CONQUERING POSTPARTUM ANXIETY: From Heartbreak to Healing, Embracing Hope, Renewal, and a New Beginning - My Introduction

Hello hivers! I’m Shiela Madrigalejos, a single mom and a post-partum anxiety overcomer. Just call me @shine, which reflects my life – the radiance, hope, and positivity I possess amidst life’s darkest paths. Welcome to my digital corner! I’m so excited to have you onboard while I share my stories, life lessons, life tips, and adventures. I’m so happy to have this cyber place where I can spread positivity and inspiration with you after conquering postpartum anxiety.

I really want to uplift others and advocate support for moms who are going through this dark side of the motherhood journey. We have different experiences and some women may not go through this dark path due to various circumstances and reasons we can never explain. As for me, I am still grateful despite being one of those who encountered this difficulty in my motherhood journey. Because of this, I can inspire others to move forward and keep going.

About Me

I wasn’t born with a silver spoon, but I believe that I have been guided and raised well enough to foster positive change and inspiration to the community and to the world. Growing up in a not so well-off family, I learned how to survive on my own and be content with what my parents could provide for us. I finished primary and secondary schooling with honors and with academic excellence award in college.

I graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and completed coursework in Professional Education, paving the way for me to pursue careers aligned with these fields. I gained my License as a Professional Teacher while working as a broadcaster. I was a broadcaster for nine years before changing careers into becoming a teacher. Currently, I am working as an online tutor. The broadcasting profession allowed me to deal with people from all walks of life and taught me to live comfortably in the public eye. I got into community outreach programs as well, initiating and implementing activities such as feeding programs for kids, relief distribution, bloodletting, and even building a house for selected indigent beneficiaries under the company’s corporate social responsibility. The broadcasting profession was an extension of my childhood inclination in writing stories, poems, and other literary pieces to express myself. It allowed me to express my creativity both in speaking and writing in a wider platform.

My Postpartum Anxiety Journey

During my last year as a media practitioner, I faced one of my lowest points when I struggled with postpartum anxiety. It was really overwhelming that I couldn’t even put it into words – I felt indescribable sadness, causing me to cry for no reason, giving me the feeling that I was completely a different person. This significantly impacted my hard-earned career as a broadcaster, as tackling societal issues in my commentary program seemed to exacerbate my mental stress. It triggered overthinking and gave me a feeling as if the world was upon my shoulders. So, I had to step away and let go of my job as a radio station manager to focus on healing and recovery.

From heartbreak to healing and recovery

It was like a nightmare waking up one day that my self-made career was gone in just a blink of an eye. Staying at home, broke and hopeless, haunted me for several weeks. It has never been easy to raise a son alone without a job. I felt like I jumped out of the ship unprepared and was helplessly sinking.

For two months, I lived off my savings and the meager amount I made selling vegetables I grew in my small garden. Despite the devastating stress of financial struggles, I managed to get by because of my parents’ support. Gradually, I found healing in my quiet place called home, without public exposure – far from my obstreperous life in the media, just my family and my little garden around me. Gardening and staying at home became a form of therapy – soothing and comforting.

After two months of financial roller coaster, I was finally hired by an audio ESL company, making it a perfect fit for both my son’s and my needs. Taking audio classes in a work from home setup has been the best choice since it spares me from the pressure of exposure to other people while earning enough for our needs. In just one year, I managed to recover from postpartum anxiety and began to gradually reintegrate myself into the outside world. I started going out and socializing again – one of the thing I really hated during the peak of my anxiety attacks. I began to feel grateful and positive all at once.

Vegetable gardening played a crucial role in my healing process, so as ESL teaching. Practicing a new career in my new world helped me rebuild my self-esteem which I seemed to lose when I let go of the career I first loved and worked hard for.

A year of hiatus helped a lot. I know that I was healing because I felt a little more whole everyday, finding new meaning in all of the things I’m doing and the life I am creating for my son and myself.

Why I join hive

I wouldn’t know hive if not because of @antonette. She onboarded me here. We met through Facebook, and she shared her knowledge about hive.

This platform gives me fresh start, getting back on track —a platform where I can reconnect with the world, but this time, bolder, wiser, and more determined. It’s an opportunity to share my stories, not someone to be pitied, but someone to give inspiration and hope. I am deeply grateful having you aboard as I reintegrate into the world and regain my confidence. Indeed, everything happens for a reason and my story has been shaped and written to inspire others, reminding everyone that life is like a butterfly, the ugly phase is needed to experience a beautiful transformation.

(photos are mine, edited through canva)

I attest that the article and the pictures uploaded here are my own and that I fully understood the rules and policies of hive posting. I understood that the use of AI in posting and engagement is strictly not allowed, including plagiarism and the use of any grammar editing apps like grammarly. I also need to cite canva as my tool for editing the pictures I used for all my posts.