Mom and Mind | Pregnancy and Postpartum Depression & Anxiety

Latest Episodes:

326: Behind The Sessions: Why Are We So Hard On Ourselves? Mar 21, 2024

Show notes

There is more to the story than postpartum depression. There are many complexities to the ways we talk to ourselves. I see perinatal folks give in frequently to thoughts of self-judgment and even self-hatred, which is not at all a healthy scenario for the transition to parenthood. It’s a time when there are many new things to learn and adjustments to make as we become parents. In today’s session, we answer the important question: “Why are we so hard on ourselves?”

Show Highlights:

Thoughts of shame, guilt, and not being “good enough”
Don’t we deserve the objectivity, compassion, and understanding that we would give to a friend? The answer is YES!
Our internalized belief systems come from the pressures we experienced early in life in our families.
Having a child to care for brings up a lot of feelings about the past and how we were cared for (or not cared for).
Therapy support can help develop necessary coping strategies like self-compassion, softness, understanding, validation, and forgiveness.
You CAN move forward without the pressure of perfection!

Resources:

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources and support!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

325: A Free Birth After Birth Trauma with Alexa Ericson Mar 18, 2024

Show notes

Today’s episode is about a topic that may be unfamiliar to many. My guest shares her journey through her first pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, along with why she chose a very different scenario called free birth to welcome her second child into the world. Join us to learn more!

Alexa Ericson shares why she chose a free birth for her second child, what that is, and how that choice worked out for her. She explains how she found comfort through writing and decided to put her experiences into a book–with the hopes of helping other women. Her book of poetry, Motherhood, Disenchanted, covers “adventures into the nitty-gritty, sleep-deprived, chaotic, and sometimes dark thoughts that come fluttering through the early years of mothering.” After back-to-back pregnancies and years of isolated mothering due to her location and lockdowns, she felt a major gap in the discussion around the raw and tough, intimate moments of motherhood. Alexa used her writing as a form of catharsis and a way to work through difficulties. In this conversation, she discusses her marriage, body changes, breastfeeding, anxiety, exhaustion, loss of self, and more. Alexa lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with her farmer husband and two kids.

Show Highlights:

Alexa’s story: how she, as someone with doula training, made her birth plan for her first child (born in 2019) with midwives, a doula, and a home birth
The reality of birth in the middle of a big storm, power outage, and a situation that felt out of control
Alexa’s overall account of her midwife experience
A downhill slide after her baby was born—and she was left with very few options and very little information
Alexa’s very difficult intro to motherhood with anxiety and overwhelm
Writing: the best lifeline for Alexa
Motherhood messaging in our society and on social media–and why real-life experiences don’t usually measure up
Alexa’s second pregnancy, when her first son was only 5 months old
Free birth–a birth with no medical professionals present
Alexa’s second birth story: a healing and peaceful experience with no rules, regulations, regimented prenatal care, or manipulation by medical providers
Hear Alexa share two poems from her book!
Alexa’s advice to other women: “If you aren’t feeling strong, try writing about it and get those thoughts out. It can help to put them on paper.”

Resources:

Connect with Alexa Ericson: Website, Instagram, and Motherhood, Disenchanted book

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources and support!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

324: Postpartum Psychosis: A Couple’s Experience with Dr. Rowena and Derek Winkler Mar 11, 2024

Show notes

Postpartum psychosis is often misunderstood and mischaracterized. It is important to humanize this condition, remove the stigma around it, and let people know that treatment is available and healing is possible. In today’s show, we get a rare glimpse into the life of a family through the eyes of both a husband and wife about their journey through postpartum psychosis. Join us to learn more!

Derek Winkler is a software engineering manager, father of two (Kerri-almost 4, and Robbie-6 months), and husband to Rowena. Derek shares his perspective of what he experienced as a husband and father and what kind of support he needed.

Dr. Rowena Winkler is a career and empowerment coach who helps high achievers unlock their academic genius and gain clarity in their jobs, businesses, and lives through the power of communication. Using her Ph.D. in Communications, along with mystical modalities such as astrology, human design, and Tarot, Dr. Rowena’s coaching method enables clients to tap into self-love and bold confidence to get unstuck and make a change. Rowena shares what postpartum psychosis was like for her from the start, through her hospitalization, and integrating back home.

Show Highlights:

How postpartum psychosis occurred after Rowena’s second pregnancy with their son in 2023 after a completely normal postpartum experience in 2020 (when their daughter was born)
How Derek noticed Rowena’s anxiety issues when their son was born, along with sleep deprivation and hypervigilance
How Rowena’s condition escalated, Derek noticed several red flags that were concerning and called 911 when their son was 2-3 weeks old
How Rowena felt herself slipping from reality–like she didn’t “have full ownership” of her body
How things progressed until Derek contacted 911 through a text, police officers and a mental health professional (from Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center) arrived, and Rowena went to the ER
What Rowena remembers about her paranoia in arriving and being admitted to the hospital (one day in the ER and 10 days in a psychiatric unit)
Why she needed a second hospitalization after her initial discharge and return home
How the healing process takes time after a severe mental health crisis
How an outpatient hospital program helped Rowena learn helpful coping strategies
Why our medical care system isn’t set up for sufficient family support after a psychiatric hospitalization
How PSI, therapy, and medications helped Derek in his caregiving role in being a supportive and understanding partner
How Rowena is coping today with new tools to use in starting a new job and being a wife and mother
Rowena’s takeaways: “Those of us who have been through this and have made it to the other side are here to help, support, and share that you are not alone. You can get through this.”
Derek’s takeaways: “It is the silver lining around a very dark cloud that we are able to share our story and help people learn about this condition. It is very difficult, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Postpartum psychosis is very treatable. If you are going through this, please reach out for help.”

Resources:

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources and support!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Connect with Dr. Rowena Winkler: Website, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube

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323: Behind The Sessions: Feeling Loss in the Transition to Parenthood Mar 07, 2024

Show notes

We can all agree that the transition to parenthood is huge and multi-faceted. For many parents, that transition feels like not just a big change but a monumental loss. It’s a loss of what once was and the life you had grown accustomed to in your pre-baby world. There are a lot of changes around the freedom and flexibility you once enjoyed, and essentially every area of life is affected. Things are different in your world regarding your attention and energy, as well. Join me in today’s Behind the Sessions look at why this transition feels like a loss–and what you can do about it.

Show Highlights:

Why it is perfectly acceptable to experience a mixed bag of feelings about parenthood—and each of those feelings should be acknowledged and validated
How acknowledging the huge changes within the context of life is an important step (Yes, things change, but exciting things are happening, also!)
How to handle outside pressure and negative parenthood experiences from others
Why people see a therapist for support and validation when they experience these kinds of identity shifts
Dr. Kat’s takeaways: “Whatever mixture of feelings and experiences play into your transition into parenting, it’s okay. It might not always feel good, and it might be confusing, but it’s totally part of the process as you are shifting and changing. Life is changing, and it’s normal to have feelings about that.”

Resources:

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources and support!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

322: From Business Owner to Survivor: Overcoming Postpartum Depression with Emma Hopkins Mar 04, 2024

Show notes

I’m joined today by Emma Hopkins, a mom and business owner in the UK. At age 39, Emma became a first-time mother and experienced postpartum depression to the point that her entire life, identity, and livelihood changed. She walks us through the tough decision to give up the business that was her heart and soul to prioritize her basic survival. She finally found healing, reconnected with herself, embraced her new role as a mother, and built a new business based on her experience and education. Today she coaches other women who feel a lost sense of identity by helping them rediscover themselves, and she works as a champion advocate with the Maternal Mental Health Alliance in the UK.

Show Highlights:

Emma’s story of business ownership in the health and wellness space in Spain and the UK until motherhood at age 39 changed everything
Emma’s rude introduction to motherhood, which included severe sleeplessness, complete burnout, and full-blown postpartum depression
How she was forced to sell her beloved business–and lose her sense of identity in the process
What Emma wishes she had done differently
How the UK’s “health visitors” system left Emma feeling judged, tested, and failing
How Emma grieved for the person she was and the success and identity she lost
How she finally realized and admitted that she had postpartum depression
How the COVID-19 lockdown actually helped Emma connect and communicate with people again and gave her what she was missing
How Emma’s supportive husband and her daily walks helped her immensely
Why Emma began working with the Maternal Mental Health Alliance in the UK and has become a passionate champion to build awareness around maternal mental health

Resources:

Connect with Emma Hopkins: Website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Maternal Mental Health Alliance (for UK listeners)

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources and support!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

321: Interpersonal Therapy for Perinatal Healing with Elyse Springer, MA-CLP,LMFT,PMH-C Feb 26, 2024

Show notes

Today’s conversation is about interpersonal therapy (IPT). You’ll learn what IPT is, how it differs from other therapies, and why it is a validated therapy that is well-suited for the perinatal population. Many more clinicians should seek training in this therapy modality which is full of useful tools and skills. Join us to learn more!

Elyse Springer is a longtime colleague and friend with much knowledge about supporting people in their perinatal mental health. She is a current board member for Postpartum Support International’s California chapter and serves as the Policy and Advocacy Chair. She is an emeritus Governing Council member for Maternal Mental Health NOW; she served an eight-year term and continues to provide ongoing training for the organization. She served as a board member of the national maternal mental health policy and advocacy group 2020 Mom Project from 2014-2019, and subsequently sat on the organization’s clinical advisory panel through 2021. In addition, Elyse is a training faculty and emeritus board member for the national perinatal loss organization Return to Zero: HOPE and training faculty for the paternal perinatal non-profit Love, Dad. Elyse is certified in perinatal mental health, and she is an EMDRIA-approved therapist and consultant, certified in Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) by the IPT Institute, and an IPT supervisor-in-training. She lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Show Highlights:

What is interpersonal therapy (IPT)?
Why the goal of IPT is to ensure social support—and how this is accomplished
How IPT can help with specific relationship needs in the perinatal period
Three main areas of focus in IPT: grief/loss, role transition, and interpersonal disputes
Examples of how Elyse might work with a couple around role transitions in the perinatal period
What we should realize about decolonizing mental health and focusing on collaborative approaches of social support within a person’s culture
How problem-solving and role-playing are done within the IPT model
How IPT focuses on experiences, goals, and positive communication
How IPT sessions are structured as a 12-session model with periodic check-ins to follow up
Where to go for IPT training: IPT Institute

Resources:

Connect with Elyse Springer: Website and Instagram

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources and support!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

320: Behind The Sessions: Mental and Emotional Labor in Your Relationship Feb 22, 2024

Show notes

There are a lot of dynamics at play in becoming a parent, and that is an understatement, to say the least! Often overlooked are the needed conversations around new boundaries, tasks, and the “invisible labor” that a new baby brings. These discussions are vital in protecting the relationship between partners and making the postpartum period more enjoyable for both parents. Today’s episode focuses on the mental and emotional labor that a mom most often takes on in the partnership–and I’m referring primarily to heterosexual couples in this all-too-common scenario.

Show Highlights:

How resentment can start to build and negatively impact the couple’s relationship
How a therapist will approach the issue with one individual–as opposed to couples’ therapy, which is ideal
Different scenarios common in a partnership after a new baby arrives that lead to stress, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and more
Why therapy for both partners can be extremely helpful, either individually or as a couple
Why communication around boundaries, tasks, and “invisible labor” is important
Why the divorce rate during the perinatal period is higher (67% of couples experience marital dissatisfaction during this time!)
What you can do to be proactive and protect your relationship as you prepare for a new baby

Resources:

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources and support!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

319: Trauma-Informed Approaches for Birth Workers and Birthing People Feb 19, 2024

Show notes

Today’s show brings back a guest from years ago, and I’m excited to reconnect with her and hear updates about her life and work. She’s a lovely human and a beautiful soul who is doing meaningful work that helps many people. Join us!

Nkem Ndefo is the founder of Lumos Transforms and the creator of The Resilience Toolkit, a model that promotes embodied self-awareness and self-regulation in an ecologically sensitive framework and social justice context. Originally licensed as a nurse midwife, Nkem has extensive postgraduate training in complementary health modalities and emotional therapies. She has worked in a lot of settings from large-volume hospitals to mobile community clinics, and she brings years of expertise as a clinician, educator, researcher, and community strategist. She works in programs that address trauma inequity as she seeks to build resilience and shape liberatory change for individuals and organizations throughout the US and internationally. Her particular interest is in working alongside people most impacted by violence and marginalization, and she does important work in the birth community. We are discussing how systems are related to trauma and mental health, along with how systems impact birthing people and the healthcare providers in the birthing community.

Show Highlights:

An overview of Nkem’s broad scope of work around healing and liberation
Why we need systems that facilitate healing on the individual AND community levels
What it means to be trauma-informed in the realm of reproductive health and mental health
Why our healthcare system MUST recognize the need for trauma-informed approaches for birth workers
How we can change the systems with little steps—one at a time
What Nkem sees as the leading factors in why people are resistant to change
How tools and intention can grow our capacity to recognize overwhelm and activate boundaries around things that cause stress
How many different kinds of traumas contribute to mental health diagnoses
Why most of our trauma healing efforts in the current medical model fall short
How inadequate parental leave within the current system kicks off a cascade of mental health effects
Why doulas are NOT the solution or the fix to the broken system
Why we need to be courageous with our hopes and dreams of changing the broken system
An overview of Lumos Transforms and The Resilience Toolkit

Resources:

Connect with Nkem Ndefo and Lumos Transforms: Website, Instagram, X, and The Resilience Toolkit

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources and support!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

318: Healing Perinatal Trauma Through Psychodynamic and Somatic Therapy Feb 12, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is doing important work with perinatal mental health through psychodynamic and somatic therapy. There is a great need for this therapeutic modality to be available to people who need it and for more training to be accessible to care providers. Join us to learn more!

Dr. Helena Vissing is a licensed psychologist certified in perinatal mental health as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. She is experienced as an adjunct faculty member and on the training committee of Maternal Mental Health NOW where she provides consultations and helps train providers. Helena has written a book on her biopsychosocial model for the treatment of trauma in the perinatal period published with Routledge and titled, Somatic Maternal Healing: Psychodynamic and Somatic Trauma Treatment for Perinatal Mental Health.

Show Highlights:

Why the perinatal period is a time of the clashing of biology and culture because of the vast changes to the body and nervous system
How Dr. Helena’s integrative treatment model combines somatic approaches with psychoanalytic tools
How Dr. Helena explains the basics of somatic therapy (aka somatic psychology or body psychotherapy)
How Dr. Helena explains the basics of psychodynamic therapy
How Dr. Helena’s book addresses trauma in the perinatal period with a broader concept beyond just PTSD
How the perinatal period is an opportunity for a parent to rework their relationships, along with their role and identity
Important principles around nervous system regulation in the perinatal period
Why sensory awareness is the starting point—and only happens when a person slows down
How Dr. Helena explains “maternal body fullness”
How trauma healing occurs when the tendency is avoidance
Dr. Helena’s message of hope: “It is possible to heal. Healing is not easy and may take a while, but it is possible.”

Resources:

Connect with Dr. Helena Vissing: Website, Book, and Instagram

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources and support!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

317: Behind The Sessions: Hyper-Independence Can Make You Anxious Feb 08, 2024

Show notes

Becoming a parent can bring intense anxiety and high levels of worry about doing the right thing for your child. Some people have feelings of failure in meeting some high level of expectation that they have of themselves. I always wonder in therapy what has contributed to a person’s suffering in this way, and, as a therapist, I want to dig deeper into why this style of hyper-independence and hyperfunctioning at all costs is activated when some people become parents. Let’s dig deeper in today’s Behind-the-Sessions episode.

Show Highlights:

How hyper-independence can show up because of childhood events in which someone experiences emotional neglect
How being independent, not burdening anyone by asking for help, and relying only on oneself can be magnified in the postpartum
Why the pressure to be perfect can lead to high anxiety and even depression in the presence of impossibly high standards
Why asking for help and admitting that you aren’t perfect can alleviate the stress, overwhelm, and constant energy drain that a hyper-independent parent might feel
How a perinatal mental health professional can help someone manage these dynamics
Dr. Kat’s advice for hyperfunctioning parents: “Have compassionate support for yourself, try to be flexible in understanding that it’s okay to ask for help, and prioritize your sleep, rest, and self-care.”

Resources:

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources and support!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices