In this episode, I chat with Jess from @jessisandgetsreal on IG. Jess talks about her two children that have several special needs, as well as her having some both mental and non-mental illnesses. Jess also attempted suicide in October 2018 and she shares her story on that and about her time in the psych ward.*

Jess grew up with her mom and Nana. She had siblings, but they were all over, so she basically grew up an only child. Jess did end up having a daughter and thought she wouldn’t have any more kids, but then she remembered how lonely she was as an only child, so she had another. Both of her children are on the Autism spectrum.

After her son was born, she was diagnosed with postpartum depression. She was always one of those that thought “it’s all in your head. Stay busy. Get a hobby.” She tried all of that, but it wasn’t working. Jess did get on medication, but it would make her sleep for days. That doesn’t work well with a newborn, so she decided to stop the medication and just roll with the punches.

In 2014, Jess got a high-stress job. In June of 2018, she finally broke. Jess talked to her manager and was able to take a mental health leave, but was never cleared by her doctor to go back to work. The only relief Jess has found is psychotherapy.

Her 12 year old daughter has ADHD, anxiety, dyslexia and Aspergers. Because of all that, she is on a lot of medications. Jess is constantly at the school trying to help her and she has to explain all of these things to her teachers and the school staff. She has a lot of energy and has trouble sleeping, so she also takes sleeping meds. Jess’ son is on the speech side of the Autism spectrum. For his yearly testing this year, they said he was basically just lazy because he gets bored easily. That was a shock to Jess.

In August of 2018, Jess was having a lot of pain. The doctors kept dismissing her, giving her meds and saying that was all they could do for her – there was nothing wrong with her. Jess did not accept that answer and was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia. From there, she was able to get meds that helped ease the pain.

A couple of months later, in October of 2018, Jess attempted suicide. She shares her story of why she did that and what her time was like in the psychiatric ward.

Listen to the full episode to hear all the details.

*Please note: this is the guest’s story. Their story is how they perceive it. It is not my judgement or responsibility to determine whether or not this story and the things said are true. Please be open minded when listening to/reading these stories.

LINKS TO THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
-Jess’ favorite book: The Picture of Dorian Gray
-Jess’ favorite product: for the pregnant mama’s – preggie pop drops and the Victoria Secret coco butter lotion
-My ending song recommendation: Trying Not to Love You by Nickelback (listen on the Hard Knocks playlist on Spotify)

Going through things you never thought you’d go through will only take you places you never thought you’d get to.

– Morgan Harper Nichols

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