Chelsea Pottenger on depression, wellness and creating a mindful workplace

The Tortoise with Brooke McAlary

In this episode Brooke sat down to chat with mindfulness expert and advocate for awareness of postnatal depression Chelsea Pottenger. Chelsea works with organisations to develop mindfulness and wellbeing programs for their staff, is studying to be a clinical psychologist, and works as an ambassador for R U OK? and the Gidget Foundation, an incredible organisation that offers a range of services for new mums who are experiencing (or think they might experience) postnatal depression.

This week is actually Postnatal Depression Awareness Week, so it’s a perfect time for an honest, very open chat about this often-hidden disease. Chelsea and Brooke have had parallel experiences into new parenthood, both of them suffering from postnatal depression and then using it as a vehicle to improve their mental health across the board, as well as their lives and work.

Soon after her daughter Clara was born Chelsea started to experience symptoms of postnatal depression (including anxiety, insomnia, hypersensitivity to sound, shame and guilt) but like so many of us do, she put up a front and pretended that everything was fine. She eventually got to a breaking point, and after opening up to her husband was admitted to a postnatal depression ward in hospital the next day.

During her time in hospital she worked with an amazing psychiatrist who introduced her to mindfulness from a clinical perspective. Chelsea became curious about neuroplasticity, felt the benefits of meditation throughout her stay and when leaving the hospital, decided to study to become a clinical psychologist herself.

Now her life’s work is twofold: to bring awareness to postnatal depression as an ambassador for R U OK? and the Gidget Foundation and to share what she’s learned about mindfulness and its benefits in the corporate environment. She now spends part of her time helping people in big organisations like Ebay and Uber learn healthy coping tools under the umbrella of mindfulness. Her programs cover everything from self-care and productivity to gut health and meditation, all of it backed by science.

Chelsea’s life is full and mindful, and at the end of the podcast she shares some of the tools she uses to stay grounded and productive, while fiercely protecting her time as well as being selective about the people you spend your time with. There are some great tricks and tools here for anyone wanting to get better at saying no, like the 2am appointment time!

Head over to http://slowyourhome.com/213/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the blog post.

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