Mother Mami Mom: Recent Episodes
mothermamimom
Real stories of motherhood. Regardless of the descriptor used: absentee mother, amazing mother, adoptive mother, or even abusive mother, each woman comes to motherhood through her own story. This podcast shares those stories while also providing professional insight on the topics that come up.
Parents want what is best for their children. But how can you be expected to model "best" when you, yourself, are also struggling with your own trauma and damage? In today's episode, we speak to Casey, a mother working through her own concerns and insecurities, while healing her inner child in order to show up as the mom she wants to be for her own children.
Bio: Casey is sharing her story in the hope that it helps others and that she continues to heal in that process.
Bio: Dr. Casssandra LeClair
Dr. Cassandra LeClair is an award-winning professor, author, communication consultant, and motivational speaker. She is an expert on communicating feelings and improving connections. Cassandra’s mission is to educate individuals on how to have effective and healthy communication to enhance their relationships. She works to help others gain an understanding of their communication practices to improve their relationships with friends and family members, in the workplace, and beyond.
Social links: www.cassandraleclair.com www.facebook.com/DrCassandraLeClair www.instagram.com/DrCassandraLeClair https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcassandraleclair/
Parenting, and motherhood in particular, is difficult even on the best of days. But what happens when your child begins to stray from the typical? In today's episode, we speak with C who has 6 children, 4 of whom are on the autism spectrum as well as getting insight from Malia Segal, LCSW as to what treatment can look like.
Approximately 1 in 44 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the U.S. and although there is a lot more awareness to these diagnoses and families, there still also exists a stigma and the ever pervasive judgment.
Bio: Malia L. Segal LCSW & RPT-S
Malia L. Segal (she/her) is a children's therapist who graduated from Monmouth University's Undergraduate & Graduate Social Work Programs. She worked in schools, community mental health and now uses play therapy to treat children at a dynamic group practice in New Jersey. Children and families experiencing acute stress see improved family function after working with Malia. She is a licensed clinical social worker, registered-play therapist/supervisor and certified in Synergetic Play Therapy ™. which incorporates interpersonal neurobiology into play modalities. In addition to clinical practice, Malia enjoys providing supervision and education to colleagues as it relates to children’s mental wellness.
https://www.shoreplaytherapy.com/ https://www.instagram.com/shoreplaytherapy/
Sacrificing yourself in the hope of having the idealized or romanticized life, doing the scary and hard work of actually leaving the abuse, and ultimately re-introducing yourself to yourself and then to the world.
Abuse varies from person to person. It depends on what we perceive to be "normal" or acceptable, but all victims of abuse can have very real and long lasting effects. In today's episode we speak with Eva and get insight from Candice Smiley regarding this topic.
Bio:
Candice is a mom, podcaster, social marketer and essentialist who loves to engage in interesting conversations with other influencers and entrepreneurs. Her favourite conversations are the ones that take courage to engage in. (Check out her podcast,Create the Ripple Podcast)
She has learned the power of saying no, listening to your own heart and speaks openly about subtle abuse as it occurs in relationships - personally and professionally. She’s become a voice for listening to your own truth and speaking it clearly, powerfully - at home, at work and in your life. She spends her time living - in a tiny home (250 sq ft), traveling, speaking and sharing candidly with others how to live life after betrayal, to trust themselves, to speak up for themselves and set powerful boundaries.
After a narcissistic partner cheated on her with multiple women, left her (and the country!) With over 350 thousand dollars worth of bad debt, Candice was forced to rebuild her life, her credit and her trust in herself. Coming out of this, she encountered her own “Me Too” moment dealing with sexual coercion and harassment in her professional life; saying no resulted in her being the target of gossip that tarnished her reputation.
Deeply affected by the gaslighting and the experiences, she adopted a minimalist lifestyle, leaned on her personal network and practiced radical personal forgiveness, acceptance and responsibility. The journey was not without its impact and Candice shares powerfully about dealing with anxiety, depression, shame and learning to let go.
When grief rocked her world a little less than 2 years ago, Candice knew it was time to stop her life, hit the pause button and finally do the deep work to heal her heart, self and mindset. Emerging from this place, Candice has begun to embrace her fierce and receptive feminine nature. The journey to be and embrace all the parts of herself has led her to the place to start her wildly successful Create the Ripple Podcast; Trust the Niggle and Tell the Truth - where she features other amazing guests who are not afraid to do the hard work of personal development, listen to their own minds/heart and then speak up and out for those things that matter; to themselves and to make a difference in the world.
Candice loves her essentialist lifestyle for the beauty and freedom it offers her. She can never resist the urge to take off her boots to walk barefoot into a clear mountain lake or stream. When she is not connecting or writing, she can be found disappearing into the backcountry trails of Canada with her life-love Mark and losing herself exploring waterfalls and mountain trails. She is a quiet introvert who adores eating clean foods and reading a great book.
https://www.youtube.com/c/CandiceSmiley/featured
https://www.candicesmiley.com/blog
https://www.candicesmiley.com/
https://www.instagram.com/createtheripplepodcast/
Here is a link to shop her journals and vision book: https://www.candicesmiley.com/shop
Dr. L remained anonymous, but her journey through motherhood is universal. For those mothers who choose to remain in their careers, balancing both of their demanding jobs is a constant struggle. She struggles with feeling guilty about missing sporting events, field trips, and meetings, but when asked if she always planned on being a doctor you can hear the spark and fulfillment in her voice. As mothers, so many of us are trying to "have it all", but we have failed to realize that "all" requires lowering our expectations.
Giselle Galper provides such great insight into this balancing act. She aims to make expert career help accessible: quick, easy, and low-cost. As the daughter of an Argentine immigrant, who went to college while Giselle was growing up, Giselle saw firsthand how difficult it could be for a Latina woman to advance in her career.
Giselle Galper Bio:
While a General Counsel and balancing the life of mom and professional, Giselle started giving talks to groups of women about how to negotiate their pay and navigate through and around bias. Frustrated that there was no way to give people encouragement and additional learning after her talks, Giselle started looking for a career app to solve the problem. Unable to find one, Giselle embarked on the journey of learning how to build a carer app to do just this.
Now she is the founder of chea seed, a career fitness tracker that gives users big careers from small actions. You might be wondering why it’s called chea seed. The name chea seed is a play on the acronym for Career Helping Expert App, CHEA, and the food chia seed which is empowering and energizing in small doses. Chea seed is available now in the App Store and Google Play and their feature-complete beta will release February 2022.
https://www.cheaseed.com/about
It is what we all strive to be.....a "good" mother. But what does that even mean? Milena is a family photographer born and living in Bulgaria who struggles with feeling like she is failing often as a mother. Every single mother out there is going to make mistakes, regardless of our best intentions. How do we begin to come to peace with that notion?
Milena:
https://www.milenagigova.com
Sasha Morozov is a former executive who holds a Master’s in Social Work and is the founder of Sasha X Home.
When Sasha isn’t chasing after her two sons, she now utilizes her clinical skills to coach women who are killing it at work but feel like they are failing at home to have more time, less clutter, and systems for a peaceful life. Sasha believes that working moms are exceptional humans who are skilled, devoted, and unstoppable.
Sasha has spent almost 15 years working in the non-profit field to help individuals and families create better futures. Sasha is an avid minimalist, productivity master, and is obsessed with organizing and designing people’s lives at home.
Sasha has now developed a 4-Step Method that focuses on Self, Home, Relationships, and Systems to help moms hit start on the life they’ve put on pause.
Links:
Website: www.sashaxhome.com
Call To Action: Grab This Today: 5 Steps To Coming Home Happy From Work
Join the Facebook Group for more tips and Live Videos: Moms Creating a Next Level Life at Home | Facebook
The innocence of childhood is a magical and exuberant time and unfortunately for some, this time can be fleeting. Erin was trained to take care of her own disabled mother as a child. The emotional and psychological toll has been profound. In the U.S. 1.4 million children ages 8 to 18 provide care for an adult relative. We obviously want to care for our loved ones, but at what cost?
Final Thoughts:
1) It gets better. We need to survive the abuse or unrest and once it is behind us, the healing can begin.
2) Your bad childhood has nothing to really do with you, it is just the ecology into which you were born.
3) Allow yourself to shift from victim to VICTOR.
Erin Brooks is a mom of two with a passion for fitness, art, and everything geeky. For a long period of her life she let depression take over, but over the past few years she started living and showing her babies it’s never too late to follow your dreams. She now runs her own yarn art business and replicates peoples pets in crochet. She embraces her love of geek culture with her cosplay posts, and I is sharing her fitness goals and strength on social as well. Never let anyone tell you can’t achieve greatness, even yourself!
Personal Social:www.facebook.com/erinsgobraghwww.instagram.com/erinsgobragh
Erin’s Yarn Art:https://www.instagram.com/erins_geeky_art/https://facebook.com/Erinsyarnandgeekyart/
Natalie Hartney is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with Brightside who is Nationally Certified (NCC), offering online health care for people who function with depression and anxiety. She is Board Certified to provide Tele-Mental Health (BC-TMH) services to residents of Michigan. Since graduating with her Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology in 2013, she has been in private practice in New Buffalo, Michigan. Natalie has appeared on local news programs in support of Equality Michigan and OutCenter, Benton Harbor. She has presented to school administrators at OutCenter, and has offered students at Marquette High School insights into mental health as part of their Health class studies. Most recently Natalie spoke to The Rotary Club of Harbor Country where she received great reviews for her interactive presentation. Natalie is also the writer of the Healthy Head Space column in New Buffalo Times. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with Brightside, offering online health care for people who function with depression and anxiety, and hosts the podcast Bad Childhood.
Links: natalie@theoptimistictherapist.com https://www.theoptimistictherapist.com/podcast
Each episode of this podcast highlights one woman's journey to and through motherhood. We dare to be real and talk about the heavy stuff that most times others want to ignore. Mental Health, Love, Beauty, Resilience, and Joy/Gratitude. As a gift to you, here is 1 week of motherhood journaling prompts for joining the email list. During motherhood, we can feel like we are constantly in the trenches, and coming up for air is a luxury at times. We all need to take a pause and reflect on how it is really going.
Leeanne struggled with depression and a loss of identity after having her first child. Far too often, it is assumed that a woman will find fulfillment in staying at home with her child, but for so many of us, our identity has been linked to our careers and interests outside of the home. One of the best foundations we can lay for our children is simply that of a happy and unburdened parent. To model love of self as well as child.
Final Thoughts:
1) Motherhood often looks different than we imagined. I urge you to recognize what is true for you in your journey and to do the work needed to change something you can control that might improve your situation.
2) Once you own your truth, the shame/guilt will dissipate.
3) Our children internalize more than just our words, so be the model you desire for them.
4) Take a deep breath, or stay in your car a little longer before clocking in for mommy duty, if need be.
Leeanne Brennan of Epic Bones is an artist and mindset leader living in North Carolina with her husband and two small children. She creates sensitive, whimsical art to help unblock limiting beliefs and reach our true potential. In addition to her art, journals and affirmation deck, Epic Bones runs programs to help people start a goal, follow through and become the type of person that does that goal consistently. Through the practice of, "gentle achievement" Epic Bones celebrates the nonlinear, slow, unknown path of following the heart. She focuses on compassion for the imperfect and rallying around showing up versus "end results." Epic Bones encourages us all to let go of the outcome, and embody the person that lives in the future vision we hold to invite unexpected, magical things into our lives. And, if you would like to learn more about Leeanne and the amazing work she is doing, you can go here:
Website: www.epicbones.com
Jessica Carlos has a Master of Social Work (MSW) from Loyola University, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), and has been in the field working for over 10 years supporting children and families. She has worked with mothers dealing with perinatal mood disorders and postpartum depression in a therapy setting. Has facilitated support groups and provided psycho education to families in a community college setting, and currently works alongside students with multiple disabilities in a therapeutic day school. She helps them gain tools to empower themselves to be academically successful, teaches them coping skills, and links them to resources in the community.
Having a child is a huge shift! 🥰🤯😬 Each episode of this podcast highlights one woman's journey to and through motherhood. We dare to be real and talk about the heavy stuff that most times others want to ignore. Mental Health, Love, Beauty, Resilience, and Joy/Gratitude. As a gift to you, here is 1 week of motherhood journaling prompts for joining the email list. During motherhood, we can feel like we are constantly in the trenches, and coming up for air is a luxury at times. We all need to take a pause and reflect on how it is really going.
Jennifer woke up the morning of her son's 4th birthday full of joy and knowing that it was going to be a good day. That all changed when she learned of her husband's deadly motorcycle accident shortly thereafter. How do you begin to grieve and pick up the pieces of your life while attempting to keep it together for your children? The statistics vary depending on the state in which you live, but at worst, 1 in 9 children will lose a primary caregiver each year.
Final Thoughts:
1) Speak up and find the community you need during whichever loss or trauma you might be experiencing.
2) No one is immortal and failing to look at our mortality can leave our loved ones in a precarious situation.
3) Change is inevitable. Allow yourself to adapt.
4) Growth is found in the discomfort.
Jennifer Cline is a self taught woodworker and flag maker who views her craft as her life’s calling. Widowed at the age of 37 and a mother of two young children, she picked up her husband’s tools to make necessary repairs around their 200 year old farmhouse. Eventually, she gained a handy reputation among friends and coworkers, prompting one to ask for a thin blue line flag. That flag led to hundreds more and new opportunities. Jennifer is currently a social media presence and content creator with over 275k followers.
https://linktr.ee/missdewalt
Kates Club Lane Pease, MS, NCC Director of Programs Lane has been at Kate's Club since 2012. She has her Bachelors in Philosophy from Georgia State University and a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Mercer University. She is currently working towards her licensure as a Professional Counselor in Georgia. She is co-author of the book “We Come Together as One: Helping Families Grieve, Share, and Heal the Kate’s Club Way." She enjoys getting to use her knowledge both professional and personal to help others on their grief journey at Kate's Club. https://katesclub.org
Jayme met Carina when Carina was 4 months pregnant. They decided to build a life together and expand their family. But what happens when things just don't go according to plan? Family building and the infertility process is taxing physically, emotionally, financially, and mentally. In the US, about 4 million births are via IVF every year, yet there is little conversation about what the journey can really be like for these families through that process.
1) Family Building is stressful, and can bring up relationship, physical, mental and emotional challenges. Get the help you need, so as not to face those on your own.
2) Make no apologies for your story or journey to motherhood. Everyone's journey is diffferent, but all are valid.
3) Each pregnancy is a new experience and sometimes you will need to pivot. Keep an open mind and give yourself grace.
4) All childbirth is scary. YOU CAN DO THIS!
Bio: Linda Kondilis is a licensed psychologist who is passionate about the intersection of mental and reproductive health. In her practice, she provides telehealth counseling throughout the U.S., family building consultation and third-party reproduction psychological assessments for third-party reproduction. As an educational speaker, she has been a guest lecturer at the leading reproductive centers in the Atlanta area, including Emory University Hospitals. She is a consultant for her knowledge in best mental health practices within reproductive centers. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Nova Southeastern University and completed her internship training at SUNY Upstate Medical University.
Facebook Group: Fertility Mental Health Q & A - https://www.facebook.com/groups/241548694431993/
People can join this private group and submit their questions. I will answer them live/recorded too.
IG: https://www.instagram.com/orama_wellness/
Website: https://oramawellness.com/
M decided to remain anonymous due to the nature of her story and because her family continues to struggle with the issues discussed. But the fact is that 1 in 100 people are diagnosed as schizophrenic. Her name does not matter because it can easily be someone in your circle of friends or family.
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You can be alone, even with a partner.
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No one's decision to have children, or not, should ever be questioned. There is always a history of which we are unaware.
3.Dont' be afraid of asserting or asking for what you need.
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Communication and vulnerability are key.
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It is never to late too late to right your childhood. We always yearn for our mothers.
Catherine Conheim is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, specializing in psychotherapy who has been in practice since 1975. She received her degree from the Simmons School of Social Work, in Boston, Massachusetts. She has divided her time and boundless energy between two parallel careers: she is a psychotherapist as well as a co-founder of Focus, a management and human resource consulting firm.
Her all-consuming avocation is the Real Women Project. https://www.realwomenproject.org
Co-Author of: "A Waist is a Terrible Thing to Mind" "So Who's a 10 in the World of One to Nine?" "What's the Matter with Henry?: The True Tale of a Three-Legged Cat" "Henry & Tink A Remarkable Romance" "What About Me? I'm Here Too!"