Healing the Tigress

Maternal suicide is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in the U.S. and up to 20% of maternal deaths are due to suicide. People of color are more likely to report suicidal ideation in the immediate postpartum period as compared to their white counterparts, with Asian women cited as 9x more likely.Yet, we don't hear about the stories as much. This is why it is so important to continue the conversation about maternal suicide. For the month of September, we like to honor National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month with an episode on this difficult but crucial topic. TRIGGER WARNING: This episode will discuss maternal suicide, which may be difficult or distressing for some of our listeners. Your mental health matters and we fully support doing what you need to do to take care of yourself. This space will be here if you ever wish to come back at a different time to listen.Last year, our most listened to episode by far was Episode 2-Break the Stigma for Nima: A Conversation on Maternal Suicide with Priya Bhakta and we were blown away that people were open to listening to a hard topic and conversation. So this year, we have with us Deven Bhakta, the late Nima Bhakta's husband, to tell his side of the journey.Nima Bhakta was a South Asian mother lost to maternal suicide on July 24, 2020 after suffering from postpartum depression. Her legacy lives on as her family chose to talk publicly about her story and call it what it was--suicide--in hopes of helping other families out there who may be going through similar struggles. And her story has saved lives, within mere hours of sharing her story. In AAPI communities, the topic of suicide can be so taboo, but this generation of parents is realizing that the stigma of mental health illness and seeking help for it is more harmful than helpful. Deven reflects with us about some of the signs that may have been red flags and how Indian American families can be both blessings and curses. We talk about how he has coped and healed from the loss of Nima as well as other family members in his life during the same year. Deven talks about finding his way to therapy and how he continues to heal and raise their little boy. He discusses what they do each year to honor Nima's legacy and raise awareness and funds to donate to organizations focused on supporting maternal mental health and AAPI mental health. For more information and to connect with Nima's story:Episode 2 with Nima's sister, Priya BhaktaInstagram: @breakthestigma4nimaResources (call or text):National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline:  988 National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: 1-833-852-626 (833-TLC-MAMA)Postpartum Support International Hotline: 1-800-944-4773Note: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own. This podcast is not a replacement for therapy or professional/medical advice. Please take a moment to RATE and REVIEW our show if you enjoy the episodes we bring tSend us your thoughts!Support the show✨ If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast for access to more bonus episodes, please click here for Buzzsprout Subscriptions! Once subscribed, you can use an RSS feed to listen from any of your podcast platforms. Thanks in advance for your support, as this really helps us keep the show going! ❤️ (Think of it like buying us a boba...to share! 😉🧋)

One of the things we really wanted to make sure to do on Healing the Tigress was to be as inclusive as possible of all our AAPI folks’ stories. And that also means we want to make sure to highlight stories of AAPI LGBTQ+ parents and their mental health as well.  For our first guest of this season, we were very excited to have the popular wedding and elopement photographer and former cardiac ICU RN, Henry Tieu (@henrysdiary), to talk about his journey with IVF/international surrogacy with his partner to bring home their twin babies this year! We discuss the challenges and benefits of international surrogacy, the financial investment especially as self-employed fathers, the emotional toll of going through not one but two rounds of IVF and surrogates, and more. We talk about the importance of representation--both from the AAPI community and LGBTQ+ community. We discuss the need for more resources and inclusivity in society's set up and language for our LGBTQ+ couples to becoming parents. Henry also talks about how being authentic and true to self was really important for his mental health, especially when sharing on social media about his sexuality and announcing about his children. We loved this heartfelt episode and discussion to bring more awareness to the journey of parenthood for same sex couples. We're also huge fans of Henry's photography so make sure you check him out online too! Find more of Henry at:www.instagram.com/henrysdiaryResources:PSI Queer & Trans Parent Support Group: https://www.postpartum.net/group/queer-trans-parent-support-group/Note: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own. This podcast is not a replacement for therapy or professional/medical advice. If you need more support or advice, please reach out to your own medical professional who can answer your questions with your individual medical history and background in context.Please take a moment to RATE and REVIEW our show if you enjoy the episodes we bring to you! It helps others to find our show when you do. Thanks so much! =)Send us your thoughts!Support the show✨ If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast for access to more bonus episodes, please click here for Buzzsprout Subscriptions! Once subscribed, you can use an RSS feed to listen from any of your podcast platforms. Thanks in advance for your support, as this really helps us keep the show going! ❤️ (Think of it like buying us a boba...to share! 😉🧋)

For our season finale, we are joined by the wonderful Dr. Kalena Kaopuuokalani Lanuza, who is a doctorally prepared Certified Family and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Certified Lactation Counselor. She specializes in reproductive psychiatric mental health and cares for Native Hawaiian and Pasifika wāhine (women) in Hawai'i and throughout the diaspora in Washington, Oregon and California.Dr. Kalena opens up to us in this episode about her own journey to becoming a mother, after years of being an NICU nurse, only to discover the difficulties of postpartum anxiety and postpartum OCD. This pushed her into her current work, where she is able to provide perinatal support for other makuahine, or mothers, especially kanaka maoli or Native Hawaiians--like herself.She graciously shares with us about the history of oppression and colonialism in the islands of Hawai'i and how this generational trauma plays a huge role in the perinatal care of many Native Hawaiian and Pasifika women, whether in Hawai'i or on the mainland. We learn about the importance of cultural congruency especially in perinatal mental health care, how to both honor and understand where we come from and how it plays a role in our current mental health.This rich episode also teaches us how to be respectful stewards of the lands we live on, remembering the history of those before us and what was lost, from both a physical home to erasure of language and culture.Find more of Dr. Kalena at:Mana Mental HealthInstagram: @mana_mental_HealthResources from this episode:Kalauokekahuli: https://www.kalauokekahuli.org/Pale wāhine & La'au Lapa'au: Pua O Eleili Pinto of Ēwe 'Oia'i'o: IG @eweoiaio Perinatal Nutrition:  Ke'alohi Naipo of Naipo Nutrition: https://kealohi-naipo.mykajabi.com/Northern CA: Mana Pasifika: https://www.sisterweb.org/mana-pasefikaWashington: Pilimakua Family Connections: https://www.hummingbird-ifs.org/programs/pilimakuaWashington: Pacific Islander Health Board of Washington: Doula's/ lactation/ pregnancy support groupsThis episode is dedicated to Jasmine Del Mar. A hui hou. We miss you.Special thank you to Dr. Tony Huynh, PharmD for helping us sound mix our introduction dedication. You can find him on Instagram @toneymixes.Note: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own. This podcast is not a replacement for therapy or professional/medical advice. If you need more support or advice, please reach out to your own medical professional who can answer your questions with your individual medical history and background in context.Please RATE and REVIEW our show if you enjoy the episodes we bring to you! It helps others to find our show when you do. Thanks so much!Send us your thoughts!Support the show✨ If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast for access to more bonus episodes, please click here for Buzzsprout Subscriptions! Once subscribed, you can use an RSS feed to listen from any of your podcast platforms. Thanks in advance for your support, as this really helps us keep the show going! ❤️ (Think of it like buying us a boba...to share! 😉🧋)

For Father's Day and Men's Mental Health Month, we wanted to get another AAPI dad on the show to talk about their experience in fatherhood in relationship to mental health. Joining us for this episode is Dr. Matt Dinh, PharmD, who is a Vietnamese American father of two and a pharmacist by trade. Matt talks to us about how his wife did not experience any postpartum mental health disorders, but he himself started experiencing some mild depression when his eldest child was in some challenging toddler years.When some of these feelings of self-doubt and questions about his worth started affecting the relationships with people that he loved, Matt realized he needed to look for help. We talk about Matt's experience with therapy and what things have helped him improve his mental health over time. Matt tells us how by sharing his experience, no matter how brief, he was also able to inspire other family members to potentially look into therapy too. It's likely underreported, but 1 in 10 dads actually can experience postpartum depression too. We discuss how entering fatherhood really was the catalyst for Matt to truly see the importance of addressing mental health. In AAPI communities, mental health is already a hard enough topic to bring up, but especially for AAPI males and dads, being able to admit needing help seems to be even more difficult. It also seems this generation of AAPI males and dads are starting to take charge of their mental health more. Matt's conversation goes over how parenting forces everyone to start looking closely at themselves and how we want and need to show up for our kids. We hope that this episode helps others see that men also are affected during the postpartum period and perhaps start conversations for others to check in with their dad friends and offer support too.Find Matt at Instagram: @maddenstylesResources:Free PSI Dad Support Group: https://www.postpartum.net/group/dad-support-group/Note: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own. This podcast is not a replacement for therapy or professional/medical advice. If you need more support or advice, please reach out to your own medical professional who can answer your questions with your individual medical history and background in context.Please RATE and REVIEW our show if you enjoy the episodes we bring to you! It helps others to find our show when you do. Thanks so much!Send us your thoughts!Support the show✨ If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast for access to more bonus episodes, please click here for Buzzsprout Subscriptions! Once subscribed, you can use an RSS feed to listen from any of your podcast platforms. Thanks in advance for your support, as this really helps us keep the show going! ❤️ (Think of it like buying us a boba...to share! 😉🧋)

Infertility impacts one in six people of reproductive age and nearly one in four female physicians who are trying to have a baby face infertility issues. This statistic is no mystery to our guest, Dr. Joyce Park, who many of you may know as @TeaWithMD on social media. Joyce's journey with IVF began when her firstborn was just 18 months old, after trying for a second child for quite some time, doctors determined she had infertility. Her and her husband decided they would pursue IVF while also trying to move from the Bay Area California to Seattle, Washington.Joyce opens up with us in this episode about how lonely the journey of IVF can be, how it can take its toll on one's marriage, but how finding ways to include your partner as well as relying on her faith helped her push through to the end. Now, on the other side with beautiful Mei Mei, Joyce is hoping that sharing her story will allow other mothers going through IVF know they are not alone. Dr. Joyce Park is a board-certified dermatologist based in Washington, founder of SkinRefinery, a teledermatology clinic, and creator of Tea With MD. She is a second generation Taiwanese American and attended college and medical school at Stanford University, while completing her dermatology residency at NYU. She has a background in medical journalism, having worked at NBC News and ABC News in their medical units. For more of Joyce's personal IVF journey story, ⁠watch here on Youtube⁠Instagram: @TeaWithMDPodcast: Spilling the Tea with Dr. JoyceResources mentioned:Dr. Lora ShahineDr. Natalie CrawfordSpecial Thanks: Today’s episode was brought to you by the editing support of Dr. Tony Huynh, PharmD. Thank you again, Tony, for lending your editing expertise and prowess to today’s episode! While Tony is a pharmacist and dad by day, he’s actually a DJ extraordinaire by night! You can check out his work at @toneymixes on Instagram.Note: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own. This podcast is not a replacement for therapy or professional/medical advice. If you need more support or advice, please reach out to your own medical professional who can answer your questions with your individual medical history and background in context.Please RATE and REVIEW our show if you enjoy the episodes we bring to you! It helps others to find our show when you do. Thanks so much!Send us your thoughts!Support the show✨ If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast for access to more bonus episodes, please click here for Buzzsprout Subscriptions! Once subscribed, you can use an RSS feed to listen from any of your podcast platforms. Thanks in advance for your support, as this really helps us keep the show going! ❤️ (Think of it like buying us a boba...to share! 😉🧋)

Bipolar disorder affects 2-3% of the general population, and about half of the women with bipolar disorder are first diagnosed in the postpartum period. In today's episode, we talk with a mother with lived experience of bipolar 1 disorder and how it affected her journey to and through motherhood.Michelle Yang is third generation ethnic Chinese born in South Korea, and she immigrated to the U.S. when she was 9. She is a mental health advocate and writer whose writings on the intersection of Asian American identity, body image, and mental health have been featured in NBC News, CNN, InStyle, Shondaland, Reader’s Digest, HuffPost, and more. She was a former editor at InStyle and Shape. Her memoir, PHOENIX GIRL: HOW A FAT ASIAN WITH BIPOLAR FOUND LOVE is forthcoming from Fifth Avenue Press in January 2025. In our episode today, Michelle tells us the story of how she was first diagnosed with Bipolar 1 Disorder at the age of 20. We discussed how Michelle had always wanted to be a mom, but she had to grapple with her diagnosis and what that meant. She decided her bipolar disorder was not going to limit her in her ability to live her life the way she wanted to, especially once she was in a loving marriage, financially secure, and mentally well for a prolonged period of time.Michelle walks us through her process of therapy and assembling the right medical team before becoming pregnant, highlighting the challenges along the way--including some insensitive providers who told her she should just not have biological children. We talk about her medications and what it was like during pregnancy leading up to a traumatic birth. Then we talk about how she managed in postpartum when her symptoms came back, particularly with depression and guilt over not breastfeeding because she had to take care of her mental health.This is a deeply moving and thought-provoking conversation about how mental health can be both stigmatized and dramatized, but at the end of the day, people living with mental health disorders also need to know that they can still thrive with their conditions. We hope you will tune in to this beautiful discussion of triumph over stigmas.Find more of Michelle:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelleyangwriter/Website: https://www.livingwellhappily.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelleyangwriterBOOK: Phoenix Girl: How a Fat Asian with Bipolar Found LoveNote: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own. This podcast is not a replacement for therapy or professional/medical advice. If you need more support or advice, please reach out to your own medical professional who can answer your questions with your individual medical history and background in context.Please RATE and REVIEW our show if you enjoy the episodes we bring to you! It helps others to find our show when you do. Thanks so much!Send us your thoughts!Support the show✨ If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast for access to more bonus episodes, please click here for Buzzsprout Subscriptions! Once subscribed, you can use an RSS feed to listen from any of your podcast platforms. Thanks in advance for your support, as this really helps us keep the show going! ❤️ (Think of it like buying us a boba...to share! 😉🧋)

For Maternal Mental Health Month, we knew we wanted to have a discussion on medications in the perinatal period. Because as much as AAPI folks can be reluctant to do therapy, they can also be just as wary about taking medications. But sometimes medications can play an important role in recovery, just like therapy can. So we wanted to talk with an expert on the psychiatric medications used during the perinatal period to dispel myths and empower our community to learn and ask about medications with their providers.Joining us on today's episode is Dr. Niya Dhand, MD--a double fellowship-trained, double board-certified reproductive psychiatrist. Dr. Dhand went to medical school at Ohio State University and went on to complete her psychiatry residency at Cleveland Clinic. Then she did an addiction Psychiatry fellowship at Yale, where she focused specifically on treatment of addiction in women.After a tragic second trimester pregnancy loss followed by a painful battle with infertility, Dr. Dhand went back and completed a Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry fellowship at Northwestern University, where she received in depth education and clinical experience in treating psychiatric conditions during pre-menses, infertility and loss, pregnancy, postpartum and perimenopause.In this episode, Dr. Dhand helps us clarify information on safety of medications like SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) antidepressant/antianxiety medications in breastfeeding, during pregnancy, and in postpartum. We talk about the risk of untreated illness versus the risk that medications could bring. People often don't realize that untreated illness also carries a risk of harm to the fetus. For example, there is a small risk of miscarriage with untreated depression, but that risk is not present when you are taking an SSRI antidepressant.Dr. Dhand also talks about the two real main concerns of SSRIs during pregnancy--neonatal adaptation syndrome and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. She breaks down what these things mean and what the real risk actually is in numbers. (Spoiler: it's pretty small!) We talk about how and when someone might consider starting medications, whether or not SSRIs are "addicting," if Zoloft is really "the best choice" of antidepressants to start for pregnant and postpartum women. This episode goes in depth about the data, risks, and benefits of the most common psychiatric medications we think of during the perinatal period, but it by no means covers everything. Much of this information is shared transparently not to scare, but hopefully having some knowledge of what is truly important to look out for will empower our moms in their discussions with a provider to find a good fit if medications are in the picture.Resources mentioned:Mother to Baby: https://mothertobaby.org/LactMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501922/Find Dr. Niya Dhand at:Instagram: www.instagram.com/drniyadhandPSI Provider Directory ListingSend us your thoughts!Support the show✨ If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast for access to more bonus episodes, please click here for Buzzsprout Subscriptions! Once subscribed, you can use an RSS feed to listen from any of your podcast platforms. Thanks in advance for your support, as this really helps us keep the show going! ❤️ (Think of it like buying us a boba...to share! 😉🧋)

Many of you have heard or read about Dr. Jasmine's postpartum depression story and know that insomnia was a huge piece of the story. While "postpartum insomnia" is not a true technical diagnosis, many moms have reached out to her about feeling so lost, confused, and unseen in their insomnia struggles after having a baby too -- especially after Jasmine's recent appearance on Rachael's (@heysleepybaby) podcast No One Told Us.So to kick off Maternal Mental Health Month, Peggy will be interviewing Jasmine to dive deeper into Jasmine's insomnia story that she hasn't shared before. We go over the scary 48-hour period where Jasmine couldn't fall asleep, the medications she tried, and the treatment modalities that helped Jasmine get better, including EMDR. We also discuss other options like CBT-I and how that can be helpful for those suffering with insomnia.We hope this episode helps those moms who have felt unseen in their insomnia struggles and perhaps highlight some potential treatment options. Maybe sharing this episode with a friend can also help explain what you're going through right now too. Each person's journey will be unique, but we get it--sleep is so important and can be so hard to come by. But there is hope and you can get well again!Resources:EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)EMDR Therapist DirectoryCBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Insomnia)CBT-I Provider DirectoryWhy We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker, PhDNo One Told Us podcast episode that Jasmine was a guest forFor those who don't know about Jasmine:Dr. Jasmine is a mom of one and a clinical pharmacist with a doctorate in Pharmacy as well as a perinatal mental health certification (PMH-C). She is a survivor of severe postpartum depression, anxiety, and insomnia and a past Peer Mentor volunteer for Postpartum Support International (PSI). As a fierce maternal mental health advocate and a second-generation Taiwanese American, she also co-hosts a podcast called Healing the Tigress, which features conversations around Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) maternal mental health. She writes on her Pearls of Jasmine newsletter, blog, and Instagram about motherhood topics, mental health de-stigmatization, and gentle parenting. Some of her writing has been featured in places like Mother.ly and Psyched Mommy, and she was interviewed for a PPD story in Women's Health magazine last fall.If you enjoy our podcast and our mission, please take a momenSend us your thoughts!Support the show✨ If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast for access to more bonus episodes, please click here for Buzzsprout Subscriptions! Once subscribed, you can use an RSS feed to listen from any of your podcast platforms. Thanks in advance for your support, as this really helps us keep the show going! ❤️ (Think of it like buying us a boba...to share! 😉🧋)

We are thrilled to have Allison Livingston on our podcast for today's episode to talk about her lived experience with perinatal obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and postpartum depression (PPD). Allison is a Korean-American adoptee and a mom of two. She has a B.A. in International Business and a M.A. in Early Childhood Education. Allison was a teacher for 5 years and then things shifted after she had her daughter.In this episode, we talk about Allison's journey of diagnosing her postpartum OCD. Perinatal OCD is the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed of the perinatal mental health disorders. It can affect as many as 3-5% of mothers and perinatal women have up to 2x greater risk of OCD than the general population. Many women also have comorbid depression, and Allison's OCD was not initially recognized in addition to her PPD. We talk about how Allison finally got the right diagnosis, some of the obsessions and compulsions she had, and most importantly how she recovered. Allison openly talks about taking medications for OCD and the Exposure and Response Prevention therapy she did. We talk about the difference between intrusive thoughts versus psychosis. And even though it was not an easy journey, Allison provides optimism for recovery--even going on to have a second child, which she was much more prepared for.Through learning more about her own condition and recovering, Allison is now a fierce advocate for maternal mental health. She co-facilitates the Perinatal OCD Support Group for Parents at Postpartum Support International (PSI), and she is also PSI's International Coordinator Manager. With her lived experience, she was also asked to be on the International OCD Foundation's Public Awareness subcommittee of the Perinatal OCD Task Force.We hope this episode will help others (including providers!) understand perinatal OCD more and normalize medications and therapy for treating OCD. We also want this episode to provide hope for those out there suffering with perinatal OCD; there is treatment and you can be well again!Find more of Allison here:LinkedInBlog: https://atwoq.blogspot.com/Resources:PSI Perinatal OCD Support Group for ParentsPSI Perinatal OCD Support Groups for MomsU.S. Dept of Human & Health Services Talking PPD Campaign--Allison's VideoNOCD: https://www.treatmyocd.com/International OCD Foundation: https://iocdf.org/If you enjoy our podcast and our mission to shine light on conversations and stories of AAPI mothers, please take a moment to leave us a review! Note: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own. This podcast is not a replacement for therapy or professional/medical advice. Send us your thoughts!Support the show✨ If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast for access to more bonus episodes, please click here for Buzzsprout Subscriptions! Once subscribed, you can use an RSS feed to listen from any of your podcast platforms. Thanks in advance for your support, as this really helps us keep the show going! ❤️ (Think of it like buying us a boba...to share! 😉🧋)

TW: Topics of miscarriage and suicide are briefly discussed in this episode. You may recognize our next guest from a New York Times story featuring real-life women's stories on postpartum depression last summer. In this episode, we talk with Shivani Hiralal about her experiences with miscarriages, an ectopic pregnancy, a traumatic birth, and then postpartum depression.Amidst the roller coaster of emotions on her road to becoming a mother, Shivani describes moving to a new state while pregnant during the pandemic and then having to perform CPR on her husband unexpectedly while she was 35 weeks along and enduring an ICU stay for him. Through listening to her story, it highlights that there are so many things that can contribute to perinatal anxiety and mood disorders, starting from the conceiving journey. Shivani describes how being a woman of color felt like another disadvantage in getting the help she desperately sought out in the healthcare system.Additionally, you may remember in Episode 2 of Healing the Tigress, we talked with Nima Bhakta's sister, Priya Bhakta, about Nima's postpartum depression story leading to a devastating suicide ending. Shivani’s husband was a close childhood friend of Nima’s. We hear about when Shivani first met Nima and then how Nima’s story further fueled Shivani’s desire to be a fierce advocate for perinatal mental health by continuing to share her story.Shivani shares some exciting work happening at PSI soon and about the power of support groups. It can be hard as AAPI folks to consider support groups and openly share our hard moments in motherhood, but Shivani also helps destigmatize support groups and highlight how they can help.Shivani Hiralal is a South Asian mother with a background as a trained yoga and mindfulness guide. She has worked with pregnant and postpartum patients on their journeys to parenthood. Her commitment and passion for advocating for perinatal mental health led her to join Postpartum Support International (PSI) as their Marketing Strategist. Additionally, she facilitates the South Asian Support Group at PSI and is currently on track to receive her PMH-C. She hopes to continue to live her life's mission of de-stigmatizing mental health, specifically, perinatal mental health in South Asian communities and around the world.Find more of Shivani at:Instagram: www.instagram.com/shiralal25NYT Article feature: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/27/well/mind/postpartum-depression-mental-health.htmlPSI Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi Moms Support Group (FREE!)And if you or someone you know is having thoughts of self-harm, please call or text:1. National Crisis and Suicide Hotline: 9882. National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: 1-833-852-6262 (1-833-TLC-MAMA)3. Postpartum Support International Hotline: 1-800-944-4773Note: The views, thoughts, and opinions expresseSend us your thoughts!Support the show✨ If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast for access to more bonus episodes, please click here for Buzzsprout Subscriptions! Once subscribed, you can use an RSS feed to listen from any of your podcast platforms. Thanks in advance for your support, as this really helps us keep the show going! ❤️ (Think of it like buying us a boba...to share! 😉🧋)