# trauma

Spending time with Ruby reminds you that there is magic everywhere. Postpartum depression pulled her to rock bottom where she excavated joy and rediscovered her connection to her true self. Her heartfelt candor is liberating, reassuring, and she'll connect you to your angels to boot.

The words we say to ourselves and to each other are so important. As we all become more informed about mental illness, we can all learn to be a source of validation and comfort. It starts simply with listening and discarding harmful platitudes.

There is a shedding of your old self that necessarily happens when you go through an enormous life change such as becoming a mother. Some of the old layers are gone for good. Others call you back in due time. For me, my yoga practice is calling me home.

I was prepared to possibly experience postpartum depression with my second. It didn't happen. Yet I was subconsciously bracing myself for something bad to happen. ER visits felt like an ominous sign. I didn't realize until after the fact that PTSD had quietly been infiltrating my thinking.

I'm pregnant with my second but I'm not a "baby person." I've never really liked the newborn baby smell that most people seem to find so delicious. For me, this smell is tied to postpartum depression, which I know I could experience again.