Anxiety and the Post-Baby Conversation: A Book Giveaway
24th August 2015
Guys, anxiety is so hot right now! It’s the the kale smoothie of mental unrest. If the 90’s was all depression, the 21st century is all anxiety. It is more common than a bearded bicyclist. In fact, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 1997, anxiety disorders are the most common mental health problem affecting Australians, with 9.7% or 1.3 million adult Australians (12% women and 7.1% men) reported to suffer some form of clinical anxiety during a 12 month period.
If you struggle at all with anxiety, like so many of the my most beloved people, I have a book for you.
My uncle Dr. Chris Mogan, a Melbourne-based anxiety specialist, has written Overcoming Anxiety For Dummies, a fantastic resource which offers practical strategies for managing worry, changing your thinking, supporting your mental health with lifestyle and breaking down what different therapies might involve.
I have a copy of his book to give away, and for an honest and funny first person account of living with anxiety, I also suggest you check out The Little Mumma.
Secondly, I have a copy of the wonderful book The Post-Baby Conversation by Alison Osborne. This book was published in 2006, the year my first was born. It’s such a helpful read for a family navigating the surging, wild seas of parenthood for the first time. This book is not about babies, or about parenting, but rather about how to be a Couple With Children - a vastly different kind of couple than you were before having a baby.
How do you share responsibility for the new jobs created in this crazy new baby economy you live in? What will happen after work and on weekends? What kind of expectations are you both silently holding about what the other should do?
Conversations about these things are incredibly helpful for couples figuring out how to do family life - it’s an ever-evolving work in progress , after all.
I think every new parent should get a copy of this book in the maternity ward.But until then, I have realised I have two copies, so I’d love to give one away. If you have a new baby in your life, know somebody who has, or if you are just grappling with these questions, I hope this book might shine some light for you.
Leave a comment below telling me whether you would like Anxiety For Dummies, or The Post-Baby Conversation, and I will choose a winner at random.
Happy week ahead, my comrades! May it be full of laughter and hugs that last for a minimum of 20 seconds ( it’s the magic number for oxytocin release. See? I’m full of advice today! )