Two years after our first child, my husband and I felt we were ready to add another to our family. Little did we know the second time around would be a very different experience. Long before trying for our second child, I recall having read an article about secondary infertility. It stuck with me, even though it wasn’t my reality yet. Secondary infertility is the inability to conceive or carry a baby to term after previously giving birth.

Social media and pop culture has recently brought awareness of narcissistic abuse into the light, making it the topic of podcasts, tv series, books, and day-to-day conversation. A lesser known term, antagonistic relational stress, which encompasses the feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, confusion, isolation, and invalidation when one is in a relationship with a psychologically harmful person.

The news that we were having triplets brought us so much joy. We already had a two-year-old daughter and had always said we wanted four kids, so this was perfect. We settled in and began to plan. Our families rallied around us, and we had faith that we could make it through. But before the triplets came, I had to make it through a grueling pregnancy. Nothing about it was easy.

Culture plays a significant role in shaping mental health perspectives and practices. Each mental health professional must receive education to gain knowledge on different cultures and how some communities will have differing views on mental health treatment and social views.

Grief. We are all familiar with it. When we hear the word, we most often associate it with death. I know I did. It wasn’t until I became a clinician that I understood that you can grieve anything. You can grieve things like a job, a loss of any kind, an idea, an unmet expectation of someone, etc.

“Those who expect you to get over grief have never suffered life-altering loss.” – Lisa Appelo
This blog is difficult for me, as I am trying to navigate writing this in my professional self and my personal self, so here’s a little bit of both. This November 29 will mark 6 years since I lost my brother, Kyle, to suicide.

According to a study by Adams, etc. in 2000 with 177 participants, 30% of pet owners experienced severe grief from losing their pet, while the remaining participants reported some impact with loss of their pets whether it was emotional, physical, or even social. People are impacted by pet grief as we often consider them a part of the family.

This is a topic most don’t want to think about, let alone talk about. However, that may be some of the problem. Not only is it important to acknowledge the problem, but educating yourself on signs and symptoms of poor mental health and suicide risk behaviors can help minimize the loss of life. If you know a child, in any capacity, this post is for you.

Have you ever wondered why we are the way we are or why we react the way we do to certain situations? Why you feel ready to book a one-way ticket halfway across the world when it feels like there is a threat to your relationship, you suddenly freeze when you hear your parents yelling in the next room, or notice yourself having an abreaction to a topic that reminds you of something that happened to you when you were a child? If you’re reading this, I’m guessing you have asked yourself something similar?!

You might be asking yourself, what does music have to do with mental health and how are playlists involved? At least I hope you’re asking these questions because music and mental health are very important separately. Music allows us to feel connected to others regardless of age, religion, or language. We can listen to a song and understand the emotion that it is trying to convey.