Healing the Tigress
A podcast that focuses on conversations & stories around Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) maternal mental health, hosted by Taiwanese American mothers Peggy (LCSW, PMH-C) & Jasmine (PharmD, PMH-C) who are also postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety survivors. Mental health is not talked about enough in our AAPI communities, and we want to break these stigmas especially for mothers and partners. As AAPI healthcare providers who personally struggled during postpartum and are now perinatal mental health certified, we want to see more representation of other AAPI parents who know how important it is to take care of our mental health.We talk with AAPI guests about a variety of themes in mental health and parenting, particularly what that looks like through the lens of our culture within the Western world. There are also discussions with professionals in the field, to help our providers and allies. We're not afraid to talk about the hard things that might seem taboo. We hope this podcast reminds you that you are not alone in your struggles as an AAPI parent!
Latest episodes
Sep 27, 2023 • 59min
Ep. 1 - When Eastern and Western Medicine Intersect During PPD with Dr. Jasmine, PharmD, PMH-C
You may have heard of Dr. Jasmine’s story of severe PPD and PPA on her blog or her Instagram— Pearls of Jasmine. She is one of the co-hosts of this podcast, a clinical pharmacist, perinatal mental health certified, mom of one, and a second-generation Taiwanese American. This episode dives deeper into the cultural layers and intersection of her identities that may have played a role in contributing to that PPD and PPA.Jasmine shares about her pregnancy and childbirth experience with her Ayurvedic doula and her modified Chinese “confinement period” where mothers are expected to stay home and rest for a month while nourishing with a special diet after delivering a baby. We also talk about breastfeeding pressures, the difficulty of finding language to even talk about depression, and the effects of combining Eastern and Western medicine from her pharmacist standpoint.We hope that anyone listening to this episode will feel seen when it comes to the balance of finding your identity in motherhood while also straddling Eastern and Western medicine and traditions. There is a type of guilt that second-generation AAPI might feel in trying to honor their heritage but also just trying to stay afloat while navigating new motherhood (and possibly a perinatal mood disorder) in a Western world.You can find more of Jasmine at the following places:Instagram: instagram.com/pearlsofjasmine Newsletter: pearlsofjasmine.substack.comBlog: pearlsofjasmine.com (Read her full story under “My PPD Story”)Jasmine also highly recommends the non-profit Postpartum Support International (PSI) and their myriad of free resources. She was a PSI Peer Mentor Volunteer in 2020 and continues to attend trainings and panels they provide. She was even a panelist this year on "Coloring the Conversation," a monthly web series hosted by the Perinatal Mental Health Alliance for People of Color, a program within PSI.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! Reviews help us become more visible and we really want this podcast to reach more AAPI mothers who may need it. You may also follow us @healingthetigress on Instagram and TikTok. Thank you for tuning in!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 are in need of 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.Support the show
Sep 22, 2023 • 23min
Ep. 0 - How "Healing the Tigress" was Born
Welcome to our pilot episode of Healing the Tigress! This episode introduces your hosts: Peggy, a licensed clinical social worker, and Jasmine, a clinical pharmacist. Both Peggy and Jasmine are second-generation Taiwanese-American mothers who are survivors of postpartum depression and anxiety and have a passion for making AAPI voices heard, especially around maternal mental health stories. We also have a background in high school journalism back in the days, so this podcast is a new way to report stories. Peggy and Jasmine feel that the AAPI community needs to speak up more about their mental health, particularly the moms, so that it is not so stigmatized. We hope hearing these stories will help a struggling mother open up or reach out for support over her mental health and feel less alone in her journey. In this episode, you will learn how we came together to work on this project and what our goals are for this podcast.If you want to learn more about our podcast, please follow our Instagram page @healingthetigress.You can also find more of Jasmine's writing on Instagram at @pearlsofjasmine, her newsletter at pearlsofjasmine.substack.com, and her blog at pearlsofjasmine.com. Some of her writing has been featured on pages like Mother.ly, Psyched Mommy, Love What Matters, and more.Thank you so much for your support, and it would help us out tremendously if you left us a review or shared this podcast with a friend!Support the show
