Today I'd like to share a special message with you from author Jami Christine.Jami was kind enough to join me on my podcast. We recorded her episode back in September, and what a remarkable woman she is. Jami Christine was planning an at home birth for her first child. She had an overwhelming fear of hospitals, and a deep desire to give birth naturally. Unfortunately, life often pokes holes in the best made plans. Her son got stuck while Jami was in labor and she was sent to the hospital anyway. Jami found herself shutting down emotionally and mentally, and everything she did NOT want to happen, started to happen. She completely shut down emotionally and found herself completely disconnected during the c-section. Things only got worse from there for a while. "My experience with trauma happened in 2011, when my dreams for a
home birth with my first son got swept out from under me after my
midwife detected a problem with his heart rate. After experiencing every
intervention that I wanted to avoid, ending with an emergency c-section
and a five-day stay at the hospital, I emotionally and mentally shut
down and refused to believe what was happening to me. "I
was miserable, volatile, and borderline suicidal, and I realized I was
turning out to be a terrible mother to my son in this condition. I
joined a support group for cesarean moms, who then pointed me in the
direction of counseling, and I began my journey to recovery. It took
about two years to really overcome the brunt of it, but it required
ongoing work beyond that, as well. "I realize my
downfall was my lack of flexibility. I refused to accept that anything
other than a home birth was possible, and so when a trip to the hospital
happened, I didn't know how to cope. One of my greatest lessons in this
experience was the importance of accepting things as they happen. This
is my advice to new mothers, too -- there's no way to prepare for a
birth, so keep an open mind and be willing to go with the flow, and no
matter what, STAY PRESENT. When I emotionally and mentally shut down in
that hospital, my brain had a lot of work to do to recalibrate my
emotions with my physical experience, and I learned later that that's
what causes flashbacks: our brains keep trying to sync all that
information up, and it results in replaying the trauma over and over in
our minds. "I later had a stroke, and that trip
to the hospital was very different. Naturally I was scared, but I also
had a new awareness that everything happens for a reason, and everything
was going to work out the way it was meant to. I remained present in
the experience, and I never experienced a trauma response afterwards. I
also made a full recovery. This experience opened my eyes to the
importance of acceptance, of presence, and of trust. "These
experiences inspired my novel, The Transcendent, which is due to
release early next year. I also published a nonfiction, Transcend Your
Story: A Guide to Transforming Your Healing Journey into an
Inspirational Novel. My hope is that this book can help other aspiring
authors take their own traumatic experiences and transform them into a
story of healing and growth that can go on to inspire others on their
own journeys. You can learn more about my books and my offerings on my
website, www.JamiChristine.com." Follow Jami Christine online @authorjamichristine (FB & IG), @jamichristine11 (TikTok), | |||||
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Do you have an amazing story? Get interviewed. Send an email to AuthorAmandaBlackwood@gmail.com or click on the calendar date that fits you best. https://calendly.com/detailedpieces/podcast-interview
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