I first posted this on my Ginaslifejourney Blog.
I share it here now as well.
A parents, we all deal with guilt and worry.
“Did something I do cause my child to have these issues?”
Is it all my fault?
I should have…
I should have worked more hours when i was pregnant with baby number 3.
I should have returned to work sooner after he was born in January 2009.
I should have worked more and saved more while I was pregnant.
I should have returned to work sooner so our debt didn’t grow so much.
I should have known to move money from our tax rebate to pay down our home equity line of credit after my husband had a massive heart attack so that Medicaid would have kicked in sooner, rather than exhausting all that money we had from me working extra hours and our tax rebate. (Deep breath)
The social worker should have told me the rules…
Someone should have told me that Medicaid says if you have more than $3000 in assesses (savings, checking, cash), then you wont; qualify for Medicaid…until that money is gone…
I should have applied for food stamps once we did qualify for Medicaid
I began the application several times, I should have finished it and sent it in.
I should have gotten more help then we would have less debt.
I should have done so many things….
I should have reached out for help sooner when my daughter showed signs of separation anxiety and other issues when I was pregnant with our third child.
I should have realized it was something more than just me being pregnant.
I should have gotten her help sooner so that her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, her anxiety disorder, her mental illness did not become so extreme and severe…
I should have gotten her on medication sooner…
I should have listened to my friend who suggested it might be OCD when it was mild.
I should have gotten her to a therapist sooner.
I should have researched OCD sooner, when my friend brought it up.
I should have listened..
I should have gotten her help sooner so she did not have to suffer so much.
I should have gotten my youngest help sooner when he showed signs of anxiety and OCD from at least age 2.
I should have countered when the therapist said, “I don’t think it is OCD”
I should have completed the paperwork even though it took 6 months to get it from the Development and Behavioral Pediatrician
I should have gotten him in sooner and not waited as long as I did.
I should have taken him to a mental health place sooner to get him help, medication.
I should not have had so much fear about giving my kids medication…I should have found more support when I knew that was needed.
Going to the psychiatrist should have been paid for by Medicaid.
Medicaid should have qualified people to treat my children and I should have access to finding the resources without having to jump through a million hoops and experience unqualified people and ill equipped facilities and services.
My children should be able to go to the specialists they need because of their illness even though they have government assisted health insurance.
I work in health care, I should have better health insurance.
I have a bachelors of science degree in Occupational Therapy and training in mental health care, I should be treated with respect when the people from Medicaid speak to me.
Everyone should be treated with respect no matter what their educational level.
I should be able to access information about my health insurance and services for my children even though it is government assisted.
I have paid into the system since I was 15 1/2 years old and so now that I need these services, I should receive them, if I qualify.
I shouldn’t have to jump through crazy hoops because my income varies from month to month and so does my 20 year old son’s income.
My 20 year old son’s income SHOULD NOT count toward our household income for the healthcare market place and definitely not for qualifying my younger children for Medicaid or NC health choice. My 20 year old son who purchased his own car, pays for his own insurance, and pays to attend community college part time all with his own hard earned money. (Deep breath)
I should have listened to my gut when I realized even though their Dad had survived, that my three kids had gone through a traumatic experience and would need some counseling and help…
Survivors guilt…but he lived, there is no help when your husband lives…
I should have listened to myself because I knew that experience was traumatic for all of us.
I should have let go of “survivors guilt” because he lived and our friends who lost husbands to heart attacks that same year, did not survive. “I should be grateful that he lived.”
I should on myself and others have should upon me….
And I should on other people.
It is really a bad habit and not helpful to anyone.
I should have filled out the special forms and jumped through the hoops to see if my son could qualify for grants for college costs, because they decided to use the same year for 3or 4 semesters to look at our income, the year we took out $65,000 from IRA money to pay down debt.
I should have worked more hours.
I should have been a better mom so my children wouldn’t have mental illness.
I should have been a better me so I wouldn’t have mental illness.
I should have done something different to prevent mental illness?
Is that really possible?
Do parents of kids who have cancer ask themselves this question?
Maybe they do, Maybe they don’t.
I shouldn’t have to wonder about this.
My kids friends and their parents should have been there more for my daughter when she was crippled with mental illness, with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Depression.
They should have given her the love and support she needed just like they would have done if she had cancer.
WE SHOULD LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE MENTAL ILLNESS IS TREATED THE SAME AS OTHER ILLNESSES, PHYSICAL ILLNESSES WHICH ARE MORE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE IN AMERICAN SOCIETY.
Mental illness SHOULD be classified the same as other illness because they last time I looked, my head and brain are attached to my body.
We need to stop shoulding on ourselves and on others
We need to embrace where we are now and make the best choices we can in the moment and realize we can not go back in time (not yet) and change the past. What is done is behind us and we must keep moving forward.
We need to stop judging other people and their choices and instead come from love to reach out to and help others with respect and kindness.
I give you this challenge today…
Pay attention to how often you SHOULD on yourself or on someone else.
We are often our worst critic and as moms, as parents, we are our own worse saboteur.
Love yourself and respect yourself first.
Only then can you love and respect others.
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