Margaux Baumgarten was 16 when her mania peaked in the middle of American history class. Today she is a mom of two, a mental health advocate, and someone who serves on the board of NAMI Southeast Wisconsin. In Episode 40 of Success, Rewritten, she walks through everything in between, including a therapeutic boarding school, years of not talking about her diagnosis, and the plans she and her husband built to stay ahead of it.
Key takeaways
Margaux was diagnosed with bipolar I at 16 and sent to a therapeutic boarding school in Vermont, part of what’s known as the troubled teen industry. She remembers very little of it.
She spent years not mentioning her diagnosis. A job interview that ended with a NAMI referral is what started changing that.
She and her husband created a checklist while she was stable, so he can speak up when she can’t see what’s happening.
Her postpartum plan mattered as much as the plan for the baby, and it looked different from other moms’ plans.
Who is Margaux Baumgarten?
Margaux is a mental health advocate who lives with bipolar I. Before becoming a stay-at-home mom she worked as a childcare director and as an entry-level social worker, coordinating care for adults with mental illness, and she holds a degree in special education. She serves on the board of NAMI Southeast Wisconsin, which is how she and host Emily LoMenzo Washcovick met, and she is a fan of Moms Mental Health Initiative, a local Milwaukee nonprofit focused on maternal mental health. She has been with her husband for almost 15 years.
What happened when she was diagnosed with bipolar I at 16?
During her sophomore year, Margaux’s manic episode peaked in her American history class, and she was taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with bipolar I. Her school would not let her return. Her parents sought professional help, and the decision was made to send her to a therapeutic boarding school in Vermont, about a 12-hour drive from home. She felt isolated and alone, and she believed the diagnosis was going to ruin her life (as she knew it).
The diagnosis also touched something personal. Her grandmother, whom she called Yaya, lived with bipolar and dementia, and of 13 grandchildren Margaux was the closest to her. She had watched family members treat her grandmother poorly, and she was afraid of becoming like her once she knew her diagnosis.
There was one upside to an early diagnosis: it was the right one, and she could start medication right away. She is still on the same medication today, at different levels.
How did the troubled teen industry shape her silence?
Margaux’s school was one of the facilities connected to the troubled teen industry, the same world made known by people like Paris Hilton. She describes it as a therapeutic boarding school, technically a less intense program, and says she told herself at one of the graduations that she would black out the memories. “I did,” she says. A friend who is also an advocate remembers more than she does.
The facility closed after 11 months, and staff felt she was stable enough for a regular school. She chose to stay in Vermont because she was too embarrassed to return to Michigan. That summer, in therapy twice a week, she was taught how to have conversations without bringing up bipolar, the boarding school, or the troubled teen industry. She spent her senior year completely compartmentalized, and she carried that mindset through college. One slip-up turned out well: she told her future husband on their first date, and he said, “Okay.”
How did she start speaking openly about bipolar?
After years in nonprofit work, Margaux was burnt out and interviewed for a sales position. The interviewer suggested she look at NAMI and offered to pass her resume along. It reached NAMI Wisconsin, then NAMI Southeast Wisconsin, and she was interviewed for a board role. That, she says, is what sparked being out and open about her bipolar.
A friend from her time in the treatment facility has also inspired her to speak out about the troubled teen industry. She used to be an Ending the Silence presenter, and what she told teenagers back then still holds: life is more than the now, and it gets better.
What did it look like when mania returned?
Around 2021, Margaux was weaning off her medication, with a doctor’s okay, to see whether she could go without it for pregnancy. She had night terrors, sleepwalking, and poor sleep, and on a trip to Wyoming she was zooming past everyone on mountain hikes. She didn’t want to stop it at first. Going to her parents’ house in Traverse City for a break is where it clicked that she needed to stop weaning.
Out of that came a system. While stable, Margaux and her husband created a checklist of 10-12 items. If she checks enough of the boxes, he is allowed to sit down with her and tell her what he sees. During her second postpartum period he did exactly that. She cried, thought “I need to up my meds,” and it worked. When she resists, he reminds her of what she agreed to when she was stable: “I’m not against you. I’m for you.”
What does postpartum planning look like with bipolar I?
For Margaux, the benefits of staying on medication during pregnancy outweighed the risks, and she saw a maternal fetal medicine specialist. She needed to increase her medication while pregnant. After giving birth she went through postpartum psychosis, and she describes an emergency response and a 12-hour wait to be admitted as traumatic in themselves. Her takeaway is that maternal mental health needs more access and more understanding.
For her second daughter, the family had a postpartum plan, and she says it matters as much as the plan for the baby. Her list:
Backup people, whether that’s a friend, an aunt, or an uncle, not only grandparents
A schedule that includes time for yourself
Protected sleep, with her husband taking some night feedings
A partner who is in the planning stage with you
Consistent support, not just dinners and one-hour visits
A postpartum doula, which helped her balance her days in the very beginning
She is clear that your plan can look totally different from another mom’s. Her own meant formula, which she calls a lifesaver. She also notes that dads can struggle after a baby arrives too. Margaux is sharing her own experience, so build your plan with your own providers.
How does she protect her mental health now?
Margaux relies on nutrition and exercise at the YMCA, walks and fresh air, a consistent medication routine, and sleep hygiene, which includes limiting screens and taking breaks from social media. After the girls go to bed, her husband helps her shut down the house and she reads or does her nightly routine. She stays in touch with long-distance friends on the Marco Polo app, found a new mom group this year, and says her advocacy with NAMI gives her purpose as a stay-at-home mom.
What does she want people to know?
Margaux has always been told, “You aren’t bipolar, you have bipolar,” and she agrees it matters. It is a part of us, mania looks different for everyone and different each time, and it is not a death sentence. Therapy is okay too. In her words, it’s normal to get help, just like you’d get help from a friend. You can follow her on Instagram at @margauxbaumgarten.
You can watch the full conversation with Margaux on YouTube or listen on any podcast platform. Here’s Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
