^{by Bryn Gunning}

www.sofiakatherine.ca

My name is Bryn. I am a social worker and a life coach for new moms. My business is called, The Wisdom Gardener. I am a fierce advocate of mental health. I feel strongly that we need normalize conversations about mental health, provide education, awareness and resources to support moms everywhere.

I have worked extensively in the social work field including addictions, mental health, families, homelessness. and domestic violence. My absolute passion in life is mental health. I became a mom in 2014 and thought that I would be so completely prepared for motherhood. But the truth is, no matter how many books I read, nothing could have prepared me for the journey of motherhood. When our children are born, they become the center of our universe, as they should. We worry about sleep, food, sickness, milestones, potty training, etc. Nobody really talks about the internal struggles we face as mothers: the exhaustion, the sleep deprivation, the loneliness, the isolation, the depression, the anxiety, the significant shift in our relationships, our bodies, etc. My goal in life is to bring awareness to mothers everywhere – to provide knowledge, insight, education and resources so that they can be the best mothers they can be for their children and so that the don’t have to feel alone.

www.sofiakatherine.ca

I’m also a huge advocate for protecting our children and I offer an online program specifically talking with moms about sex, drugs, depression, suicide, anxiety, peer pressure, private parts, online safety, and consent. I love talking to moms about these difficult topics and helping them learn how to protect their children. Historically and generationally, we’ve been taught by society to not talk about these things, but I truly believe that we need to be having these conversations with our kids. My many years of social work experience has taught me that we can love our children to the moon and back but if we are unaware of the risks our children are exposed to, we cannot help them. We need to empower ourselves as parents with this knowledge so that we can learn to have these conversations with our children. Knowledge is power. When we are aware of what our children are experiencing we can help them.