A Gift for Mom! 🤍

Postpartum Depression Does Not Define You

2 Minute Read

By Yvette Mystakas

Mother and child — Iryna Inshyna/Shutterstock.com

Hey, beautiful mama.

As I glance at you at the park, at the café, pushing the pram down the street, I see you there, but I do not entirely see you. I only see a part of you.

This is what I see . . .

Empty eyes.

Withdrawn face.

Hands shaking.

A majority of your existence has been swallowed up with guilt, blanketed with depression and charged with anxiety. The rest of you is knee-deep in the struggles of motherhood.

Please do not blame yourself for feeling like this. This is what postpartum depression does. It is not you; it a disorder that infects the mind and embeds the heart and soul with absolute angst and pain.

Please do not let the disorder make you ashamed or weak.

Please do not let PPD make you feel like you are an incapable, imperfect, incomplete mother.

Please do not let PPD make you feel guilty to speak up and talk to someone.

Please do not let PPD make you feel alone—as loneliness can be destructive.

I hope you will soon understand this—you are one amazing mother.

Your children think you are perfect.

You are capable of being a parent.

You are stronger than you think.

You are more than worthy.

I hope soon, you will find your life complete.

Remember, healing takes time.

Gorgeous mama, please be kind to yourself.

Look after yourself.

Please find time for yourself.

Even if it is for 10 minutes, it is time to recollect, recuperate, and recover.

I am so sorry you are going through this torment, mama. It may seem like forever at the moment, but in time the storm will pass.

Soon you will see sunny days.

And once you do, the rays will shine ever so brightly that they will warm and melt every corner of darkness you have lived in.

You may also like:

New Mom Takes Her Own Life After Silent Battle With Postpartum Depression: Why All Of Us Must Share Her Friend’s Plea

There’s a Monster Lurking in the Quiet Shadows of Motherhood

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Yvette Mystakas

Yvette Mystakas is the founder and owner of She is Sacred - a blog, which embraces Womanhood, Sisterhood and Motherhood. She writes raw, from the heart, heartbreaking yet empowering words of her struggles with mental health, the importance of self-care and identity. Yvette has brought together women from across the globe sharing each other's stories. Whether they are a mother, single woman, wife, girlfriend, she is reassuring that we are all not alone and to embrace this beautiful mess. You can follow Yvette's journey on Facebook and Instagram.

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

In: Living, Motherhood

Hannah Harper American Idol winner sings with her young son on her lap

By now, you’ve probably seen the posts flooding your feed: A young mom. Three little boys. A guitar strap embroidered with her children’s drawings. And a crown. When Hannah Harper won American Idol this week, moms everywhere erupted. And honestly? Same. There is something collective about watching a stay-at-home mom win on such a large stage. The celebrations have been pouring in. Moms, we can do it. She didn’t abandon her dreams. She went for it. And all of that is true, and all of that is worth celebrating. But I want to add something to the celebration. Not to...

Keep Reading

Watching Your Children Build the Life You Prayed For Is Beautiful

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

“I love you, Mom.” “Hmmm?” (A little louder) “I love you.” “I love you too…so very much.” I’d been deep in thought, listening to the lyrics we were slowly dancing to. I knew this moment of ours was supposed to be the time to say all the things, but this boy and I had already said all the things, so the song the deejay played—written by Lori McKenna and sung by Tim McGraw—enchanted our ears: When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you When the work you put in is realized Let yourself feel the pride but Always stay humble...

Keep Reading

I Lost My Daughter on Mother’s Day: 3 Truths I’m Believing Today

In: Grief, Loss, Motherhood

Editor’s note: This post discusses child loss Child loss changes Mother’s Day. My 19-month-old, Julia, died suddenly on Mother’s Day in 2024. Three months later, her autopsy revealed she had B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL, also known as SUDNIC). Julia died a week after we did an embryo transfer at an IVF clinic in an attempt to have a second child. We found out three days after Julia’s death that the embryo did not make it either. Six months later, we did another embryo transfer that succeeded, and I now have an 8-month-old daughter, Lucy Mei (“Mei Mei” means “little...

Keep Reading

If You Give a Mom a Bouquet…

In: Motherhood

Woman arranging bouquet of pink flowers on table

If you give a mom a bouquet… She goes to grab a vase to put it in. As she grabs the vase, she also grabs the duster because she knows the spot for the vase is probably dusty and she has guests coming for dinner. As she begins dusting, she notices the stack of books that needs to go back on the shelf. When she gets to the shelf, she sees the bendy action figures in battle formation that need to go back in the bin. When she gets to the bin, she spots the toy food that needs to...

Keep Reading

Here In the Liminal Space of Parenting

In: Motherhood

It’s Friday night at 8:00. The intermittent snoring of an 80-pound lap dog is the only thing slicing through the silence of my home. It feels empty, and there is a stillness in the air. I have nowhere to be; there is nobody waiting to be picked up. I’m staring at the empty takeout boxes from dinner sitting on the coffee table. There was no need to cook a big meal; it was just the two of us, my husband and me, sitting together wistfully in this liminal space of parenting. It is the quiet place between an empty nest...

Keep Reading

Mothers Are the Givers

In: Motherhood

As we were decorating the tree last Christmas, my son dug to the bottom of a box and pulled out a Snoopy ornament. He set it off to the side quickly and continued his rifling. But I noticed the faint crack along the red jukebox that Snoopy stood beside. In an instant, I was standing back in the kitchen of our first home watching my son wander in to ask, in the cutest toddler voice, if he could “pwess” the button on the ornament to play the music. With gleeful excitement, he pressed too hard. The ornament slipped from his...

Keep Reading

Hyperemesis Gravidarum Means I Survived Something No One Could See

In: Motherhood

Pregnant woman lying on couch with hand on forehead

My hands were trembling as I reached for the pregnancy test developing on the bathroom counter. It had been three months since we lost our second pregnancy to miscarriage, and I was cautiously optimistic that this was our month. My heart tried to leap out of my chest when I saw the two lines. Our rainbow baby had been conceived. Let me preface the rest of this story by saying I knew my pregnancy wouldn’t be magical. My pregnancy with my son, who was 22 months old at the time, hadn’t been, and the short weeks leading up to my...

Keep Reading

I’m Learning To Feel Like I Belong In a Room Because I Want Her To Know She Always Does

In: Living, Motherhood

It took me 39 years to like myself. I mean really, honestly look in the mirror and say, “You go, girl.” I understand the concept of progress, not perfection, but the idea of always working on myself became a tiring and unrelenting objective. Here I was shrinking that waist, smoothing my skin, studying hard, working way too late, and often burning the candle at both ends to yield results that were still less than the ideal. It’s all well and good to be a doer who sets reasonable and sometimes unreasonable goals, but throughout my teens and into my early...

Keep Reading

Soon There Will Be No More Breakfasts To Make

In: Grown Children, Motherhood, Teen

Ten boy eating breakfast at kitchen counter

T-minus 44 days until a new beginning- Math has never been my strong suit or my favorite subject, but it will be about 19 years spent rising and trying to shine in our house. Nineteen years of prepping one, two, or all three of our sons to get up and ready for school. Nineteen years of making breakfast. Nineteen years of making lunches. For those of you in the thick of it right now, you know exactly what I mean. I think my husband Steve and I have it down to a science now. If we had to do it...

Keep Reading

I’m Going to Tell You the Things Your Mom Should Have Told You

In: Living, Motherhood

During my oldest daughter’s freshman year of college, I started being haunted by a recurring dream of an old-fashioned suitcase—one of those hard-sided ones that’s as big as they come. In the dream, when I open the suitcase, it’s overflowing with clothing, shoes, and all kinds of stuff that belongs to me and each of my three daughters. Everything in the suitcase is all jumbled together. Nobody else in the dream is worried about sorting through everything, but I am totally stressed about it. To top it all off, I have to deal with this suitcase while preparing for a...

Keep Reading

The Time We Have Left Isn't Nearly Enough

Motherhood

The Time We Have Left Isn't Nearly Enough

Dear Husband: To Us, You Are a Superhero

Kids

Postpartum Depression Does Not Define You

Please do not blame yourself for feeling like this. This is what postpartum depression does. It is not you; it a disorder that infects the mind and embeds the heart and soul with absolute angst and pain.

You are stronger than you think.

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Yvette Mystakas

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

Watching Your Children Build the Life You Prayed For Is Beautiful

I Lost My Daughter on Mother’s Day: 3 Truths I’m Believing Today

If You Give a Mom a Bouquet…

Here In the Liminal Space of Parenting

Mothers Are the Givers

Hyperemesis Gravidarum Means I Survived Something No One Could See

I’m Learning To Feel Like I Belong In a Room Because I Want Her To Know She Always Does

Soon There Will Be No More Breakfasts To Make

I’m Going to Tell You the Things Your Mom Should Have Told You

Get It Now

So God Made a Mother

Postpartum Depression Does Not Define You

Please do not blame yourself for feeling like this. This is what postpartum depression does. It is not you; it a disorder that infects the mind and embeds the heart and soul with absolute angst and pain.

You are stronger than you think.

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

Watching Your Children Build the Life You Prayed For Is Beautiful

I Lost My Daughter on Mother’s Day: 3 Truths I’m Believing Today

If You Give a Mom a Bouquet…

Here In the Liminal Space of Parenting

Mothers Are the Givers

Hyperemesis Gravidarum Means I Survived Something No One Could See

I’m Learning To Feel Like I Belong In a Room Because I Want Her To Know She Always Does

Soon There Will Be No More Breakfasts To Make

I’m Going to Tell You the Things Your Mom Should Have Told You

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like