Navigating Complexities of Mental Health within Families
A conversation with Kate Lynch - Listen now!
On Kate Lynch’s episode of Atypical Kids, Mindful Parents, we talk about
How to Navigate the Complexities of Mental Health Within Families
https://katelynch.substack.com/p/navigate-complex-mental-health
Summary of the conversation:
Holding Both Joy & Sorrow
Shelley begins by acknowledging the dual nature of emotions. “We can hold sorrow with joy at the same time,” she says. As parents, we often juggle contrasting feelings—happiness in the moment while grappling with worries about the world or our family.
She emphasizes that social expectations of motherhood often limit us to a single archetype, when in reality, we’re capable of embodying many. “Can we just stop for a moment and see it all? Witness it so we can see that we are worthy,” Shelley suggests, highlighting her ongoing journey of overcoming feelings of unworthiness.
Clawing Back from Crisis: A Real-Life Heroine's Journey
Shelley recounts the pivotal moment of her son’s psychotic break—a turning point that plunged her into a journey of self-exploration and healing. Through struggle and reflection, she reframed her experience, choosing to see challenges as happening for her, rather than to her.
Embracing Self-Care: The Oxygen Mask Analogy
Kate feels that the “put your oxygen mask on first” metaphor is overused. Parents who feel guilty about self-care may need something else. “It feels really cliché.” Shelley insists that mothers must care for themselves, noting, “We just have to want it.”
Shelley shares her personal methods of self-care, which range from enjoying foreign TV that demands her full attention to taking long, mindful walks. Her strategies are grounded in the idea that “where our attention flows, our energy goes.”
Exploring Archetypes and Rediscovering Joy
The conversation shifts to how previous roles are often subsumed by motherhood. Shelley and Kate both reflect on the need to integrate joy and playfulness back into their lives, whether through dancing in the kitchen or spontaneous bursts of creativity. To care for ourselves, “We don’t need to remove ourselves completely as parents,” Kate reminds us.
Finding Community and Support
Shelley discusses the importance of building community through shared experiences. She describes her involvement with Mad in America (MIA) and other supportive groups.
There’s power in storytelling, she notes:
“Mothers are not heard. Their stories are untold. I just felt that all of their stories should be told.”
https://katelynch.substack.com/p/navigate-complex-mental-health
https://katelynch.substack.com/p/de5015cf-1ab4-425f-b4ec-479077552b5a
