Becoming a parent changes everything — including what happens inside your mind and body. The perinatal period (pregnancy through the months after birth, often extending into the first couple of years) can bring up anxiety, intrusive thoughts, OCD patterns, depression, and old attachment wounds that you didn’t expect.
In this episode of The Steadfast Podcast, Jessie Evans talks with Steadfast counselor Annalise Lind talk about perinatal mental health through the lens of Internal Family Systems (IFS) — a compassionate approach that helps you understand symptoms as protective parts, not personal failure. This conversation is faith-sensitive, shame-free, and grounded in what parents actually experience.
What You’ll Learn
- Why “postpartum” is often too small a word — and what perinatal really means
- How IFS explains managers, exiles, and firefighters in early parenthood
- Why intrusive thoughts feel so scary — and what their intensity often indicates
- What perinatal OCD cycles can look like (and why “just say a scripture” may accidentally reinforce the cycle)
- How becoming a parent can awaken old attachment pain — and how to move toward healing
- How to ask for support in a way that actually helps
About the Guest: Annalise Lind, LPCA
Annalise is a therapist on the Steadfast Christian Counseling team and brings a thoughtful, compassionate approach to Internal Family Systems (IFS) work. She’s passionate about supporting parents in the perinatal period — especially when anxiety, intrusive thoughts, OCD patterns, and identity shifts make it hard to feel like yourself. Her work helps clients move from shame and fear to clarity, compassion, and grounded support.
If you’re hearing yourself in this episode — you are not alone, and you don’t have to white-knuckle it. We support clients in Charleston and across South Carolina with faith-sensitive counseling for:
- Perinatal anxiety & overwhelm
- Intrusive thoughts / perinatal OCD themes
- Postpartum depression and emotional “shutdown”
- Attachment wounds surfaced by parenting transitions
Website: www.steadfastchristiancounseling.com
Book a FREE consultation: https://sccandcic.janeapp.com
Resource Links
- The IFS Workbook for OCD
- Boundaries for Your Soul by Alison Cook & Kimberly Miller
