I have grown accustomed to being a vessel — holding what is not mine: thoughts, emotions, sensations, energy. It’s required me to feel bravely, to go into the depths of discomfort without knowing why or what I’ll find. My relational world is visceral. On any given day, I carry experiences that are known and unknownContinue reading “Empathic Parenting: A Black Technology of Survival”
Category Archives: Motherhood
Raising an Afro-Latina: Unlearning My Preconceived Notions about Blackness
As a baby of the 90s, I did not have many dolls that looked like me except for the Bratz dolls Sasha (the African American) and Yasmin (the Latina). Even then, they did not have curly hair, let alone kinky afro hair like me. Instead, they had bone straight hair so long it passed theirContinue reading “Raising an Afro-Latina: Unlearning My Preconceived Notions about Blackness”
Happy Birth Day to Me
You can always count on a doula to remind a mother that her child’s birthday is her birth day too! Every year around my daughter’s birthday my doula friends remind me that as inspiring as it is to witness our little ones blossom, we need to acknowledge our own growth. Today is my birth day.Continue reading “Happy Birth Day to Me”
Myth of the Black Woman Superhero
Popular culture would like us to believe that Black women are invincible. We don’t need help. We don’t need to be handled with tender love and care. Despite whatever trauma or abuse comes our way, we are indestructible. This is why the Welfare Queen stereotype is still so pervasive. Black women should bear the fullContinue reading “Myth of the Black Woman Superhero”
Madness & Single Motherhood
I think people assume that those of us with a “severe” mental health diagnosis would be the ones in need of caretaking instead of the ones doing the primary caregiving. But here I find myself, almost three years postpartum, a single mom and a mad one at that. When I started my journey as aContinue reading “Madness & Single Motherhood”
Article Feature: It Takes a (Virtual) Village To Raise a Mom
Much of my mental health journey as a mother began with my introduction to peer support groups. I attended my first in-person bipolar support group at Mount Sinai hospital during my second trimester in 2019. When the pandemic hit in March 2020, I began attending support groups online. Now, I serve as a perinatal peerContinue reading “Article Feature: It Takes a (Virtual) Village To Raise a Mom”
My New Creative Endeavor: Producing an Autoethnographic Film
Living openly with bipolar disorder requires a continual “coming out” process in multiple aspects of my life. Lately, I have experienced this the most acutely in my work which is inseparable from my lived experience with mental health challenges. In addition to pursing a PhD in Anthropology, I am also a part of a nationally-recognizedContinue reading “My New Creative Endeavor: Producing an Autoethnographic Film”
Spoon Theory & Bipolar: A Conversation with Rebecca W. Morris
My favorite thing about social media is the ability to find kindred spirits and connect with people you would have zero chance of actually meeting in real life. One such person is Rebecca W. Morris, a disabled and chronically ill artist who lives in Spain. She reached out to me about being featured in herContinue reading “Spoon Theory & Bipolar: A Conversation with Rebecca W. Morris”
Decarcerating Perinatal Mental Health & Reproductive Care
This blog post was inspired by my participation in IDHA‘s December 2020 “Decarcerating Care Fireside Chat.” I am grateful to Jessie Roth, IDHA co-director, for facilitating a rich conversation with my fellow interlocutors Jess Stohlmann-Rainey, Dustin Gibson, and Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu. When I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, my first thought is that I wasContinue reading “Decarcerating Perinatal Mental Health & Reproductive Care”
PSA: Perinatal Bipolar Support Group
I am incredibly excited to announce the debut of a new support group which I will co-facilitating called Bipolar Support for Perinatal Moms & Birthing People hosted by Postpartum Support International (PSI). Since not all people with wombs identify as women or mothers, this group welcomes all birthing people (parents who have carried and birthedContinue reading “PSA: Perinatal Bipolar Support Group”
Nadia Naomi Mbonde 