Living with anxiety: 'I couldn't leave my kids to go on vacation because the plane might crash'
“Today has been a rough day,” mum-of-two Kristen Hewitt wrote in a recent Facebook post.
“I've been feeling well lately, taking care of myself, and been relatively calm. But today anxiety won.”
In her post, the mum of two girls writes honestly about her struggle with anxiety; how it affects her self-confidence and makes her feel like she isn't good enough.
Initially afraid to share her message, the blogger and former TV reporter worried about how people would view her; afraid they would think she was weak because she has anxiety.
But she wants to get the conversation going.
She wants mums to realise that "we change after kids", and her post encourages those who are struggling to seek help.
"Just as it came in a monstrous wave taking over my being, it's once again gone. An emotion fuelled by my thoughts. And it's time for us all talk about this.
"Women – we change after having kids. Sometimes it's depression, sometimes anxiety, sometimes both. But we need to confide in others and get help. Process what's happening. Find the root and try to heal."
Kristen finds solace in mediating or writing, and admits that she needed to "journal" this particularly bad day in order to "find her divine light and love that's always inside".
"What we see on TV, the internet, the news, it's not real.
"Every person you know has something. We show our best on social media, carefully curating the content we want the world to see. Hoping not to soil our 'reputations'.
"But this is real life. It's messy, it's hard, it sometimes is too much to handle, but even at its worst it's still beautiful."
In being open and honest, Kristen wants those who suffer from depression or anxiety to know that they are not alone.
"You are not broken. You are LOVE."
Kristen's post is important in keeping the conversation about mental health going, a conversation that needs to keep going.