After I had my first baby, I took three months off from work before returning. I knew the transition back would be hard, but I was not prepared for a “Winter Is Coming” kind of difficult. A few weeks in, I found myself overwhelmed by every little thing. My mind felt like the aftermath of a fourth-grade volcano project, all thick and sticky and slow. When I was at home, I thought about work, and when I was at work, I thought about home. My inability to focus became a source of debilitating stress.
