Lois Shannon - Mom Shares Her OCD Story

Career Shift

Lois Shannon shares her journey from a high-powered career to embracing motherhood, revealing the challenges and realizations she faced along the way. Initially, she felt like an imposter in a male-dominated world, driven by insecurity to overperform. The birth of her children marked a turning point, as she realized the importance of being present for them, leading her to leave her career and move to the south of France to become a full-time mom 1.

I really did kind of wake up one day and say, if I'm really gonna be a mother, I need to be a mother.

--- Lois Shannon

This decision was not without its challenges, as she navigated the complexities of raising a child with anxiety and OCD 2.

   

Health Challenges

Lois's son's struggle with OCD became a pivotal challenge in her life, highlighting the limitations of traditional approaches in France, where labels and medications for children are avoided. She sought help from an OCD center in London, undergoing intensive therapy that exposed the shame and discomfort her son experienced 3. This experience was transformative for Lois, prompting her to confront her own anxieties and embark on a journey of mindfulness and self-awareness.

It was okay for me to live a life of lies and pretend, but it wasn't okay to do it to my kids.

--- Lois Shannon

Through mindfulness, she learned to be present and open to her experiences, recognizing her own obsessive tendencies and the need for change 4.