Reaching Out For Help:
It's okay to not be okay while being a parent/single parent.

Marizah Angelica Vigil

Nanbe Pueblo

Copy of shp Presentation

Research log 1

Nambe Pueblo, https://www.nambepueblo.org/. Accessed 3 Oct. 2022.

Sharing One Skin

In ¨Sharing One Skin¨ we learn about the Okanagan people. They have a strong relationship to land, language and culture. When spoken or written, important words in the Okanagan language tie their people and the land together. Armstrong shares the words used to mean community as “ having one covering” like a blanket. Similarly, the meaning of “our place on the land” and “our language” are the same word. Believing in the spiritual and physical connection between all things, when people fail to respect that relationship chaos will follow. As a result, we are losing so much of what makes our communities healthy.

Research log 2

Residential School Survivors Tell Us What Intergenerational Trauma Really Is.

October 4th, 2022

In the article, Residential School Survivors Tell Us What Intergenerational Trauma Really Is, we learn some of the impacts felt generations after native people have attended residential schools. According to Zoledziowski Generational trauma is when the stressful and traumatic experiences faced by one generation impact the health, well-being, and experiences of the next generation. Details from survivors and other records tell about the horrible abuses the students went through. They were physically and sexually abused, starved, shamed and killed. There have been discoveries of unmarked graves as well as students that were never seen again. This trauma is felt by the survivors, the parents of the children taken as well as the communities. This is sometimes multiple generations: parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. A study conducted in 1988 by the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, found that grandchildren of Holocaust survivors were 300 percent more likely than the general population to require psychiatric care. That along with other trauma research support what can be seen in indigenous communities all over the US and Canada. Higher numbers of suicide, homelessness, addiction and mental health issues than in other populations. Breaking the cycle can be one way to address what is passed on to the next generation. We are resilient people. It is possible to experience some healing from these traumas by putting our bodies, minds and souls back into harmony.

Parenting with Mental Health Challenges

In the video ¨Parenting with a Mental Health problem¨ they tell us about what it's like to be a parent with a mental problem. A fear that people will shame you and tell you that since you have a mental health problem you can't cope because you're suffering from a condition. In this video, they also share how they feel judged. When you tell people what you've actually been through, they don't realize because they think that you're very well put together. Mental health problems can keep you from doing things you love. A woman in this video shared that for a year after her daughter was born, she couldn't call herself a mother because she hated using the word. It didn't feel like her. When they get to the end of the day and their kids are alive and happy then that's when they can tell themselves that they did good today.

Research log 3

October 4th, 2022

How Parent(s) parent while Being Depressed

In the article how to parent while being depressed, the article tells us about how sometimes as a parent you can feel that being depressed and parenting are impossible to do at the same time. But the sooner you can seek help the more you get closer to being better for yourself and your family. There are many ways you can get help, there are different types of therapy that you can take, and you can get with a doctor to see about medication. Not getting the help that you need can cause effects to your family as well. When you have children and you don't get the help that you need, then that can cause your children to feel sad as well because they aren't having that connection with their parents that they feel that they should have.

Parenting with a Mental Health Condition

In the article parenting with a mental health condition. It is said that it's a good thing to be able to open up to your child about your mental illness but that's also depending on their age. Being able to open up to your child can also be a way to help you cope when you are trying to recover from something. There can be some emotions that your kid feels when you tell them and that might be, fearing it, feeling shame, guilt, sadness, supportiveness, and others. If you have a partner it's best that you guys can talk about it to make sure both of you know what is going on with each other mentally. These 2 articles talk about the different experiences parents can have. They give strategies for coping and talking to your children about your feelings. It can be hard to parent and struggle with mental health. That is how they are connected to my topic: Mental health and parenting

Research Log 4

Maternal Mental Health and Postpartum Depression

There´s a video of a mother talking about the maternal mental health of moms. She talks about how physical recovery from childbirth is already tricky. But the process of postpartum mental health is just as distressing. Mothers have to heal physically and mentally from the experience of childbirth while having plenty of sleepless nights, and managing the exhausting day-to-day of newborn care. But people don't talk about the fact that there is so much more pressure than that. She says for example that ¨somewhere right now a mother is feeling a deep sense of failure as someone admonishes her for feeding her baby from a bottle¨. But they didn't know that that mom already wept at the checkout line when she bought the formula for her hungry baby, after failing to breastfeed. On top of that having to look out for the safety and wellness of her family. Those around her don't know that she's been ignoring her own mental health for months. Mothers often take judgment from others, for every choice they make for their children. Maternal mental health isn't a luxury.

An article about postpartum depression talks about how when a new mom has depression, the relationship with the child can become strained. Which can cause her to be less able to respond to her child's needs. The more a mother is depressed, the more of a delay in the infant's development. New mothers should be encouraged to talk about their feelings. A new mother might also experience postpartum psychosis. Some physical symptoms are, refusing to eat, not being able to do any activity, or giving any type of energy. Mental symptoms are things like extreme confusion, memory loss, also incoherence. Behavioral symptoms are things like paranoia and irrational statements. If a mother is dealing with PPP, they should be hospitalized until they are in stable condition. Mothers who have experienced PPP are likely to suffer from it again in their next pregnancy.

Action Plan 1

Action Plan 2

Citations

Armstrong Jeanette “Sharing One Skin: The Okanagan Community,” in Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith (eds), The Case Against the Global Economy. San Francisco, CA, Sierra Club Books, 1996. Pp 460-470.

Toastie, B. “How place names impact the way we see landscape.” High Country News: Know the West, 1 May 2022,the West, 1 May 2022

Haiku Deck, The Meriam Report, 2015, Accessed October 5, 2022,

https://www.haikudeck.com/the-meriam-report-education-presentation-BmDpH4pJDX

How to Parent While Depressed.” Parents, 27 Oct. 2022, www.parents.com/health/mental/how-to-parent-while-depressed.

History.com, Trail of Tears, Accessed October 5, 2022,

https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/trail-of-tears

Lakshmin, Pooja. “Experts Fear Increase in Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders (Published 2020).” The New York Times, 19 July 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/parenting/coronavirus-postpartum-depression-anxiety.html. Accessed 16 February 2023.

Little, Becky, How Boarding Schools Tried to ‘Kill the Indian’ Through Assimilation, 2018, Accessed October 5, 2022,

https://www.history.com/news/how-boarding-schools-tried-to-kill-the-indian-through-assimilation

Maternal Mental Health. 2019. Performance by Bhutila Karpoche, youtube, 2019. youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuLVvTSM2MU.

“Mental Health of Children and Parents —a Strong Connection.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 Apr. 2021, www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/features/mental-health-children-and-parents.html.

Mind, the mental health charity. “Parenting With a Mental Health Problem | Talking About Mental Health - Episode 14.” YouTube, 21 June 2015,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHpHP4HFRT4

O'Malley, Suzanne. “Andrea Yates.” Wikipedia,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Yates#Anti-depressants_and_homicidal_ideation. Accessed 23

February 2023.

Parenting with a Mental Health Condition. (n.d.). Mental Health America.

https://www.mhanational.org/parenting-mental-health-condition