Mother Love

In this episode, Stephanie Hackman, LCPC, joins us to share her experiences and how they've made her the mom she is today. She is both present and attuned, not only to the needs of her family and those she works with, but also to her own needs. Stephanie's stories describe what it was like for her to suffer in silence during the time she and her family belonged to an oppressive religious organization/cult. She recounts the loss of her son, Johnathan, her journey back to her true self, and the unfolding of a beautifully uncommon love story. Stephanie shares her words in hopes that other voiceless and nameless mothers might have a chance to heal from the telling of their own stories.
Show Notes:
Robert J. Lifton - Cult expert and researcher mentioned by Stephanie
Modern Love Clip- Ann Hathaway (portrayal of life with bi-polar disorder)
Mary Oliver: poet, author
Jamie Anesi, LCPC, transpersonal and somatic therapist
Joan Didion: author- books mentioned: The Year of Magical Thinking, Blue Nights
Matt Haig: author and mental health advocate - books mentioned: Reasons to Stay Alive, The Comfort Book
Stephanie's writing (still waiting on link for this one)
For statewide resources please visit the Linking Infants and Families to Supports at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

For statewide resources please visit the Linking Infants and Families to Supports at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

Prairie Wolfe is passionate about healing, and, in this episode, it shows. Anytime an experienced therapist can speak about their own personal challenges in mothering and caregiving and offer tips, tools, and wisdom to help other parents overcome their struggles, we're all in. During our conversation, Prairie helps listeners understand their nervous systems, the under-resourced circumstances of modern-day parenting, and common caregiving woes that leave us feeling defeated and ashamed. How do we address and repair these wounds in order to show up more presently as parents and humans in general? Find out as Prairie weaves it all together to help us gather our scattered pieces and live with a sense of wholeness.
Books:
The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate
Website:
https://www.somaticconnections.org/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/SomaticConnections

Instagram:
@prairie.somaticconnections
LIFTS Online Resource Guide:
https://hmhb-lifts.org

For statewide resources please visit the Linking Infants and Families to Supports at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

For statewide resources please visit the Linking Infants and Families to Supports at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

Even though Flora McCormick spent years studying child developmental and psychology and ultimately became a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, her early years of parenting were very challenging. She remembers feeling frustrated and disoriented, and this business of mothering felt, well, unsustainable. So, she set out to find new tools, ones that fostered connection and encouraged healthy boundaries. Soon, balance and joy began to emerge. Today, she is the Lead Mentor and Owner of Sustainable Parenting and she's joined us to share her personal story and offer simple and effective tools that actually work! Tune in to learn about how firmness supports kindness and begin to shift from resentful exhaustion to predictable peace.
Website: sustainableparenting.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SustainableParenting

Instagram: @sustainable_parent_coach

Free sustainable parenting workshop: https://sustainableparenting.com/calm-confident-rsvp-2/

LIFTS Online Resource Guide:

https://hmhb-lifts.org

For statewide resources please visit the Linking Infants and Families to Supports at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

For statewide resources please visit the Linking Infants and Families to Supports at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

When preparation only takes you part of the way, support and a good care team can make all the difference.
Cass Weber, a mom of 2, and an active member of the Butte community, describes how support and a good care team can make all the difference when things do not go as expected. Her resilient and positive attitude is refreshing and she has very useful advice for parents.

After she had a caesarean section birth with her first child, Cass made sure to prepare for it all the second time around. Even though her second birth ended with a c-section as well, she says she did it on her terms, including having a favorite song playing in the OR when her daughter was born.

Cass talks pregnancy and birth during covid as well as making the decision to be a stay at home mom after serving in various roles in early childhood development and care in Butte.

For statewide resources please visit the Linking Infants and Families to Supports at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

In this final episode of our Native American Initiative Series, we welcome to the show, Chelsea Bellon, a mom of three and the Health Equity Community Engagement Specialist at the Western Montana Area Education Center. Chelsea offers her wisdom and insight to help identify and raise awareness of the racism that exists in education and academia as well as health inequities in rural populations.

Chelsea speaks about a few simple cultural considerations that made a huge difference for her and contributed to her healing while she was under medical supervision during a time of crisis.
Chelsea and Claire talk about what it's like to receive and accept their Bipolar II diagnoses and how, as moms, they've learned to cope in times of intense dysregulation. Mental health conditions, especially when exasperated in the perinatal period, can indeed be life threatening and sometimes look, feel, and sound differently than we might think. If you or someone you know suffers from a mental illness and no one knows what to say or do, this episode offers very helpful guidance and some practical steps to get them the help they need. Hope and healing are possible and these stories prove that. #maternalmentalhealth #indigenouswomen #WeAreListening #motherlovepodcast

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW ARE HAVING THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE CALL OR TEXT 988 IMMEDIATELY.
*The 988 Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States. We're committed to improving crisis services and advancing suicide prevention by empowering individuals, advancing professional best practices, and building awareness.*
Please click here for a list of show notes and resources provided by Chelsea and Claire.

For statewide resources please visit the Linking Infants and Families to Supports at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/