Join Hannah Gair as she converses with Graeme Cowan, a key figure behind Australia's R U OK? movement. Graeme shares his personal journey through depression and his insights on mental health, emphasizing the importance of community and self-care. With practical advice for carers, especially moms raising children with disabilities, Graeme offers strategies for maintaining mental well-being, such as identifying the 'one thing' that brings joy and balance. This episode provides guidance on recognizing signs of depression and taking steps to seek help in challenging times, with a focus on meaningful connections.

• The Power of Connection: Graeme highlights the role of supportive relationships in mental wellness, urging people to prioritize community and friendships.
• Identifying Personal Warning Signs: Recognizing and addressing early symptoms of mental struggles is crucial to managing one's mental health.
• Prioritizing Self-Care: Graeme stresses that "self care isn't selfish," emphasizing the need for carers to maintain their own well-being to effectively support others.
• Finding Your "One Thing": Discovering a personal practice that brings joy and calm can greatly contribute to overall happiness and resilience.
• Reach Out for Help: Recognizing when professional help is necessary and the importance of preparing for a productive mental health discussion with healthcare providers.

• "I have profound relief that I didn't put my family through the same thing."
• "Self-care isn't selfish. We can't help others if our own fuel is running out."
• "People don't talk about it or if they are going through it, they think they're the only ones going through it."
• "Recognizing the early warning signs because the earlier we get it, the quicker we turn it around."
• "If you let your own fuel run out, you're no good to anyone."

• Graeme Cowan on LinkedIn for more insights and updates about his initiatives.
• R U OK? Day: ruok.org.au
• Book: "Back from the Brink: True stories and practical help for overcoming depression and bipolar disorder" by Graeme Cowan
• Robert Waldinger's TED Talk on happiness: What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness

The diagnosis changes everything. In this raw and honest episode, Hannah opens up about the grief that no one warns you about—the kind that comes when your child is diagnosed with a disability or additional needs.

She shares her own story of receiving her son Sunny's intellectual disability report, the waves of chronic sorrow that resurface at every milestone, and the sacred journey of rebuilding yourself around loss.

We're walking through the five stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance—and what they actually look like for mothers raising children with autism, cerebral palsy, fragile X, global developmental delay, and complex needs. Because grief isn't weakness, it's your nervous system processing change.

You'll hear about finding safe people, reclaiming your identity beyond the carer role, creating meaning from hardship, and learning that joy and grief can coexist. This isn't about moving on—it's about learning to live and love again in your new reality.

You're allowed to grieve. You're allowed to heal. And you're not alone in this. When one of us heals, we all rise.

If you know a Mama who needs to hear this please send the episode to her.

Globally, there are 240+ million children living with disabilities, and behind every one of them is a mother who is longing to be seen, heard and connected with.

Our mission is to impact the lives of 1 million of these mothers.

How can you help?

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This episode is one I've been sitting with for a while, and I knew it was time to have this conversation with you.

We're talking about self-worth – but not in a superficial way.

I'm talking about the deep, often confronting truth that so many of us as mothers, particularly those of us raising children with disabilities or additional needs, have quietly handed our value over to everyone and everything else. Our achievements. Our children's progress. Our appearance. The approval of therapists, educators, family members.

And somewhere in all of that giving, we've completely lost sight of who we are.

Here's what the research tells us: 70% of women tie their self-worth to achievement and the approval of others. When those external measures shift – when our bodies change, when our child's diagnosis arrives, when we're no longer producing or achieving in the ways we once did – our sense of value can collapse with it. We've been measuring ourselves against the wrong standards, and it's absolutely exhausting.

In this episode, I walk you through the difference between your true self and your performed self, why belonging built on imitation is actually bondage, how to identify whose approval you've been chasing, and why your worth was never lost – it's simply been waiting for you to remember it. Because here's the truth I need you to hear: you are not your productivity, you're not your child's behaviour or progress, you're not your relationship status, and you're certainly not defined by how well you're managing in the eyes of others.

This is for every mother who has whispered "what happened to me?" in the quiet moments. It's time to remember who you are.

Keywords: self-worth, mothers of children with disabilities, disability parenting, self-esteem for mums, maternal mental health, special needs mums, burnout in mothers, people pleasing, comparison culture, social media impact, authentic self, performance-based living, approval seeking, self-compassion, personal growth for mothers, emotional wellbeing, boundary setting, positive self-talk, affirmations, chronic fatigue in mothers, caregiver burnout, Brene Brown, emotional agility, true belonging, self-abandonment, forgiveness and guilt, additional needs parenting, strong mother community