Notice
- Hannah Norton
- Nov 10
- 2 min read
This post is number one in a series of five on mental health. These skills are practical and applicable to pregnancy, labor/birth and postpartum/motherhood. Journey with me as I unveil some key skills in living our lives more fully!
Isn't it funny how we don't recognize our emotions until there's a catastrophic emotional implosion? We're unsure of where it came from or where it was heading, but it knocked the wind out of our sails as we felt the pressure building and eventually erupt!
Mothering, parenting, it's a journey not only of training your little ones and showing them love and compassion, but it is a journey that brings up all the ways we were parented (or not parented), the skills we were given (or bereft of), and the compassions (or criticisms) we experienced.
Without the necessary skills learned in childhood, without having caring adults who knew how to manage their own emotional states, many of us arrive at adulthood (and thus parenthood) without ever understanding ourselves or our lived experience.
Emotions start subtly - it's the energy in our body that is looking for a response:
a few butterflies in our belly
a mild headache
slight elevations of breathing and heartrate
foggy brain
tension in our shoulders
When we don't notice their subtleties, they speak a little louder:
Interruptions in sleeping habits
a headache that won't ease
jumping at the slightest noise
crying "for no reason at all"
stomach cramps or changes in bowel habits
These louder messages are meant to get our attention. To make us take notice.
But so often, we JUST. KEEP. PUSHING. HARDER!
Finally, they've had their last straw and they take over our body systems completely:
insomnia
lack of appetite
depression, and wanting to hide from the world
full blown panic attacks
hypervigilance and concern about your or your kiddos safety
But what if we never let it get to this final list? What if we took notice? What if we listened to the message that those little "feelings" those physical nuances were trying to speak to us? What if we paid attention to the body's whispers before it ever felt the need to yell?
Go back to that first list, have you experienced any of those mild physical disruptions recently?
If so, notice.
Acknowledge that something may be amiss.
Take a moment, or two, or three. And ask your body what it might be trying to tell you.
NOTICE
This is the first step in growing in your mental health journey as a mama! You are facing changes and challenges daily. You are making decisions in the spur of the moment. You are adjusting and tweaking in order to meet your baby's needs.
But you're not just a mama. You're you!
You need to attune to your own body just as you learn to attune to your child.
NOTICE!
What did you notice today?
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