{"id":7047,"date":"2013-04-11T06:00:14","date_gmt":"2013-04-11T10:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/?p=7047"},"modified":"2013-03-21T15:44:47","modified_gmt":"2013-03-21T19:44:47","slug":"30-ways-motherhood-is-like-a-mental-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2013\/04\/30-ways-motherhood-is-like-a-mental-illness.html","title":{"rendered":"30 Ways Motherhood Is Like a Mental Illness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Motherhood provides a host of useful lessons on how to live with mental illness, and vice versa. Here are just a few things the two have in common (in my opinion, of course):<\/p>\n

1. Five years into both of them, plastic surgery is your only way of looking young again.<\/p>\n

2. There’s only one boss, and it’s best if that’s you.<\/p>\n

3. In both, you have to handle a lot of crap.<\/p>\n

4. Both require deep breathing.<\/p>\n

5. Time Outs are encouraged–especially for Mom (psych wards stays count for this).<\/p>\n

6. Both feel like you’re being pecked to death by a bird.<\/p>\n

7. You must learn on the spot–pop quizzes are thrown at you every half-hour.<\/p>\n

8. Both drive you insane (of course).<\/p>\n

9. Both are full of surprises and force you to tear up any script you may have written (how things were supposed to go).<\/p>\n

10. They require a support system, discipline, and a ton of self-control.<\/p>\n

11. You have to get out of bed in the morning for both.<\/p>\n

12. Bedtime often spells relief.<\/p>\n

13. Both take a chunk out your heart but give it back to your soul.<\/p>\n

14. You never graduate from or complete your responsibilities.<\/p>\n

15. You get used to frozen dinners, canned soup, and spats with your spouse.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

16. You must sort out tons of advice, much of it horribly shallow and not at all useful.<\/p>\n

17. Both benefit from lots of sunshine and time at the park.<\/p>\n

18. They are tolerated best with a sense of humor.<\/p>\n

19. Both can make you fat if you’re not careful.<\/p>\n

20. They are more challenging to the soul than the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. (I don’t think he was either.)<\/p>\n

21. A bad day of either is more physically exhausting than an Olympic-distance triathlon.<\/p>\n

22. After only a few years they transform you into a more compassionate and loving human being, possibly a candidate for a Nobel Peace Prize.<\/p>\n

23. With them comes a lot of wisdom and patience, possibly world peace.<\/p>\n

24. A love for your kid(s) keeps you going through both.<\/p>\n

25. You have to strike that difficult balance between keeping busy but not too busy.<\/p>\n

26. The mornings and evenings are typically the hardest.<\/p>\n

27. Stress complicates thing. Best to avoid it as much as possible.<\/p>\n

28. Comparing yourself to others will paralyze you.<\/p>\n

29. There’s no going back.<\/p>\n

30. Your best is all you have, and that’s good enough.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Motherhood provides a host of useful lessons on how to live with mental illness, and vice versa. Here are just a few things the two have in common (in my opinion, of course): 1. Five years into both of them, plastic surgery is your only way of looking young again. 2. There’s only one boss,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parenting"],"yoast_head":"\n30 Ways Motherhood Is Like a Mental Illness - Beyond Blue<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"30 Ways Motherhood Is Like a Mental Illness - Beyond Blue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Motherhood provides a host of useful lessons on how to live with mental illness, and vice versa. Here are just a few things the two have in common (in my opinion, of course): 1. 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