We have a very special episode to share with you today. I’m deeply honored to host Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, thought leader, and wholeness advocate, Alanis Morissette! She is joined by the president and CEO of Postpartum Support International, Dr. Wendy Davis! 

Alanis found PSI as a resource when she was dealing with perinatal mental health challenges, and she has openly shared about the value of PSI resources while on tour. In addition to being a long-time, powerful presence in the music world, she has become an equally influential advocate for mental health. She has been vocal about experiencing postpartum depression, or “postpartum activity,” as she has referred to it. In our conversation, she shares like never before what her experience was like, how it impacted her life, and how she has found her way to healing. Being in the public eye as a well-known performer has brought a whole other level of pressure and scrutiny to Alanis’ life experiences under the bright–and sometimes stinging–light of celebrity. 

Dr. Wendy Davis began as a volunteer with PSI in 1997, became the executive director in 2009, and later became the president and CEO. She was drawn to this work after healing from postpartum depression and has become a passionate advocate and leader in the world of perinatal mental health. I’ve been privileged to see Wendy in action at PSI and work closely with her in my role as the Board Chair. Her heart-centered and help-centered approach to leadership has grown PSI into the leading perinatal mental health non-profit in the world today. 

Show Highlights:

• Alanis’ struggle to balance the people-pleasing life of a celebrity with “the dark swamp of depression” that nobody wanted to see or hear
• Being a high-achieving perfectionist who is self-reliant and autonomous puts a person at a greater risk for postpartum depression.
• Figuring out the archetype of “mom” is a lifelong journey.
• Motherhood brings profound vulnerability–and ALL the past traumas.
• Alanis’ perspective: What does a struggling mother need the most? To be nurtured
• Understanding how the 90s rock and roll scene was a strongly patriarchal environment that left Alanis feeling more isolated and less connected
• Alanis’ role today as the champion of a sisterhood that protects and micromanages on behalf of women
• The immense value of someone saying, “I see you.”
• Alanis’ experience with anger, rage, panic attacks, and a loss of identity
• Tenderness, love, and empowerment in motherhood
• The elements of support that were most helpful for Alanis: the appropriate medications, finding community, strong relationships, and finding a space of safety to be “broken” (What didn’t help was someone saying, “You’re not alone.”)
• What we all want: to make postpartum challenges more visible and to normalize the conversations around them
• “Wholeness over wellness”
• Alanis’ thoughts on the beauty and purity of being a mother to her children
• Our immense gratitude for Alanis’ impact as a fierce advocate and champion of PSI’s work and helpful resources

Resources:

Connect with Alanis Morissette: Find out more about Alanis’ music and events on her Website; follow Alanis on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

Please find resources in English and Spanish at Postpartum Support International, or by phone/text at 1-800-944-4773. There are many free resources, like online support groups, peer mentors, a specialist provider directory, and perinatal mental health training for therapists, physicians, nurses, doulas, and anyone who wants to better support people for whom they provide services. 

You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms

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!

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It’s no secret that a new baby brings many nuances to a couple’s relationship and family life. The couple relationship dynamics shift and change as new responsibilities have to be prioritized. Planning ahead with open communication can make things easier in every way. Let’s take a closer look in today’s behind-the-sessions episode.

Show Highlights:

• The first few weeks with a new baby: patterns, plans, and problems
• Sleep issues complicate everything!
• The communication challenges around different parenting styles, cultural differences, and incorrect assumptions
• Understanding how resentment builds and creates a rift in the relationship
• The value of setting aside time for regular daily or weekly check-ins to stay connected
• The importance of asking for help and giving each other space
• Planning ahead is the key!

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!

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Through the sharing of our stories, we educate ourselves and others about perinatal mental health challenges, and we normalize the fact that we should not feel shame for needing professional help and support. For so many people, shame over what they are experiencing keeps them from admitting the truth of their struggles and reaching out for help and support. We want to change that scenario! Join us for a candid conversation with today’s guest. 

Dr. Ellen Chance is a counselor educator and the founder of Whole Counseling and Wellness, a mental health private practice based in Florida. Her practice specializes in women’s and maternal mental health and support through all stages of motherhood, from trying to conceive to beyond the empty nest. Dr. Chance has advanced training in perinatal mental health and is passionate about empowering women and mothers to prioritize their whole wellness, and she works from the belief that all individuals deserve to feel whole: complete, fulfilled, grounded, and connected. Her motivation to serve the perinatal population came from her lived experience with postpartum anxiety and OCD and the shame that kept her from getting the help she needed and deserved. 

Show Highlights:

• Shame drives and perpetuates the symptoms of anxiety and OCD.
• Ellen’s story of fear and worry dominating her emotions during pregnancy–and dealing with breastfeeding struggles with her newborn
• Ellen’s experience with concealing how she felt and where her thoughts were going
• OCD, for Ellen, manifested itself through excessive worry and prevention of every bad thing that could possibly happen to her child—and the shame she felt as a trained mental health professional who could not admit that she needed help
• Ellen’s fears of opening up, being judged for her compulsive behavior, and burdening someone else with her mental health struggle
• Is it still intrusive thoughts if they aren’t about harming myself or my baby?
• Steps that helped Ellen “clear the fog” and start to be herself again
• Being open, transparent, and vulnerable about postpartum OCD didn’t happen until Ellen volunteered with PSI and started leading support groups.
• Things that were helpful to Ellen on her healing journey

Resources:

Connect with Dr. Ellen Chance and Whole Counseling and Wellness: Website, Instagram (Ellen), Instagram (counseling practice), and Facebook

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!

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It is more common than you might think to experience both anger and rage in the transition to parenthood, and those emotions happen for a variety of reasons and are caused by a multitude of factors. In today’s episode, we are covering all aspects of rage: why it happens, how it happens, what contributes to it, and what to do about it. Join us to learn more!

Bianca Sprague, founder of Bebo Mia, has been a dedicated educator, author, activist, and doula since 2007. Passionate about accessible prenatal and postnatal care for marginalized communities, she advocates for mental wellness in families, drawing from her struggle with postpartum depression and family-life experiences. Bianca champions reproductive health and justice, focusing on breaking barriers for female and queer entrepreneurs and restoring joy, equity, and safety in family care through her expertise and innovative approaches. In this episode, we discuss the complex emotions that arise during the transition to parenthood, particularly for those who are under-resourced or experience domestic violence. Bianca explains how societal expectations and gender roles can lead to suppressed anger and rage for many, along with the importance of expressing anger and rage in healthy and productive ways.  

Show Highlights:

• Bianca’s story of rage being the “fuel” for her work over the past 20 years
• Common issues in new parenthood are anger, frustration, and carrying a heavy emotional load.
• Bianca’s birth and doula work–and how she saw anger in other families
• The sources of much rage are a lack of equity at home and the lack of autonomy in the reproductive health journey.
• Societal pressures to only express “good” emotions
• Big expressions of anger come from a buildup of ignored emotions.
• Truth Telling is key!
• The unhealthy results of suppressing our intuition and emotions
• Unlearning societal conditioning and finding inner peace
• Ways to address anger and rage as a result of systemic oppression
• Using anger and rage to drive activism and create change
• The importance of acknowledging and processing anger in healthy ways
• Check out the special resource package available exclusively for Mom & Mind listeners in the Bebo Mia community!

Resources:

Connect with Bianca Sprague and Bebo Mia: Website, Exclusive resource link for M & M Listeners, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube

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!

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In today’s Behind the Sessions episode, we focus on the pain and grief that people experience in the infertility and loss journey while trying to become a parent or add another child to their family. While it’s impossible to cover every aspect of this topic in one episode, I want to take a closer look and assure anyone in this situation that they are not alone. Join me for more!

Show Highlights:

• Grief can take many forms, including anger, resentment, and jealousy.
• The emotional toll (from hormones, the waiting process, etc.) of infertility treatments
• The layers of complications that come with various reproductive technologies
• Feeling “partner pressure” is a very real thing, even if it’s self-imposed. 
• The importance of setting and keeping boundaries with other people
• The person struggling with infertility needs compassion, support, and a listening ear.
• A good therapist and support network can 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!

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Many people don’t realize that a neurodivergent diagnosis in childhood can be a risk factor for perinatal mental health issues later in life. Join us for today’s conversation with Tiffany!

Tiffany Engen is a full-time mom of two young children, a survivor of multiple PMADs, a strong advocate for maternal mental health, a full-spectrum doula, a birth photographer, and a certified perinatal educator (PMH-C). Born and raised in California and currently residing in Arizona, Tiffany volunteers as a support coordinator and peer mentor with Postpartum Support International. She shares the difficulties around her childhood diagnosis, the incredibly negative impact of losing a parent during her first pregnancy, and her battle to overcome debilitating intrusive thoughts during her second pregnancy. Looking back on her journey, Tiffany recognizes how she was operating with insufficient support and community that could have made a difference for her.  

Show Highlights:

• Tiffany’s story of childhood neurodivergence, intense medications, and ensuing panic attacks
• Her struggle to get off medications during her pregnancy and postpartum without the proper tools and coping skills
• Freedom comes when you fully embrace who you are and acknowledge the differences.
• Tiffany’s son’s neurodivergence, the loss of her father, and the difficult relationship with her mother
• Adjusting to intense feelings—without medications to lean on
• Tiffany’s second pregnancy—and the light switch moment that brought the first intrusive thought
• Grasping at straws, seeing a shaman, trying to cope with OCD, and having only her brother and a best friend for support
• The difficulties because of insomnia and paranoia
• Finding normalization through the support of a Facebook friend
• Internal suffering while covering it up externally
• The dilemma in trying to find a doctor who would do more than simply prescribe medications
• Tiffany’s path to become the helper and support that she needed 

Resources:

Connect with Tiffany Engen: 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!

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“When moms take better care of themselves, they can take better care of others.” This is the message behind Modern Mommy Doc, the creation of Dr. Whitney Casares. She joins us to discuss her wide-ranging work to support new moms in the transition to parenthood and beyond. Join us to learn more!

Dr. Whitney Casares is a private practice pediatrician, AAP spokesperson, Medical Review Board Advisor for Prevention Magazine, and the mother of two young girls in Portland, Oregon. She hosts The Modern Mommy Doc Podcast and is the author of several parenting books, including Doing It All: Stop Over-Functioning and Become the Mom and Person You're Meant To Be. Her mission is to help working moms break the cycle of burnout in parenting and shift the focus to their own health and well-being to create a sense of balance that fosters greater joy in every area of their lives. In this episode, Dr. Whitney helps us understand the concept of physical and mental clutter and how to find clarity in life’s priorities with “centered vision.” 

Show Highlights:

• Modern Mommy Doc: the heart of the platform and how it began
• Understanding how parent wellness and child wellness make a feedback loop
• A parent’s stress response and the onslaught of conflicting messages from society and social media
• An overview of Dr. Whitney’s book, Doing It All
• Dealing with physical AND mental clutter
• Breaking the cycle of mom guilt and the internalized pressure we put on ourselves
• The value of practicing “slowing down” techniques (because we are so bad at it!)
• Ways to bring awareness and gratefulness to each day
• Organize your life and focus your time and energy by creating a “centered vision” for your life.
• A closer look at what Modern Mommy Doc has to offer parents
• Dr. Whitney’s advice for parents: “In the end, the only thing–the only person–you have is you. I love that parents are invested in helping their kids be the best they can be, making their homes hospitable, and getting everything done, but there is a decision that comes very early in parenthood: Are you going to care more about other people than you’re going to care about yourself?”

Resources:

Connect with Modern Mommy Doc: Website, Instagram, Doing It All book, and LinkedIn

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!

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Just as a broken bone or surgery takes time for the healing process, the recovery process in healing from a perinatal mental health condition takes time. The process isn’t linear at all but is filled with ups and downs, and it comes with short-term and long-term aspects of healing. Join me for a closer look in today’s episode.

Show Highlights:

• Complicating factors that show up in the healing process have ramifications in life, relationships, and capacity to function.
• The healing journey does not come with a pre-set timeline.
• Even helpful medications take 4-6 weeks to reach their full efficacy.
• An increase in stress, a decrease in sleep, and other disruptions can bring back symptoms.
• Therapy requires a big-picture view to get through the very normal combination of good days and bad days.
• It’s okay to ask for help, even if you appear to be “recovered.”
• Support is key, whether it’s from a partner, family, friends, support group, etc.
• “Your healing process may mean you slow down and take breaks. Understand your capacity and give yourself grace and space.”
• Healing doesn’t come through ONE magic thing but is unique to each person and their needs. 

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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s episode covers an important topic that needs to be addressed as it affects many moms and families. My guest shares her experience of being diagnosed with autism and ADHD later in life, after having her children. She shares how her diagnosis impacted her, what non-stereotypical autism looks like, why self-evaluation is beneficial, and why getting a diagnosis can be a privilege. We will also learn about the role of women’s hormones in autism and ADHD. Join us!

Dr. Kiley Hanish is a neurodivergent occupational therapist specializing in mental health during the perinatal period, which includes pregnancy, postpartum, and perinatal loss. She is the founder of Return to Zero: HOPE, a nonprofit organization that provides inclusive and compassionate education and support for bereaved families after pregnancy and infant loss. In addition, they also provide training and support to health providers to foster more competence when working with these families. Because of her personal experience and diagnosis, Dr. Kiley mentors her occupational therapy research group in exploring the sensory experiences of autistic mothers in their everyday lives.  

Show Highlights:

• The beginning (2022), when Kiley’s son was diagnosed with ADHD and she began to realize the scope and meaning of her sensibilities
• A deep dive into autism in women, and how this research provided a new lens for Kiley to view her life
• Kiley’s experience with postpartum PTSD after a stillbirth, sensory overload, and chronic fatigue
• What the facts show: 80% of girls with autism are undiagnosed by age 18 (because of internal symptoms that don’t present themselves in stereotypical behaviors)
• Co-occurring conditions with neurodivergence that are often passed off as something else
• The impact of hormone fluctuations on autism and ADHD
• The need to educate yourself because of the existing gap in women’s healthcare
• Common challenges for mothers with autism: sleep difficulties, finding time alone to self-regulate, mood/anxiety disorders, and frequent feelings of overwhelm and overstimulation
• The results of RTZ: HOPE’s survey

Resources:

Connect with Dr. Kiley Hanish and Return to Zero: HOPE: Website (RTZ), Website (Dr. Kiley),

Instagram

Resources mentioned in this episode: Unmasking Autism by Devon Price, All Brains Belong, Neurodivergent Insights, Autism and Grief Podcast, Uniquely Human Podcast, and Two Sides of the Spectrum Podcast

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!

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The grief process can be messy and unpredictable, and it can vary widely from person to person and through the different phases of life. Grief comes up in multiple, unexpected ways in the motherhood journey when you have already lost your mother. Join us to hear a personal story of motherhood and mother loss from today’s guest.

Dr. Olivia Wedel is a licensed professional counselor in Texas. After almost 17 years working in the mental health field, Dr. Olivia started her private practice in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, and she enjoys working with students as a permanent adjunct faculty member in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at TCU. In addition to postpartum and maternal mental health counseling, she offers non-clinical perinatal support services and postpartum planning for families, psychoeducation and support for parents with children ages 1-3, and community and provider education on perinatal mental health. She is a trained facilitator for the Circle of Security Parenting Intervention Program and is a certified provider for Mother Loss Grief Training. 

Show Highlights:

• Dr. Olivia’s personal experience of motherhood later in life after losing her mom while in her 20s
• Blindsided at her son’s birth by joy, love, and grief for the loss of her mother
• Feeling the paradox of motherhood joy and disorienting grief at the same time
• Common feelings that come up in mothering without a mother
• “Disenfranchised grief”--what it is and how it manifests itself
• Feelings that can lead to postpartum anxiety and depression
• Validating values through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Managing the motherhood journey without a loving, supportive mother
• Dr. Olivia’s approach with clients whose mother is still alive–but there is not a healthy, supportive relationship
• The importance of education and supportive resources for parents
• The goal is to reduce the stigma and encourage parents and providers to reach out for support.

Resources:

Connect with Dr. Olivia Wedel: Website, Instagram, and LinkedIn

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!

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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 megaphone.fm/adchoices