Mental health is a topic that affects every single one of us. From anxiety to depression and everything in between, the impact of mental illness can be debilitating for those who suffer from it. While there are many factors that contribute to the development of mental illnesses, such as genetics or environmental influences, research has shown that trauma may be one of the most significant root causes. This has been my experience in clinical therapy as well.
...As Mother’s Day approaches, many of you will be reflecting on your relationships with your moms. This Mother’s day will be my first since my mom passed away. I don’t believe I have spent any mother’s days with her my entire adult life and I’m not sure how to feel about that. Maybe one when she lived with us? Why can’t I remember it? We didn’t share mother’s day together because we simply lived too far apart.
...My mom had a life before me (obviously). She was born in Fort Fairfield, Maine just like I would be twenty years later. She loved reading, and passed that love on to me and my daughter Lena. She loved roller skating, flirting, and chasing boys. She knew how to type and speed read. Her work after high school included nursing home assistant, harvester worker, short order cook, and a potatoe factory worker at McCain’s Potatoe Plant. I don’t know if my mother ever considered higher education. I believed her to be quite intelligent and maybe it is because of all the books she read. I often wonder what her life would have looked like if she had the opportunity to go to college.
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