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Lauz
Senior Contributor

Topic Tuesday // Lets get real! Transitions into parenthood // Tues 12 Nov 7pm AEDT

TT-PNG-LE.png

 

From 10 November - 16 November is Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Awareness week and we are lucky enough to have some special guests from @PANDA join us for this Topic Tuesday! 

 

PANDA Week 2019_Logo Date-01.png

 

The theme of PANDA week this year is ‘Let’s get real’ which is what we are going to do in this event! Talking about the real experiences that we have come across or might be coming across when we transition into parenthood and sharing strategies and knowledge.

 

“We want expecting and new parents and their families to feel they can be open and honest about their feelings. As a community, we need to ‘get real’ about perinatal anxiety and depression.”

 

While this awareness week is all about those expecting or new parents we would also love to hear from well experienced parents to share reflections and learnings too! All welcome!

 

Want to receive an email reminder on the night? Hit the 'Support' button below.

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I'm new here - what is Topic Tuesday?

Topic Tuesday runs from 7pm - 9pm AEST monthly. Each month we focus on a different topic, with the session facilitated by a Community Manager or Moderator. Sometimes Topic Tuesday will feature a special guest, who is an expert in the topic.

The first post of the thread (this one) will give you an idea of what the topic is and what will be covered.

 

How do I get involved?

Topic Tuesday takes place right here! It's text based, so no software is needed. During the session, to keep up with the latest posts hit the 'refresh' button on your browser for the latest posts (it doesn't automatically update). Keep an eye for page numbers at the top & bottom of the page, and jump to the highest page number for the most recent post.

 

Throughout the session, the facilitator will put questions out for you to answer, usually asking for your own experience on the topic. To contribute to the session, just hit the 'reply' button and share your thoughts. No answers are right or wrong and everyone is welcome to get involved.

 

What time does this event start in my timezone?

  • AEDT- 7pm
  • AEST- 6pm
  • ACDT- 6:30pm
  • ACST- 5:30pm
  • WST- 4pm

If you have any questions about how to use the Forums, check out our Guides

70 REPLIES 70

Re: Topic Tuesday // Lets get real! Transitions into parenthood // Tues 12 Nov 7pm AEDT

Hello everyone and welcome! @Teej @Shaz51 @Appleblossom @cutiepiekitty @CheerBear @eth 

 

We are really excited to be chatting about the ins and outs of transitions we go through into parenthood. Tonight we have with us Lisa @PANDA who is the PANDA Volunteer Coordinator and our two wonderful PANDA volunteers @Sarzie and @Julia2019. Their expertise will be so wonderful to draw on tonight!

 

Our guests will be posing questions throughout tonight to the community as well as sharing their insights around each question prompt. This is a safe space, so even if its your first time in the forums do feel free to have a go joining in.

 

With that said, I will let our wonderful guests from @PANDA introduce themselves and members coming through feel free to let us know what brought you here tonight? 😊

Re: Topic Tuesday // Lets get real! Transitions into parenthood // Tues 12 Nov 7pm AEDT

Hi everyone, my name is Lisa and I am a Volunteer Coordinator at PANDA. I have the privilege of training and mentoring our amazing peer support volunteers on our National Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Helpline.  Each of our 17 volunteers brings their own unique, lived experience, of struggling in some way during the huge transition to becoming a parent.  They help the caller to feel understood and accepted because they themselves have been through something similar.  We aim to provide a safe space for tonight’s topic “Let’s get real” in the hope that this will generate some useful discussion and provide contributors with the opportunity to reflect on their own experiences and possibly even take away some new ideas, tips and strategies for new parenthood.

 

I’ve chosen this PANDA graphic to add to my introduction as it resonates most with me and is probably the thing I have said most to our callers. 

Lets get real tiles - champions round 1_Page_2.png

I’d now like to introduce Sarzie and Julia2019 who will tell you a little bit about their own journeys to  becoming a parent and will be here to contribute to tonight’s discussion.

Re: Topic Tuesday // Lets get real! Transitions into parenthood // Tues 12 Nov 7pm AEDT

Hi everyone!

 

I became a young parent after an unplanned pregnancy with a new partner and found the transition to parenthood challenging from the outset. I had a difficult birth experience which required emergency surgery after my daughter was born. I had no time to make sense of what happened during the birth as suddenly I had a new person in my life to think of and put first. It felt like everything changed from that moment onwards. My responsibilities, the relationships I had with family and friends, my lifestyle, my body, my identity - there was so much change and I struggled to adjust to it all. In a way it felt like my life wasn’t my own anymore and that I had no control over it.

 

What I didn't understand at the time is that I was not alone and that many people struggle with the changes of becoming a parent. I now also understand that we can be significantly affected by our experiences during birth and that it can be really helpful to seek support to acknowledge and process the very real impact of birth trauma.

 

I’d like to share this PANDA week illustration as I think many of us experience feelings of missing our ‘old life’ at some stage during our parenting journeys, but we often don’t feel able to be real about that with others.

 

It's OK to miss your life .png

 

Looking forward to hearing from everyone tonight!

 

Re: Topic Tuesday // Lets get real! Transitions into parenthood // Tues 12 Nov 7pm AEDT

I am Julia2019, before I became a mother I worked as a Social Worker.  I was looking forward to being a mother and really thought that I would be a natural! When I started to struggle as a new mother, I told myself that I was not entitled to feel the way I was feeling as I was a professional and “should” know how to deal with “this stuff!”  I worked with families most of my working life and my last role before having my daughter was facilitating groups for women with PND.  Knowing about “this stuff” on a professional level was one of the biggest barriers preventing me from seeing how unwell I was because I felt like “how can this happen to me!”

Aside from being a Social Worker familiar with “all this stuff”, I was an efficient, social, independent, strong person that was able to cope with life’s challenges.  When I was not well I was not able to put a shopping list together without feeling total overwhelm.  Another barrier was my own understanding of anti-depressants.  In my case, medication saved me and became a support, as I didn’t feel so alone in dealing with the intense feelings I felt daily. 

 

I finally accepted the help and support that I needed and was able to enjoy parenting and felt like ME again!

 

This PANDA graphic I have chosen resonates with me because self care was such an important part of my recovery. 

 

Empty-cup-illustration.png

 

Re: Topic Tuesday // Lets get real! Transitions into parenthood // Tues 12 Nov 7pm AEDT

hello @Sarzie , @Lauz , @PANDA 

I was a childcare provider when I met my husband to be

and he had 4 children in 5 years

and for me to become the second mum

and the first time i was married xx

 

@Determined, @frog , @greenpea , @Wanderer 

Re: Topic Tuesday // Lets get real! Transitions into parenthood // Tues 12 Nov 7pm AEDT

Hi @Shaz51 - great to have you here with us! It will be wonderful to get your insights and thoughts tonight from your experiences!

Re: Topic Tuesday // Lets get real! Transitions into parenthood // Tues 12 Nov 7pm AEDT

Hi @Shaz51. Wow that's a lot of experience you have had there. That must have been a huge transition for you all.

Looking forward to hearing some of your parenting experiences tonight.

Re: Topic Tuesday // Lets get real! Transitions into parenthood // Tues 12 Nov 7pm AEDT

We might give it one more minute before we kick off into the first question! 

Re: Topic Tuesday // Lets get real! Transitions into parenthood // Tues 12 Nov 7pm AEDT

That must have been a huge transition for you all. -- ohh it was @Sarzie , @Julia2019 , @PANDA , @Lauz 

and

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