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How Early Childhood Trauma and Attachment Shape a Child’s Brain and Relationships
Many people think trauma only happens when a child gets older. But that is not true. Trauma can start very early in life. It can even begin before birth. When we talk about attachment, we are talking about the bond between a child and their caregiver. This bond is called a dyad. It means two people working together, usually a parent and child. This relationship helps shape how a child feels about safety, love, and trust. Trauma Can Start Before Birth Research shows that stress during pregnancy can affect a baby. When a pregnant person is under a lot of stress, the body releases stress hormones like cortisol. These hormones…
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It’s Not Just “Baby Blues”: Understanding Mental Health After Birth
Having a baby is often expected to feel joyful.But many new parents feel something very different.They feel overwhelmed, anxious, sad, or not like themselves.And they start wondering: “Is this normal?” The truth is this:Mental health changes after birth are very common.But not all of them are just the “baby blues.” Some parents experience postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, or postpartum OCD. These are part of a group called perinatal mental health conditions or perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs).They are real. And they are treatable. What Are the Baby Blues? The baby blues are mild mood changes after childbirth.They usually start within a few days after birth. Common symptoms of baby…
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Why Autism in Women and Girls Is Still Being Missed
Part 3 of the Say It Louder Series In Part 1, we talked about how women are often told their symptoms are “just anxiety.” In Part 2, we discussed how hormonal imbalances can impact mental health and why those symptoms are often overlooked. In Part 3, we explored chronic pain and how many women are left feeling dismissed when their physical symptoms are misunderstood. And now we need to talk about something many women are only discovering much later in life: They may be autistic—and no one recognized it. More women and girls are being diagnosed with autism later in life because many do not fit outdated stereotypes. They may…
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How to Navigate Life Transitions When Life Doesn’t Go According to Plan
Why Life Transitions Are More Common Than We Realize Have you ever noticed how much of life is spent in transition? We move from one season to another, one role to the next, one chapter closing while another is just beginning. Some transitions are expected—graduating, starting a new job, getting married, becoming a parent, or watching children grow up and leave home. Others arrive uninvited—a job loss, a diagnosis, the end of a relationship, grief, disappointment, or a dream that didn’t unfold the way we thought it would. The truth is, life transitions happen more often than we realize. And if we’re being honest, most of us don’t particularly like…
