23 | The Motherwhelm with Nicole | Postpartum Depression, Anxiety & Finding Confidence in Motherhood

In this episode of The Motherwhelm, I sit down with Nicole, a mum of three from Victoria, to talk about postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, and finding confidence in your own way of mothering.Nicole shares her experience of becoming a young mum and navigating postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety while learning to trust herself in the face of overwhelming expectations. Together, we explore the challenges of early motherhood, the resilience she developed through those difficult seasons, and the confidence that comes with embracing your own parenting journey rather than trying to meet everyone else's standards.Nicole also reflects on pregnancy after miscarriage, raising a neurodivergent child, and advocating for her daughter after she was diagnosed with craniosynostosis. We discuss birth trauma, intrusive thoughts, medication, the realities of working motherhood, military family life, and the pressure mothers often feel to live up to impossible ideals. Throughout the conversation, Nicole shares how therapy, self-reflection, and experience have helped her become the mother she once doubted she could be.This is an honest conversation about maternal mental health, trusting your instincts, advocating for your children, and discovering that confidence in motherhood often comes not from getting everything right, but from learning to trust yourself.If you've experienced postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, pregnancy after loss, you're raising a neurodivergent child, or you're learning to let go of other people's expectations of motherhood, I hope Nicole's story reminds you that there is no single 'right' way to mother, and that you are capable of finding your own.Resources mentionedPerinatal mental health supportRoyal Children's Hospital Craniofacial UnitPilates (postpartum exercise)Topics discussed: postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, intrusive thoughts, birth trauma, maternal mental health, medication, therapy, young motherhood, military families, miscarriage, pregnancy after loss, neurodivergence, ADHD, craniosynostosis, NICU, birth advocacy, working motherhood, gentle parenting, confidence in motherhood.TitleDescription