Meg Zemlicka – TBC Ahwatukee:
It’s Mental Health Awareness Month! In an effort to #breakthestigma, a few of our members are showing
their strength by sharing their mental health and boxing journeys with us in their own words. Meg suffered
from #postpartumdepression for months before she started boxing. Here is her story:
“My introduction to boxing was by my brother-in-law. It was, whether he knew it or not, the thing that
saved me.
I’d delivered my tiny girl after an intensely scary experience. I was unable to care for her the way I’d
imagined after having a C-section, and then being unable to breastfeed. Motherhood looked nothing like I
thought it would and my world was crashing all around me.
Postpartum depression hit me in the first days of motherhood and knocked me off my already weak feet;
and shortly after I began to retreat. Months of Covid, fear, and being trapped at home worked against us.
Then, just when I needed it most, there was a break. I was able to go with my brother-in-law to an early
morning boxing class.
Everything changed in those 60 minutes. For the first time in over a year, it was acceptable for me to
show my grit. To burn off my struggle, to be the antithesis of momma, and know that in that space, that
was okay.
Boxing consumed my thoughts and has become more than a hobby. It gave me back my power. It’s what
makes me strong and when my girl thinks of me, she won’t think of my struggle. She’ll just know that her
momma is tough, brave, resilient, and so deeply in love with her.”
@meg_zemlicka