Pursuing a dream, a favorite hobby, an unfulfilled goal, a special talent, or a persistent interest is definitely one of the most direct and effective ways for a mom to keep her sense of self strong and her "essence" vibrant.
It happens.
In a heartbeat, life and YOU change. Your world is now consumed with children and their needs. Then one day, you realize ... you're missing from your own life.
How you may have changed since you became a mom, and how you perceive those changes.
How the undesirable changes in you, your life, and/or relationships may have impacted you and your mood.
How to assess what's important to you and achieve the sense of identity that includes you beyond your role as mom.
How to put together a meaningful and specific goal that will help you achieve the sense of identity, emotional stability, and personal joy that comes from exploring your "self" and your unmet needs.
FUN
over 50+ questions
It is
ENGAGING
All about you
EASY
take 5 minutes a day
I lost myself in motherhood
...then found meaningful relationships with my partner, my children, and myself.
Hi I'm Anne, and I know how you’re feeling because I’ve been there. I've been where you are right now, but I stayed there too long, far longer than I would ever want you to stay....too long in that space of feeling like I was missing from my own life, consumed with motherhood, tired, down, and wanting to run away on my worst days. I loved my family. I loved being a mom to three adorable and sweet children. Everyone was healthy and life seemed wonderful from the outside. But, within me was an ache, and it grew deeper and more noticeable as the weeks, months, and even years passed. Until one day when I hit bottom. It actually didn’t take much, but I had nothing left. I felt completely lost, completely out of touch with the woman I had always known myself to be. I was unfamiliar to myself in almost every way and saw that when I stopped to look in the mirror.
What happened to me?
As a mental health professional, I couldn’t ignore this phenomenon any longer and vowed to figure out what was going on, and why. Through many focus groups, interviews, personal exploration, and professional coursework, I got the answers I needed and wrote Missing In Action: How Mothers Lose, Grieve, and Retrieve Their Sense of Self (see excerpts under the Books tab). Over the years, I combined the notes I kept of my journey and the feedback I collected from the moms I coached, and I ultimately devised a series of questions and a path moms like you could take to find their way out of the depression, anxiety, or angst they're feelings; a path leading to the fulfillment of a need that has gone unmet, unrealized, ignored, denied, neglected, or forgotten.
I'm passionate about this because I know how it feels and I KNOW things can be better than they are for you right now. I also know it starts by deciding that you are worth what it takes to get where you want to be. It starts by saying "YES, it's time." It's time to find the "me" in mommy.
3 Takeaways from Mom's Guided Journal
1
PROCESSING
Part 1 of Mom’s Guided Journal will help you think through the many ways one can change when stepping into motherhood.
Part 2 of Mom’s Guided Journal focuses on your core values and which ones are significant but not "manifesting" in your life.
Part 3 is all about putting the pieces together in a specific and exciting goal that expresses what you want apart from being "mom."
2
ACCEPTING
3
EXPRESSING
sample questions