drink water. All those things can make a change to your mood and thought process. If things are sticking around for longer than seven days in a row, it might be something more than a typical adjustment. “Anything that can be discussed can be healed,” says Lowe. “So just talk about it and know that there is a place to do that. You’re not alone.”
SPRING 2026 | PINK&BLUE
19
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator