Quiet Connection - Postpartum Mental Health

Send us Fan Mail In this solo mini-episode, I'm letting down the veil and sharing a very raw look at how postpartum PTSD still shows up in my life today.  This past weekend, our family celebrated the arrival of my new nephew. While I made a conscious choice to stay present and fully embrace this journey with my sister-in-law, holding that sweet, fresh newborn ended up opening a floodgate of u...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when your mental health journey starts long before you ever consider becoming a parent? In this episode of Quiet Connection , host Chelsea Myers sits down with author and mental health advocate Sarah Michelle Sherman . Sarah opens up completely about living with Bipolar 2 disorder and ADHD, and how those diagnoses shaped her path to motherhood. From the terrifying rea...

Send us Fan Mail If you're feeling stuck, frozen, or like everything around you is chaotic right now, you're not alone.  In this week’s Quiet Confession , I’m diving deep into a raw and rarely discussed side of postpartum PTSD: the "mundane" triggers that blindside us in everyday life. Four years into my healing journey, I'm opening up about how my favorite comfort shows—l...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a high-achieving, structured project manager is completely stripped of control by motherhood? In this deeply moving episode of Quiet Connection, host Chelsea Myers sits down with Kanika, an engineering professional and MBA graduate turned Energy Coach. Kanika opens up about her intense transition into parenthood, navigating the early judgments of breastfeeding, a...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the Pinterest-perfect vision you had of motherhood clashes with a chaotic reality?  In this candid episode of Quiet Connection, I’m connecting with Stephanie, a mother of two and the founder of Connection Therapy Clinic . Stephanie shares her whirlwind transition into parenting, from a chaotic emergency room diagnosis story to navigating the everyday complexities...

Send us Fan Mail Trigger Warning: This episode contains detailed descriptions of medical trauma, panic attacks, and postpartum hemorrhage flashbacks. Please practice self-care while listening. In this episode of Quiet Confessions , host Chelsea Myers pulls back the curtain on a topic that many experience but few feel safe enough to speak about: postpartum PTSD.  Following a traumatic birth and sev...

Send us Fan Mail When personal drive hits the barrier of unexplained infertility, how do you pivot?  In this Quiet Connection episode, Chelsea joins Rachel Fulginiti, voice actor and host of From Foster 2 Forever podcast. Rachel discusses the agony of fertility struggles, pregnancy loss, and a life-altering heterotopic pregnancy. Beyond trauma, Rachel details her mindset shift from failed IVF debt...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Quiet Confessions , Chelsea steps away from the chaos of everyday parenting to give a transparent update on where they are at—both physically and mentally. Recording from their bedroom while their three-year-old watches TV, Chelsea admits to being in a season of intense overwhelm, chronic illness flares, and the exhaustion of navigating a "neurosparkly&quot...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a "Type A" social worker, who is used to connecting others to mental health resources, becomes the one fighting for her life and her sanity? In this episode, Chelsea connects with Kathryn , the advocate behind the highly popular Instagram account Beyond the Birth Trauma .  Kathryn’s story is a harrowing journey through a 48-hour induction that ended in...

Send us Fan Mail Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of Quiet Confessions—the little mini-episodes where you and I get to catch up one-on-one. To be completely transparent with you, I have not been doing well lately. My health has been a massive struggle, and being disabled and chronically ill impacts so much more than just my physical body.   Because I’ve had to reschedule with guests m...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the "blackness" you feel inside finally starts to speak?  In this deeply moving episode of Quiet Connection , Chelsea connects with Naomi Morad, a mother of four and a trauma transformation specialist. Naomi shares her harrowing yet hopeful journey from growing up in a home defined by abuse, secrets, and a human trafficking ring, to becoming a "wor...

Send us Fan Mail In this deeply moving episode of Quiet Connection, I’m connecting with Susan Aguayo , a mother of nine and the founder of Kassy’s Kause . Susan shares the heart-wrenching story of her daughter, Kassy, a high achiever who tragically lost her life to undiagnosed perinatal depression while four months pregnant. Susan takes us through her journey of "detective mode"—research...

Send us Fan Mail In this final installment of my postpartum psychiatric inpatient hospitalization series , I am opening up about the critical transition out of the darkest days and into structured outpatient care. I map out exactly what life looked like during Partial Hospitalization (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient (IOP) programs. I pull back the curtain on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), exp...

Send us Fan Mail In this extraordinarily candid episode, Caralyn Dreyer shares her challenging path into motherhood. She speaks honestly about living in "survival mode" her whole life, sharing her journey as an adoptee, her experience with sexual assault in college, and her time in a physically and verbally abusive relationship.  She talks about the deep pain of going through two miscarr...

Send us Fan Mail In this latest "Quiet Confession," Chelsea takes us through the ninth installment of their postpartum psychiatric series. This episode covers their final inpatient hospitalization at the University of Vermont Medical Center—an experience they describe as the most traumatic and dehumanizing of their entire journey. Chelsea opens up about the physical and mental toll of a...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Nancy Ferraro shares her raw and honest journey into motherhood after adopting her son George from Romania. George, whom they affectionately called "Hurricane George," arrived at age four with a host of unexpected disabilities, including Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, leading to extreme violence and behavioral challenges.  She opens up about the immense shame and gui...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the "help" feels just as terrifying as the crisis itself? In this week’s Quiet Confession , Chelsea pulls back the curtain on one of the most complex parts of their postpartum recovery: the medication journey. From the first prescription of Ativan to the "zombified" feeling of antipsychotics and the grueling cycle of withdrawal, they share the...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you spend your entire pregnancy "preparing for battle" only to have the reality of motherhood still knock you off your feet? I’m connecting with Kendall Concini, a mental health advocate and author who knew her history with depression meant she couldn’t just "go with the flow." Kendall opens up about the "ick factor" of sensory proce...

Send us Fan Mail When Foster Wilson’s second pregnancy took a heartbreaking turn, she found herself facing an impossible decision; one that no parent ever imagines having to make.  In this episode, Foster opens up about her journey through cesarean birth, loss, and healing. She shares how surrender became her lifeline, how she honored her son Wilde, and how that deep grief eventually led her towar...

Send us Fan Mail In this "Quiet Confession," I’m taking you back into the timeline of my perinatal psychiatric inpatient stays to focus on a specific event: my experience with the Zulresso (Brexanolone) infusion.  At the time, in 2022, this was the only FDA-approved treatment specifically for postpartum depression, and in my darkest moments, I had latched onto it as a "miracle drug&...

Send us Fan Mail * This episode discusses topics that may be triggering to some individuals. Please be mindful of your mental health. In this episode of "Quiet Confessions," Chelsea deviates from the timeline to explore a side of psychiatric hospitalization rarely discussed: the profound, "out of place" relationships formed in the haze of crisis.  From a fellow mother who &quot...

Send us Fan Mail This week we're continuing my journey through inpatient care, picking up right where we left off—the three or four days immediately following Thanksgiving at UNC Chapel Hill.  In this episode, I’m sharing the raw, unedited reality of what "the haze" actually felt like. If you’ve ever felt like you were "gone" inside yourself, I hope my story helps you real...

Send us Fan Mail In this "Quiet Confessions" mini-episode, I continue my deep dive into my almost month-long stay at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill. Covering November 23rd and 24th, 2022, I detail the physical and emotional exhaustion of being "fresh" into my second hospitalization.  From a jarring midnight maintenance visit that made me question my own exis...

Send us Fan Mail When Sarah became a mom, she imagined the typical first moments of motherhood — snuggles, milestones, and sleepless nights. Instead, she found herself in a hospital room, staring at monitors, watching her newborn daughter’s heart beat outside her tiny chest. In this episode of Quiet Connection , Sarah opens up about discovering her daughter’s congenital heart defects just weeks be...

Send us Fan Mail When Ann became a mother, she had a clear vision: warm cookies after school, laughter, and a picture-perfect family life. But when her daughter arrived early and needed a NICU stay, that dream collided with anxiety, depression, and a world she didn’t feel prepared for.  Ann shares how she learned to give herself grace, ask for help, and rebuild her sense of self through what she c...