SAN ANTONIO – As Mother’s Day approaches, remember to ask the important women in your life how they are doing mentally and emotionally.
Victoria De Leon is the communications representative for the San Antonio area National Alliance on Mental Illness.
She’s also a mother of Max, 2, and talks openly about how motherhood expectations affected her emotions.
“I’ve struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember,” De Leon said.
However, events before De Leon’s pregnancy and the weight of a new role really affected her and brought new challenges.
“I was like, let me just deliver this baby, and then everything will be OK,” she said. “And then we had the baby, and then, everything was not OK.”
It took De Leon months to realize that she needed help and to begin taking care of herself. She now openly shares her story in hopes of encouraging other mothers not to live in silence.
“We weren’t meant to go through this huge life change alone and not have a village behind us,” she said.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness will host a maternal mental health panel from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12, at Covenant Presbyterian Church, located at 1761 Northwest Loop 410
The nonprofit hosts a panel on different topics each month. Check their calendar for future panels dealing with mental health.
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