My Mental Health & Being Mum

At Relax With Lucy & Co, we love to hear stories from real people and we were kindly given permission from the lovely Tania Taylor to share her very emotional, touching story of how motherhood impacted on her mental health. Keep reading to hear Tania’s story below.

I'd always wanted to be a mum. Some of my earliest memories are playing with dolls and looking after my younger siblings. So, when I had my children I was completely overjoyed, especially as I'd suffered a miscarriage. They were the absolute world to me and everything I did, I did for them.

One morning everything changed. My youngest son was rushed into hospital with suspected meningitis and than rushed to a specialist leukemia ward in a children's hospital. My whole life turned upside down, but after further testing, they decided it was a mistake. The relief was incredible but soon was overtaken again by fear. The consultant accused me of physical abuse. The rash no longer had a medical explanation. Soon I had a whirlwind of medical and social professionals, even the police, scrutinising every part of our lives. The experience left me with PTSD and as my symptoms progressed, debilitating anxiety, IBS and OCD.

Eventually they did find a medical cause for my sons issues, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. But my mental health didn't go away. I was terrified that these professionals could come back into my life at any moment and whisk my children away from me forever just because one of them might decide they "were at future risk of harm" .I didn't go to the doctors as I didn't want poor mental health on my medical records incase it happened again.

Eventually, I saw a local hypnotherapist for fear of public speaking and during my initial consultation she asked if I had; anxiety, PTSD, IBS, OCD amongst other things. "Yes", I responded and subsequently burst into floods of tears. When I left her that day, I couldn't believe that she could really help with those issues. I'd had them for more than 10 years now and there was no easy fix, this was part of me, completely ingrained.

A few weeks later and the solution focused hypnotherapy she had used on me, had me searching for more and more positives in my life and gaining confidence in ways I had never dreamed possible. I was so fortunate to have come across her. She changed my life in so many ways.

Now, I can manage my symptoms. Anxiety still peaks its head at times, but that's normal, and it never stays for long because now I help myself. Through listening to hypnotherapy, looking for positives and doing more of the things I enjoy. For me, life still has its challenges. Events that happen that are complex and completely unexpected, but now I can cope with them and I always know that it's only temporary. This roller-coaster life has to go deep down low sometimes, so that we can fully appreciate it when we're way up high. And I really do appreciate the highs in life.

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Tania Taylor is an international multi-award winning Hypnotherapist & Psychotherapist. She provides 1:1 support via video link worlTania Taylor is an international multi-award winning Hypnotherapist & Psychotherapist. She provides 1:1 support via video link worldwide for anxiety and related conditions such as depression, OCD, PTSD, phobias and Insomnia. Alongside this role Tania is an international lecturer at three worldwide training schools for therapists and a #1 bestselling author of three books. Tania is a lover of yoga and cats and lives in Milnrow, Rochdale with her wonderful partner and amazing two teenage children, family hobbies include escape rooms and geocaching.dwide for anxiety and related conditions such as depression, OCD, PTSD, phobias and Insomnia. Alongside this role Tania is an international lecturer at three worldwide training schools for therapists and a #1 bestselling author of three books. Tania is a lover of yoga and cats and lives in Milnrow, Rochdale with her wonderful partner and amazing two teenage children, family hobbies include escape rooms and geocaching.