I'm a social worker and a mom. The best parenting advice I learned was from my patients at an inpatient psychiatric unit.

Courtesy of Heidi Aaronson

• Working in an inpatient psychiatric unit taught me lessons that helped me after I became a mom.
• I now feel confident in asking for help when I need it.
• It's easy to get stuck in fear, but knowing I'm not alone helps me move past that.

Early in my social-work career, I worked in a locked inpatient psychiatric unit. My patients were suffering from debilitating depression, crippling anxiety, psychosis, and a variety of debilitating mental illnesses.