Over the years I have had 3 children. During those years, I experienced a lot of mental and physical abuse, causing me to have trauma PTSD, extreme anxiety that causes agoraphobia, and when in public, I tend to " get scared " and shy away from talking to people, asking for help, or showing any regular emotions to people about situations that I would be interacting with any said person. Lauren met me the first day I was coming into Maternity to be induced to have my baby. The father of my newborn is absent from the picture due to being mentally and physically abusive to me, but Lauren came in and explained the reality of how important mental health is, and especially after women have their children they can get postpartum. That in itself can be a devastating thing. Instantly I felt comfortable. I knew that being here was the best option for me.

With my second child, I suffered from postpartum, and during that time, I experienced a sad reaction from others not understanding this kind of mental health problem causing me to be separated from my son, which certain people made it hard for me to see my son and mentally made me feel like a bad mother. That caused me to break down more and caused separation anxiety. I was released here at one point, but my newborn had to stay behind just to make sure she'd be healthy to go home. I, to be honest, "freaked" out a little to leave her behind while I went home and was with my firstborn. Lauren talked me through all the stresses that I panicked about, making me feel comfortable enough to leave and leave her behind.

Note: This is Lauren's 2nd DAISY Award!