122.The long road to becoming a Defence Family, Mental Health Challenges and Focusing on the Good

<p>In this week's podcast episode, I talk to RAAF spouse Hana about the long road to becoming a defence family, mental health challenges and focusing on the good.</p> <p> </p> <p>Hana and I also talk about;</p> <ul> <li>Their chance meeting while they were both working overseas</li> <li>How Hana helped uncover her partner’s passion for aircraft</li> <li>Arriving back in Australia and the decision to pursue a career in the RAAF</li> <li>The long 3-year journey just to get into defence and delays due to injury</li> <li>Getting the news her partner finally had a place at Officer Training School</li> <li>Welcoming their first baby and what happened when he left just 3 months later</li> <li>The stress of solo parenting, coping with anxiety and a postpartum depression diagnosis</li> <li>Why Hana put up a good front so her husband didn’t feel bad about being away</li> <li>What happened when her husband came home and realised things weren’t ok</li> <li>Accessing the medical help, the DMFS Helpline and the support of a Chaplain</li> <li>Being an outsider and feeling disconnected from the defence community</li> <li>Realising her plan to become a registered builder wasn’t going to fit with defence life</li> <li>Figuring out how important work is for her and her mental health</li> <li>How Defence Life gave Hana the push she needed to start her own business</li> <li>The importance of connecting with the defence community even before posting</li> <li>Making friends fast and the importance of building a support network</li> <li>Seeing the positive in every situation, surrendering and trusting in the universe</li> <li>Posting to Brisbane, everything falling into place and settling into the new location</li> </ul> <p>To find out more about Hana’s biz Suburban Witchery check it out on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/suburban_witchery/">Instagram here</a> or on <a href= "https://www.facebook.com/suburbanwitchery">Facebook here</a> or via her <a href="https://www.suburbanwitchery.com/">website here</a> or listen to Hana’s <a href