Why are you so public about it..

Why am I public about using herbal medicine as a mother?
Simple. A long time ago, before we used technology for everything, we learned things like this from our mother and grandmother. Because these techniques for healing have been lost. Because they’ve been judged and labeled. Because parents who make this choice in modern day society get shamed, but most of all because it changed my life and others.

It wasn’t until about a year ago when I started posting anything medical marijuana related.
I met a mother through Instagram and we’ve become as close as you can from literally across the country. When we initially met through this lovely portal she was pregnant, and after her baby girl arrived our friendship grew over our shared experiences with motherhood. She’s gorgeous and funny and has a beautiful family, however she struggled with PPD like I and so many others did. She made a choice to stop using marijuana once she became pregnant but after she delivered and chose to breastfeed, she realized there still is little to no options for her own emotional support. Prescriptions that you take while breastfeeding are transferred to your milk, so you choose  between your mental stability or breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a fundamental part of my (and many others) bonding and overall parenting, so for me those two go hand in hand. Losing that ability to nourish my children would have made me even more upset, so that wasn’t an option.

One day she reached out to me after seeing something I posted in my stories and our conversation led on to the topic of marijuana usage  and breastfeeding. She lives in a state where even recreational use is legal, however the guilt was heavy on her.

In my first blog post ever, I wrote about meeting a mother who changed my life forever. She showed me you can still be a good mother, a devoted mother, one who raises their kids to be good successful people, and choose a natural route. That making that choice doesn’t make you a bad person or a bad mother and MOST importantly that this is the safest option for anxiety and depression medication, amongst hundreds of other ailments. I became close with this mama and realized her daughter is brilliant and so is she, that my guilt and shame from this was stemming from false knowledge and fear.

Dealing with the realness of anxiety, depression, and motherhood in general isn’t easy. Being able to reach out through social media can save and change someone’s life. Reading that there’s a mother out there is living and breathing that same feeling and is a sigh  of relief for some. Pretending like I don’t smoke every day to deal with my anxiety and depression that has lived with me genetically for years is a lie and honestly anyone who doesn’t know that about me, doesn’t know anything about me.

I do this because I believe it helps others find truth and honesty in themselves. Set boundaries for you time, RESEARCH, and understand self care is important if you want to take care of your kids at 100%