My first blog from the Mindsupport Minute is Embrace Your Emotional illness. Being a parent can be rewarding but also be emotionally challenging. The presence of active symptoms of illness can have a negative impact on your ability to be the best parent for a kid Just because you believe that motherhood will bring you happiness, it will not cure your chronic medical problem.

The media have informed us about the importance of post-partum issues. The image of Andrea Yates and her dead children gave us graphic visuals of the devastating impact of untreated disease. The potential consequences of untreated emotional illness do not end with the post-partum period. It is important to address your emotional illness and its impact upon parenting your child for years beyond post-partum. What are you going to do when you feel so horrible that you can't tolerate even hearing the voices of people and your kid seeks your undivided attention?

The message for this blog is your emotional illness is not a weakness, it is a medical problem. Get help for yourself. You an your child deserve it

The good news is that planning offers the best option. I have repeatedly witnessed my patients doing good jobs of raising their children. This requires them to adopt a daily life practice for managing their illness. When they are symptomatic, many have an identified support network to assist them with their parenting.

Treatment works. It has been wonderful to get holiday pictures of my patients' kids over the years. They appear happy and are reportedly doing well in school. My personal experience with motherhood changed my clinical practice of pre-pregnancy counseling. Now my question is, "Ok, if you want to be a mother, what are your plans for controlling your symptoms?" The message is to recognize that your emotional illness is real. Now what are you going to do to keep your symptoms in check for motherhood?