The monthly PPD SpeakEasy support call is looking for co-hosts. Would you be interested in helping out? If your heart says yes, please email me at ppdtojoy (at) gmail (dot) com.
And in between calls, please join me and many more moms from all over the world at the free Mama’s Comfort Camp Facebook support group and refueling station.
– – –
Talking about PPD is so hard. Especially at the beginning. And it is the first step towards recovery.
If you have access to support groups, I urge you to go. But what if you live far away, or work during the day, or are too sick to get out of bed*?
Tam Tadam! PPD SpeakEasy to the rescue!
A phone chat with mothers from near or far. It’s just what the doctor should have ordered. It’s amazing how much relief you can generate from listening to the voices of mothers struggling with the same things as you are. Again, this is about knowing you are not the only freak in town.
What?
A free, loving, and lovely monthly support phone chat,
Where each of us gets to vent and unload our burdens in good company. We nurture some, bitch and moan some, and validate a whole lot. Depending on the needs of the mamas on the call, we might get to sharing a couple of my favorite tools from the recovery kooky jar. The “Hard” is easier to carry when we share it.
Scroll down or click here to go directly to the testimonials: tired mama’s stamps of approval for the PPD SpeakEasy calls.
And the amazing Robin of www.farewellstranger.com wrote a post about her experience with the Speakeasy call, she called it: Hope in a Phone Call I am so grateful for her insights.
When?
Most months we talk on the 2nd Tuesday of every month , at 8:30pm Eastern Time. Check the Event Calendar for current dates.
How?
You sign up to the email list and get call details (phone number and pass-code) to your inbox the day of the call.
At 8:30pm EST you call the number, when prompted you put in the pass-code, and voila, you can talk to me and the rest of us, and you can also just listen. There is no fee for attending.
Who?
Mothers of babies and/or older kids.
Some are local (Ithaca, NY) some are not.
Some with PPD, others with anxiety, some with no diagnosis at all, just some nagging feelings. All of us feel mother’s guilt, and all of us are trying to make peace and find ease in motherhood.
What do we talk about?
UnGuilting! Self Care! Letting go of perfectionism! Anxiety and what to do about it!
Accepting what is. What’s hard. What’s lovely. Things that don’t make sense. Learning how to be present to joy (hint: disarming guilt is key). Expectations, reality, and the annoying differences between them…
Do I have to talk?
Gosh, no!
You are invited to talk; you are welcome to share, vent, unburden yourself. You never have to.
Some people like to only listen. They say they get a lot from just hearing what helps others. You are welcome to do whatever feels right for you.
Do I have to say my name?
Only if you want to.
You may choose to say just your first name. You could come up with a pretend name (that name you always wished your folks were smart enough to call you? Its day has come!). You could talk without identifying yourself at all, or only say where you are calling from. By the way, I highly recommend not keeping ppd a secret, I only began to get better after I started talking about it, but that might not be where you are right now. And I will never ask you to do anything that doesn’t feel right for you. It’s your call, OK?
Will the call be recorded?
The short answer is no.
My original intention was to record these calls to make the replays available for moms who can’t make it to the live call. But there were technical difficulties up the wazoo, and then I’ve gotten some feedback that the recordings feel uncomfortable for some. For these reason I’ve decided to nix the recording.
The PPD SpeakEasy got some tired mamas stamps of approval. Read them here.
* P.S. Stars!
* by the word bed* up there: I’ve been there. Too sick to get out of bed. So sick, that if I left the bed, I had to stop to rest on the floor on the way to the bathroom. Tears in the bathroom. And then had to rest on the floor again on the way back to bed. It was the most painful experience ever. It felt like it would never end. Depression, such a bitch! And I’m better now. And because I’m really not that special, I know that with the right skills, you can get better too. and with the same skills, mothers who are not depressed can protect themselves from getting depressed in the future. It’s all about the tools and the skills: self care, positive self talk, and disarming guilt and anxiety. If I could learn what it takes to get better, you just might be able too. I’ll be sharing those goodies at each Speakeasy call. And if it sounds weird, please consider dialing-in anyway. You won’t have to say a single word to get compassion, ideas, and support.
P.S. 2: Your comments would be very helpful here. Do you have any questions? Suggestions? Wanna tell me how to make it easier for you to participate? Feedback, I love it, do tell.
Testimonials: what SpeakEasy callers are saying:
I discovered the PPD SpeakEasy through #ppdchat on twitter. At the time I was once again being sucked into my PPMDs hell, and I needed to hear a voice that offered more support than I could find on Twitter and Facebook. At first, it was hard to believe that calling a secure voice chat would help me with what I needed in that moment! I had to overcome my fears, fears of talking with someone I barely know, fears of being judged, fear of sounding stupid and childish, fear of being misunderstood. Often I feel that I don’t deserve to reach out and accept help and support. With much support I was able to take that scary leap of faith and dial the call access numbers!
I couldn’t believe how “true†the person answering the phone really is! Yael is very laid back. She never pushes me to say anything I don’t want to share, I am free to speak and say whatever I need to, never judged or looked down upon. The relaxation techniques that Yael offers at different points in the conversation help me stop and breathe. As nervous and scared as I was before I called, I was able to be relaxed!
I really loved connecting with the other mommas on the call! Knowing I am NEVER alone in this journey is so helpful. The women that call share some of my thoughts and fears. It is so good to hear.
~ Nicole (3 boys) @snipcrank1 on twitter, Louisville, Kentucky.
When my husband was out of town and I was flailing in a whirlwind of stress and loneliness, the lovely ladies on Yael’s call were there for me. Just hearing their voices empowered me. We poured out our stories and confessions and together grew stronger over the course of an hour. If you need to talk or just want to listen, I encourage you to participate. It’s worth it.
~ Liz (2 yo boy) @d20blonde on twitter, Baltimore, MD
Before I discovered the PPD SpeakEasy support calls, I was in the deepest parts of my struggle with postpartum depression. Often I wished I could die, or that I could find my daughter a “real†mother. I had no concrete plans to harm myself (I wouldn’t do that to my daughter) I was simply in intense pain and couldn’t find any help or relief.
Connecting with mothers who know what I’m going through is SOOOOO CRUCIAL to my recovery because I didn’t know anyone else with PPD before. I get much comfort from the sharing, and the helpful ideas and tools for redirecting my painful thoughts are even more useful. I didn’t think I could overcome my ‘stinking thinking’. This is a huge struggle for me, I have made more progress with that than I thought I would. I take notes on every call, then I have comforting and nurturing tools to remind my fuzzy, sleep-deprived mind of healthier ways to think when I am having a bad time between the calls.
Yael is honest and has a great mix of humor to soften my bitter pain. Sometimes I feel like she is reading my mind, giving me answers for things I had been too ashamed to ask, or suggesting ways to handle what I’m too overwhelmed to imagine is possible to overcome. I think there is a part of every new mom who needs to be loved and held tenderly by another mom who really understands, and Yael does this for me. I live 2 hours away from Ithaca, and I really hope to be able to attend a PPD to Joy meeting in person some day. Yael, your work has been a lifeline for me. I can’t wait to finally meet you in person and just give you a hug.
~Julie (mama to a baby girl) Rochester, New York.
Tweeter Love for the PPD SpeakEasy Support phone chat:
@jamesandjax Jaime: I participated in my first PPD to Joy # Speakeasy phone chat today. I feel better for having done so. @yaelsaar is such a comfort.
jamesandjax @yaelsaar I loved you before today but now that I know your voice, I love & appreciate you more!!!
unxpctdblessing Lauren Hale: @yaelsaar Much love back to you for 
jenrenpody Jennifer Gaskell: @yaelsaar Thanks Yael. As always, it was so wonderful to hear your sweet voice and words of wisdom. 
MotherUnadorned order essay cheap from order-essay-online.net.Cristi Comes: Just finished the 
frelle Jenna Farelyn: I’m on the
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