Freckled Foodie's Cameron Rogers shares how cannabis has helped her prioritize her mental health as a first-time mom

Freckled Foodie's Cameron Rogers opens up about motherhood, mental health and how cannabis makes her a better mom.

Video transcript

CAMERON ROGERS: As someone who loves my child and loves being a mom, and I think I'm really good at it, I was experiencing these days where I was like, I don't want to mom. And I don't love that feeling. For me, the decision to no longer drink and to include cannabis in my wellness routine has, quite honestly, whether people want to agree with this or not, been one of the absolute best things I could do for myself as a mother.

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I know this sounds very weird, but I was always someone who was, like, really excited to be pregnant. You're glowing and magical time. And I think that was part of the reason why I struggled the most during pregnancy because my reality was so far off from my expectations. I personally did not enjoy being pregnant. I felt nauseous for almost every hour of every day for the first 20 or so weeks. I was starving at all times during the day, but no food was of interest to me. So on my platform, I really made an effort of sharing all of the information that I personally wish I had known before going into it or just being warned about.

Similarly to pregnancy, postpartum was a real awakening. As someone who struggles with general anxiety disorder and I've struggled with mental health, I was aware of the possibility of postpartum depression. Yes, I was emotional. Yes, I was hormonal. Yes, I cried a lot. I was up all night breastfeeding. I was not sleeping. I was trying to keep this human alive. And it was so confusing for me because I felt like I could live in his world, but I had a really hard time living in my world with him.

And it wasn't until around four months that I think I really noticed how depressed I was and how sad I was and how much I was struggling. And my husband said to me like, you know, I don't think this is great. And I completely agreed with him. And it was funny, I was interviewing someone for my podcast, and she was saying how the strong thing is not to put on a brave face and keep showing up and living through these dark days without asking for help. And it was after that interview, I was like, I think I need to call my doctor.

I had an appointment with my psychiatrist. We played around with the dosage of my medication. I also began the weaning process, because for me personally, breastfeeding played a massive role into this. Not only the physical exhaustion that goes into breastfeeding a child and the demand, but also the hormones. I'm so grateful that I was able to produce milk. I'm so grateful that we were able to latch. But I also was very grateful for the fact that we have formula. And a few weeks after I was officially dried up, it felt like a completely different world for me.

Simultaneously, I was on a new dosage of medication. I was re-implementing things for myself that were putting my mental health first. Cannabis is something that plays a role in all of those things that I mentioned when it comes to my mental health. And I had made the decision while I was pregnant and while I was breastfeeding to not partake in any of it. My doctor did not feel comfortable with it, given that there's not enough research yet. For my brain, cannabis really helps me. I do have rules around it for myself as a parent. I am not ever partaking in it when my son is awake. And I felt the same when I was drinking. I never wanted my son to see me drinking or drunk. I don't think that that is responsible.

There is a complete misunderstanding when we talk about cannabis. The majority of people think of someone who is completely stoned on their couch unable to function. That, yes, is a potential for many people. I am a fully functioning person when I am partaking in cannabis. It is just helping calm my brain a little bit, spark my creativity. Alcohol severely increases my anxiety and depression the day after. I don't feel that with cannabis.

Once I stopped drinking, I started to notice that my mental health was vastly improving. I am not saying that I'm never going to drink alcohol again. I don't know. But I do know for me right now, this is the absolute best thing I could have done for myself. I'm more present with my son. I am happier. I'm more fun. Like, I don't know how else to put it other than I'm just a better mom.

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