You made it! 30 posts in 30 days! Today, write a recap of your experience. What was your favorite prompt? Least favorite? What have you learned? Describe your HAWMC experience in one word!

Writing for HAWMC 2013 has been amazing! I really enjoyed all of the prompts because they challenged me in different ways and got me writing again, especially about the topic of postpartum psychosis. I learned that I’m a lot stronger than I typically give myself credit for and that when I put my mind to something, anything is possible.

If I had to describe my HAWMC experience in one word, it would be: Evocative.

We all know Health Activists are awesome. Share three things you love about yourself, things you’re great at, or just want to share. Here are mine:

1. My willingness to share – my story, my ideas, my support, my love.

2. Supershot basketball – I once won a DVD player at Dave & Buster’s just from playing supershot basketball, oh and $500 at a bar when they held a contest for it.

3. Writing, especially bad poetry – it’s a quirky thing I’ve always enjoyed and I try to write poems for friends and family on special occasions.

I manage a Twitter list of people and resources associated with Postpartum Depression and Postpartum Psychosis, but wanted to share with you a handful of women that I think are just plain awesome when it comes to providing insight for the maternal mental health community.

And since May is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month – the timing is perfect for you to start following them! So here are my Top 5 (in no particular order) Must Follow Women on Twitter for Maternal Health Insight:

Katherine Stone: Creator of world’s top postpartum depression blog Postpartum Progress, patient advocate, stigma ass-kicker, parenting writer at Disney’s Babble, Fierce Blog

Lauren: Passionate PMAD Survivor & Advocate. Unafraid to tell you the good, bad & the ugly! Founder of #PPDChat, leader of #PPDArmy. You’re not alone. (Madly in love!)

Jennifer Moyer: Mental Health Advocate, Speaker & Writer. Overcame postpartum psychosis. Brings hope & inspiration to individuals & families facing mental health issues.

Jen Gaskell: Wife, mom, business professional, writer and singer. PPD and PPA survivor. Coproducer of #LTYM #mke. Stretching beyond my comfort zone.

Robin Farr: Published writer & editor. TEDx speaker. Mom & PPD survivor. Motto: Live the life you’re meant to.

If you wrote a book about your life, your community, your condition, or your Health Activism–what would you title it? Come up with 5 working titles. What about your autobiography?

My conditions are postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder. Here are the five working book titles I came up with:

1. My Life in Black and White
2. The Naked Truth About Postpartum Psychosis
3. You Don’t Look Sick
4. I Hate Rollercoasters
5. When God Talks to an Atheist

And the title I have chosen for my autobiography is…

She Flies With Her Own Wings

It would be a story of how love and support can help you overcome challenges, but also how important it is to learn to fly on your own again. The cover photo would be a black and white butterfly to represent the highs and lows of bipolar disorder.

What’s a day that you wish you could have used a pain-free pass (either in the future or the past)? How would being pain or worry-free impact that day?

If I had a pain-free pass to use, I would give it away to my parents and my husband for Friday, October 3, 2008, the day that I experienced my postpartum psychotic episode. If they could have had a pain-free pass that day, they would have been spared a lot of worry and sadness over my actions. Although it took some time for me to recover and the aftermath of that episode was painful, the day itself was far more painful for my loved ones.

There was a lot of confusion at first, during phone calls with me, when each of them realized that something was not right and that I was not talking like my “normal” self. Confusion quickly turned into fear when they realized that I was not well and I was still driving, but not headed home. Instead I headed towards water, believing because of my end of the word delusions that I had to be baptized. I was also playing a game of cat and mouse with my husband over the phone. Believing him to be the devil, I would not answer his questions honestly, especially about where I was going.

At one point during a conversation with my parents, I begged for their forgiveness and then abruptly hung up on them. That was the last time they heard from me that day and the next time they called my cell phone, a police officer answered. I can only imagine the absolute terror they felt for those few minutes when they did not know if I was OK or not.

Their fear and concern has lingered since that day. I can tell each time I share something emotional with them that they are thinking about that day and worrying that it will happen again. At times it is frustrating, but I do understand. Luckily, I have received the help and support that I needed and am doing very well, going on five years since that day. But, if I could have erased the pain that I caused my loved ones, I would do so in an instant.

Today I’d like to introduce you to another amazing Health Activist named Carly who blogs about her experience with the chronic illness, Crohn’s disease. By reading her blog, I was introduced to Ally’s Law (or the Restroom Access Act) which would allow people with IBD or other medical emergencies the right to use employee only restrooms in stores that do not offer public facilities.

Unitl now, I had no idea that the need for this law existed or that since 2004, only 13 states [Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Washington] have passed the Restroom Access Act. That is a mere 26% of the United States. As Carly clearly states in her blog post, “this is unacceptable“.

It truly is a matter of dignity and I ask you to put yourself in another person’s shoes or in this case, pants, and imagine what you would do if you were denied access to a restroom when you needed it the most.

Write about how your life would change if there was no social media (suggested by Christina). Ironically I’m responding to this hypothetical situation via a blog post, but here we go. If there was no social media, how would my life change? First, let’s look at what social media means to me. I spend a great deal of time using social media, both professionally and personally. I practically live on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Path, Pinterest, Foursquare, Instagram, Tumblr, well, you get the picture. I’ve said it before, I love social media.

I think I initally got hooked on communicating with others via the Internet in college, when I was introduced to Telnet chat rooms freshman year. It was 1994 and I was an introverted 18 year-old, so the idea of being able to “talk” to other people by writing (or typing) my thoughts instead of speaking them was incredibly appealing. I’ve always felt I was a better communicator through writing, than speaking. I spent many hours that year, glued to the computer, meeting people from all over and having intriguing conversations with them.

Fast forward to the year 2005. I was pregnant with my first child and seeking information about pregnancy and childbirth through websites like BabyCenter and BabyZone. I ended up on their message boards and connected with women whose due dates were the same month as mine. From a group of hundreds, approximately 40 of us migrated over to a private message board, called “Beyond Moms”, and began sharing information about our pregnancies and also about our lives. It was an amazing support system that even lead to in person gatherings after our babies were born. Still today, I consider many of these women close friends and have enjoyed following their life journies for the past 8 years. One day, maybe we’ll even have a group called, “Beyond Grandmoms”.

I joined Facebook in 2008 after a friend suggested it. Then I joined Twitter in 2009, after hearing about it on the radio. These platforms were my introduction into the world we know as “social media”. Through these social media tools, I’ve learned a lot about communication, technology, and information sharing. I’ve also learned a lot about people, especially myself. Social media has increased my self confidence and given me a voice in the world. It’s encouraged me to meet new people through Tweetups and other social networking gatherings. I think it has even turned me into an extrovert, given my last score on the Myers-Briggs personality test (ENTJ).

I have formed many invaluable relationships in my life. Some because they were family, some because we met in school, some because we met through work, but many more started simply through the words typed on a computer screen. So without social media, my life would certainly be a lot emptier.

It wouldn’t have you.

Write about something ordinary that’s inspiring to you, something simple, perhaps overlooked, that fuels your activism. What a great topic! It was suggested by Abigail Cashelle.

I think anything that inspires me, helps fuel my passions, one of which is sharing information and resources about postpartum psychosis and mental health with others. I find inspiration in so many things in the world around me, such as nature, art, poetry, quotes, humor, music, and certainly in other people. I really like to find inspiration in slightly imperfect things, seemingly “average” things, and especially things that others would pass by without taking notice. I enjoy going to antique shops and yard sales to find things that I can refurbish and love. And I love items that have been passed down from one generation to another.

If I had to pick just one thing that has truly provided inspiration to me throughout my life, I would pick something from nature, and that would have to be trees. I’ve had a fascination with trees since I was very young, maybe 5 years old, when I would climb them in my backyard. In my high school and college photography classes, I would often take pictures of large, old tree trunks and their wild, jagged roots. Even today if you go to my Pinterest profile, you’ll see an entire board dedicated to trees and on my photo walks on Flickr, even more trees.

To me trees represent life, strength, beauty, and wisdom. I love sitting on a blanket, in the shade of an old oak tree, and reading all afternoon. I love the warm, vibrant foliage that takes over my home state of Vermont each Fall. I love seeing the newly fallen snow glued to the stark tree branches in Winter. And I love the gorgeous sight and invigorating smell of the magnolia trees each Spring in Washington, D.C.

My son is in first grade and has shown a significant improvement in his reading ability this school year. Recently we read, “The Giving Tree” together for the first time and he read me the entire book. Afterwards he drew a picture and captured what he read in a couple sentences. It says, “It is nice to give things to others and the tree was happy.”

I love seeing the world through his eyes. He always finds a way to express the world around him in the most simple, yet beautiful terms. His innocence is so refreshing to me, especially when it’s so easy to get jaded by human nature these days. Imagine how much more beautiful this world could be if we were all like the Giving Tree and found happiness in giving of ourselves, simply in the name of love. Now that would be extraordinary!

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.” ~ Mulan Do you believe this statement to be true or false? When do you bloom best?

Everyone is tested by adversity at some point in their life and to some degree. It is how you respond to that adversity that shows your true character, and ultimately determines whether you will succeed or fail.

I do believe that the flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all. I think that our struggles provide us with the opportunity to soar higher and farther than we ever could have without them. But not everyone handles that opportunity the same way. It takes shear resilience, extreme strength of character, and a good amount of luck to overcome life’s greatest obstacles and challenges. Not everyone is equipped with all three of these things.

I feel as though I have faced my share of adversity. But I was never tested more than I was by postpartum psychosis. It shook me to my core, sent me back to the basics, tested my relationships, and made me have to learn to trust myself again. Coming out the other side of an illness like that has given me a greater sense of confidence in myself, my own strength, and my ability to overcome any challenge that comes my way. I think to myself, “if I survived that, I can survive anything!”

For a long time after my postpartum psychotic episode I would wear a bracelet I made, during my stay at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington, as a visible reminder of how far I had come. I no longer need the bracelet, because I know in my heart just how strong I am, and how lucky I am to be here. That fact alone gives me a greater sense of urgency, to live life to the fullest, each and every day.

What does burnout feel like? What are your burnout triggers? Today’s #HAWMC challenge is to answer these two questions. For me, burnout makes me feel very apathetic. I stop caring about things as much and definitely lose my focus.

Merriam Webster says burnout is, “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.” I must admit that I thought more about mental burnout than physical burnout. Maybe that’s because I use my mind for far more activity right now than I do my body. My biggest burnout trigger is my never-ending To Do List. This burnout is a self-imposed form of burnout. I have a hard time saying “no” and far too many interests in different subjects and activities. Couple that with a feeling that I can do it all and I’m asking for trouble.

The biggest help in avoiding this type of burnout is adhering to this mantra from Margie Warrell, “Sometimes you have to say no to the good, to make room for the great.” This lesson has made a big difference in my life over the last few years. I realized that less is more and that life gets even better when you spend your time on only the most important activities.

Another emotional burnout trigger is being around negative people. It’s as though they suck the life right out of you. This is especially dangerous online with troll behavior. It’s easier to get drawn into an argument online. It’s a trap! The other person doesn’t care. Like a child, they are trying to get a reaction out of you and you just end up wasting your positive energy and feeling terrible after the fact. So I try to avoid negative people, whether it means unfollowing and unfriending on social media, or detaching myself from relationships in real life. This becomes especially clear and easy to do after events like last week’s Boston Marathon bombings. Although I know everyone deals with situations like this differently, when I see someone being crass or thoughtless about human suffering, I turn my attention elsewhere. I’d rather be surrounded by people that build other people up. We need more of that in today’s world. We need more love.

So how do you combat burnout? I try to make some additional quiet time for myself. I schedule mental health days. I do something I love and enjoy, like photography. I try to locate the source of the stress or frustration and minimize it. I also limit the amount of new tasks I take on at work and in my personal life. I refocus my energy on smaller, easier tasks and get them off my To Do List. It’s not always easy, but it’s important to try.