165: Mental Health Awareness for First-Gen Students and Professionals with Dra Lisette Sanchez

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of the Grad School Femtoring podcast. This is your host, Dra. Yvette, and today I have a very important topic. It's all about mental health awareness for those of us that are first gen students and professionals. Our guest is Dra. Lisette Sanchez, who is a bilingual and bicultural, licensed psychologist, coach and speaker. She's the founder of Calathea Wellness, a virtual practice providing individual therapy, coaching and speaking services. In addition, she has a passion for working with BIPOC folks and first gen professionals, which happens to be very similar to my audience, those of you listening today.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

On a personal note, Dra. Lisette grew up in the San Fernando Valley with immigrant parents from El Salvador and Mexico. I'm from the valley too so I have to cheer on that. For those of you that can't see the video, she's raising her hand. She's also the first in her family to finish high school, and to pursue higher ed- a lot of similarities there. She enjoys spending time with loved ones, trying new foods, and taking her cat Louie on daily walks. And she'll share a lot more about herself right now as we get into the episode. So welcome to the podcast Dra. Lisette.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Thank you so much Dra. Yvette. I am so happy to be here, so excited to be in this space talking about this topic. It's so important to me. I'm especially passionate when it comes to destigmatizing mental health, and so sharing about why mental health is important, especially for marginalized communities. Within these communities, it's common to have experienced so much oppression, that it's very scary to be vulnerable and raw with anyone.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Right.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

I like to share my knowledge and expertise to hopefully help provide some more context and to maybe provide a little bit of courage that someone is needing to take that next step. And schedule that free consultation call with a therapist, right?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes, yes. It's so wonderful to have you here. For the folks that maybe don't know as much about you, can you tell us a little bit more about who you are, what you do, maybe even a little bit about your background, backstory?

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

How did you get to where you are today?

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Through a lot of help, that's definitely how I got to where I am today. A lot of grit, determination, perseverance, and a lot of what many of you listeners and I'm sure many shared experiences that you've had as well. I'm Dr. Lisette. I go by Dr. Lisette, and my pronouns are she/her/ella. Professionally, I'm a licensed psychologist. I also do some leadership coaching. And I am a speaker. I really do enjoy- when I say I'm really passionate about this, I will talk to you about this all day long. So bring me to your company to talk to you about why mental health is so important. Professionally, those are my titles. That's a bit of what I do. But that is informed a lot by my personal, my lived experiences and expertise.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

I myself am first gen, as you mentioned. And I grew up in an immigrant household with working class parents in the San Fernando Valley. When I was growing up, mental health was not something that was really talked about with my family. It's not very common in many Latinx family, first of all right?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes, yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Although it was not talked about when I was really little, when I started pre-K, I think it was, I did not want to go to school because I had a bit of separation anxiety. I didn't like being away from my mother. So every time they took me to school, I would cry. I would grab my mom's leg. I was a stubborn child. I was like no. I can't be away from her. And my parents in not knowing what to do, trusted the teacher's advice and took me to see a child psychologist. When I share this with folks, most people are really surprised that my parents considered that

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

I like to share that because while I don't remember much about it- I'm not going to claim that that is why I went and decided to become a psychologist.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I thought that's where you were going.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

I know. I know. That's where it sounds like it's going, but I'm like let me just- let me break it down for y'all. So I have this memory. But honestly, in my memory, I was really scared. I want to normalize that even your first time doing something that might be helpful, it can be really, really scary. So in my memory, I remember being scared. And I remember telling my mom, all I remember is the psychologist asking you to step out of the room. Then I just go blank, because I was so scared. And my mom, when I tell her the story, she's like, we were right outside the door. There was a window. We could see you. You just couldn't see us. You were safe.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

But my earliest memory was maybe not feeling as safe. And something shifted, because at some point I started to feel safe. I don't remember that. And then, you know, you're a kid. You have dreams of wanting to- I don't know about you all. I was a big dreamer as a child. I wanted to be everything when I grew up, from the teacher- just anyone who I interacted with who inspired me, right? That could be the person selling elotes on the street, because they were so good. I want my corn. Or at one point, I wanted to be a surgeon who would develop an artificial heart. I did a whole speech in fifth grade. I was like, that was important.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

But sometime in middle school, I decided I wanted to be a psychologist. And I wanted to be a psychologist- one, I think, partially there was an experience where I understood- oh, there's such a thing as people who can help you when you're struggling with something. I understood that they existed. So one, you can't know that that's an option if you don't know it exists. And lots of people do not know that's an option, right? I had that awareness that that was an option.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Two, I was just a really curious child. I was so curious. I had a lot of questions. I would hear my family talk about nervios, talk about the importance of privacy. And I remember thinking, there's more to this. I wanted to understand how is our culture? How is this our upbringing, our customs? How does this impact just our mental health? So Middle School, decided that's what I wanted to do. I remember my seventh grade teacher asked me, what do you want to be when you grew up? That was my first, my earliest memory of actually vocalizing- I want to be a psychologist. And she said- oh, you know, I can see that. She also said it was because of my doctor handwriting. But we just ignored that portion because all I heard was, I see you being a psychologist. I could see you making that happen. That was the only message and reinforcement that I needed, because from then on, I was going to be a psychologist.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

And let me again, be clear. I had no idea what that meant. I had no idea what that included. And just to speak to that first gen experience, I just thought, okay. This just means my next step is go to college. I break it down, because I think the biggest strength of mine was that I really just looked at it as one step at a time. Because I didn't fully understand how much education it required.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

You as a fellow doctoral recipient understand. But I didn't understand. I thought, okay, I'll go to college. I'll get my bachelor's and then I'm a psychologist. Just to be clear. That was my thinking process. So first, go get into college. I get into college, and then I go- my first quarter, I think it was. I went to UC San Diego, and I took a class that talked about careers in psychology. I'm like, alright, this is where I learned. That is the class- oh, I think it was my second quarter. That is the class where I learned that to become a psychologist, I needed a doctoral degree. I needed to have a certain GPA. I needed to have certain experiences. I want to clarify that it was my second quarter, because I then realized that I needed to have at least a 3.0 GPA. And my first quarter was so hard for me that my GPA was like at a 2.6 or 2.7. Again, I share this because it's so common, especially for first gen folks, that first term, first semester, first quarter at college, most people's GPAs tend to drop.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

That was my entire first year too.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

There you go. Right? But I remember, because I remember being like oh my goodness. How am I gonna get my GPA up? Because also, those of you whose GPA has gone down, you know how hard it is. It is so hard. So then my next goal was to get my GPA up high enough so that I could obtain opportunities to do that. That was the path of- I wanted to do something. I didn't fully understand what I needed for it, and I learned each step of the way. My next goal was getting my GPA up so that I could apply to research internships or experiences that would help me be more competitive.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Then I ended up finding out about the McNair Program. The McNair Program is a federally funded research program for lots of first gen and underrepresented individuals in higher education. They provide them with a mentor, an advisor, who instructs them and helps them learn more about what research is- depending on your area of specialty or interests. They have conferences where they help you enhance your presentation skills and public speaking. And you do all of this. They also do some GRE prep and just really helped guide you through the process of how to apply to graduate school- which I'm sure you've talked about, maybe on here a little bit.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes, I have.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Just a little bit. Anyway, it was an amazing program. And what was so great about that is in addition to all of the support, because I was a McNair Scholar, when it came time to apply to doctoral programs, many institutions had something that's called a fee waiver, where I didn't have to apply. Sorry, I didn't have to pay to apply. They would just waive my fee, because I was a McNair Scholar. That was, again, another step that really helped me. Got through it, eventually applied to schools. Went through a master's first, because I realized I needed to make my application more competitive. Did my masters, ended up at a Ph. D. program. That took a very long time. I always tell people it was about a 13 year journey to become a licensed psychologist. Tour years of undergrad, two years of my master's program, six years of my PhD, my doctoral program, and then a year towards life insurance. I don't know if that adds up to 13, but I hope it does, because that was the number I had in my head.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I was actually doing the math as you said it. Yes, it's thirteen.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

I'm glad, thank you. It's not my area. So all of that, every step of the way, my goal was always- how do i uplift my community with me? And so various experiences to do that. Because that's always been a strong value of mine, uplifting others. Everywhere I've worked at, everywhere I've been, I'm always looking for volunteer opportunities to provide more mentorship. Bcause mentorship has been what- this is why I think it's so important, because it is pivotal in helping shape the different experiences that you have, and really providing you a bit more insight into what to expect.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

In high school, I had my English teacher who edited my personal statements and sat with me while I submitted those applications, helped me fill out my FAFSA application. I don't know where I'd be without him. It's those people who make such a big impact with these small actions in our lives that are so important. And every step along the way, I had different mentors. Some more helpful than others in helping guide. I guess that's a different conversation, of like how you find a good mentor. But really finding that those are the people that helped me keep going. I think that mentorship, that's why I love this. I love all that you do, because without the mentorship- as first gen, you're already needing to do so much on your own.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

You're already trailblazing. There's already so much you don't know. To have someone at least say, here's- going to office hours is really important. You should go to office hours. You should consider it a part of your class. I didn't understand that, I think, until my third year of college. Before then, I was terrified of going to office hours. What does this mean? What do I do? I don't have anything to talk to them about? So learning that it's not just- it's there to build a relationship.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

I'll pause there. But that's a bit about my story, and that education trajectory to becoming the psychologist that I am now. I didn't actually say what I do now. I have my private practice. It's called Calathea Wellness coaching and psychological service. Calathea is a plant species that represents new beginnings or to turn over a new leaf.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Nice.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

That's why that's special to me. And in that, I specialize in working with BIPOC and first gen professionals. That is what I'll be talking about today.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

You couldn't be a more perfect speaker for the Grad School Femtoring podcast, because we really focus on addressing and speaking to the experiences of first gen students of color. So first gen, BIPOC students. And a lot of listeners are actually McNair Scholars. They're McNair Scholars, or they're Mellon Mays fellows. They come from a very similar, shared experience as yours. And I think that it's really important to have more voices and to share actually another trajectory too, because I know that at least in my experience with the McNair program, having worked within the McNair program for nearly five years. There's a lot of pressure to go into academia. But you actually pursued a slightly different route of becoming a psychologist, and then not only that, but also your own private practice which is entrepreneurship.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yes, entrepreneur. I'm also a first gen entrepreneur.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

I'll just add that to my list. I tell them, when you're first gen, I say I collect firsts. But I'm like, first gen's all collect firsts. I'm like, I'm here to collect all the first experiences, and not just the ones that are supposed to be challenging, difficult, but also the fun ones, right?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I love that. I collect firsts. I'm gonna quote you on that.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

I collect firsts, yeah. All of it.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes, trailblazer.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah. Don't get me started. I think the first gen identity, we talk about all of the ways that it's a challenge to be first gen. But I love talking about all of the strengths within this identity, and how powerful we are. Because you all- we are so powerful in every space that we are in. We just don't see it, because that's not the messaging that we've received.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Right.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

I want people to feel so empowered by their identity, and not intimidated, because you're more interesting. You have so much more to offer than someone who had maybe additional support, who had that additional guidance. because you've had to develop a new perspective to pave the way for yourself.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Right. Thank you for that, for that reminder for all of us who are first gen.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

So actually, today, we're here to talk about- I think that there's that tie in, because mental health also influences how we feel about ourselves. We're here to have you talk a little bit more about mental health awareness. Can you get us started by maybe sharing a little bit more unpacking what mental health awareness is? I know, I think that there's- we all have this idea of what we think mental health awareness is. But there's also your own kind of definition and impressions of it. Then also after that, if you can tell us how it relates to first gen students and professionals, and BIPOC students and professionals?

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Okay, so mental health awareness. Let's talk about that first. When I talk about mental health and destigmatizing mental health, my goal is with helping people feel more comfort with having just conversations around our mental health. And it not being something that is too scary to talk about or too much. Often there's a fear. It's like, I'll be too much. I'm going to be a burden if I share this with people. But what happens when we begin to internalize a lot of our stressors, then we begin to develop different mental health symptoms. Those symptoms could come up maybe physically, like some somatic- is something that we refer to. You notice that maybe when you're a bit more stressed, you start getting more headaches. You start maybe getting stomachaches. You start feeling a reduction in your appetite, shifts in your behaviors, right?

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

When we're not attuned to our mental health needs, it impacts us. There's that physical impact. And then there's the emotional impact. You might notice that you're more irritable, that you're feeling really, really anxious. You're waking up with a tightness in your chest, and you're feeling like you can't breathe. Or you're feeling unmotivated and struggling to get out of bed. All of the mental health symptoms that come along- and I'm going to talk about as a result of chronic stress, because that's something that- especially in American society, who highly values hustle culture and just push through culture. It is something that people commonly experience. I hope you all can relate to that experience. You're stressed, you notice everything feels different.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

So mental health awareness is- we have control. We can do something about that. One, remembering that there's something we can do about it. Two- it's also to enhance how much of a priority people make it. When we're physically ill, it's so much easier to make it a priority. I was gonna say easy, but I paused. I stopped myself because it's not easy, right? I've definitely had days where I should have taken a sick day. And I'm like, no, I'm just gonna push through. That pushes through culture. But it's easier now, because we have an understanding that we need to rest. If we rest- if you're feeling sick one day, physically sick, you take the day off. You sleep it off. You feel better the next day.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Why don't we think about it that way when it comes to our mental health? When we're having a rough mental health day, honestly, if we paused, took a nap, did a reset for ourselves, we would also notice a reduction in the symptoms that we're experiencing. Maybe we won't feel way better immediately, but you'll notice a difference. And it's especially important for me to talk about this within BIPOC first gen communities, because individuals who have any kind of marginalized identities usually are at higher risk to experience a lot of these emotional or mental health symptoms. One, it's because you're living in an area where maybe you don't feel safe, or you don't maybe trust certain systems to take care of you.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Right.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

So you're gonna be on alert a little bit more. Maybe your family- I talk about generational trauma a lot. And generational trauma is- it is essentially a trauma response that is inherited through generations. Let's say your grandparents experienced a trauma, and then they shifted behaviors because of that. They became very strict, more protective. Then they were incredibly strict with your parents, who again, thought this is the way to be. Because for you to be safe, we have to be very strict. We can't be easy on you. Maybe that turns into things like corporal punishment, la chancla, the things we hear about. Then it passes on to you.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

And then you learn- oh, for people to take me seriously, I have to be really strict and even violence. A big part of the work is, how do we then tease apart some of these cycles and understand- at some point, maybe it was needed. Maybe it wasn't needed to keep people safe. But it is no longer serving you if it's causing you more stress, right? So it's also bringing awareness to a lot of these cycles, to help people enter more into their generational healing with passing on more of the coping skills, taking time to rest. I talk about rest a lot. But that's what mental health awareness is, and why it's so important- specifically for BIPOC students and for first gen professionals. Because these are often folks who hold several intersectional marginalized identities.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Thank you for sharing that. When you talked about mental health awareness, I appreciate that you talked about it as both opening up the conversation about mental health, but then also learning to become more aware of your own mental health and how it manifests for yourself, within your body, too. Then you talked a little bit about stress, and also chronic stress. I was wondering if you could say a little bit more about that.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Because with listeners being first gen students- undergrads, grad students- it's really hard to see outside of living under conditions of chronic stress when you have not seen anything other than that, whether it's from yourself or your family members and the generations that come before you. So maybe if you can tell us a little bit more about the difference between just your everyday stress, that's like normal and potentially even good for you, and chronic stress.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah, yeah. So there's a threshold, right?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

There's this whole matrix. I'm forgetting the name of it now for the threshold for stress and how we experience it. But just to explain it more. Basically, normal and expected stress is- those of you who are students, you have a presentation. You have a presentation, any kind of public speaking. For most people, it's a stressful experience.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

At least leading up to it. There's a level of stress we experience that's sort of these nerves that we feel. And it's normal. It's like you want to do a good job. It's your body saying, I want to do well. I'm practicing. I'm working hard for this. That happens. Now, usually, when you're doing something over and over and over again, you maybe develop more comfort with it. Let's say you're doing public speaking. You do it over and over again. You get more comfortable with it. But that little bit of stress, it doesn't necessarily go away. Because again, you're always feeling a little bit like I want to make sure you do a good job. So that stress is almost motivating a little bit. It's just a smaller level of stress. Deadlines- you can feel it. It's motivating, but it's not impacting your quality of life.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

With anything in mental health, something becomes a problem or something that needs to be addressed when it starts to interfere with your quality of life. So chronic stress is then we start to experience- let's say you- let's continue with the example of public speaking. The level of stress you experience every time you speak continues to be the same. In fact, maybe it intensifies. You start feeling more pressure. And you notice. I can speak to my personal experience as a student as an example. I experienced chronic stress throughout all of my graduate school experience, from my masters to my doctoral level. There were certain classes, or meetings, or interactions that caused me additional stress.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

For example, we had our doctoral seminars every week. These are our group meetings with our advisor. And I found that for all of those meetings- and they were Friday mornings- attending them. Let's just talk about, it's the end of the week, and it is one of the most stressful times for me. Just for different reasons- I felt really intimidated by being in the space. I constantly still experienced that need to prove myself, even though I was in the program. I still would feel that. I want to normalize it.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Even though I was in this program, studying mental health, it was constant, just chronic stress. I'd show up and just wanted to make sure I'm performing to my best. But at such a high cost, because when I say impact my quality of life- many of those mornings, I would wake up. And I could not eat breakfast, because I would be so nervous. I would make it there, and I'd be nervous. I'm like, what if today is the day that someone asks me a question, and I don't know the answer to it? And that is how they know that I do not belong here. I experienced very strong- the imposter phenomenon or imposter syndrome commonly. It's very strong for me. Again, really common.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

But that's more of that chronic stress experience.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

And when you experience chronic stress, we can lead to more long term health difficulties.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

I know individuals who developed irritable bowel syndrome from it, or other much higher level of medical diagnoses. Chronic stress, it's not healthy for us. Your body is in constant survival mode. So in my program, I remember everyone got sick at some point in some capacity. Looking back, I can understand it more. I share that with my program. But that's most graduate programs.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Where lots of students are under a lot of stress. So know that I'm sharing this, but my experience and everyone who I've talked to you and my other colleagues- everyone has a shared experience. That's why academia can be so difficult to stay in.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Because it's a state of chronic stress. And again, more so when you're coming from a marginalized population, where you are more likely to experience certain things like the imposter phenomenon.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Because I felt like I didn't have a voice, and I was too scared to use it at times. I hope that example helped to differentiate some of the stress and chronic stress.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I'm going to ask another follow up question

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Just because you mentioned the imposter phenomenon. I know that a lot of us use the phrase imposter syndrome. As a mental health professor- professional, but also professor practically.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Can you share a little bit more about kind of your your intentional choice of differentiating between the term phenomenon and syndrome?

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yes. For me, it's important- first of all, when the term was first coined, it was the imposter phenomenon, right? I think it was in 1979, the two psychologists- or the two researchers- who looked into this were doing research on women specifically, and wanting to understand this experience. And it was always referred to as the imposter phenomenon. At some point, it was switched imposter syndrome, and syndrome is incredibly pathologizing. When we hear the term syndrome, it's like, oh, there's something wrong with me.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

But the imposter phenomenon is a reaction to an environment. When you hear the word phenomenon, you're like, oh, this isn't something that's wrong with me. This is something that's happening to me, that's a result of these different lived experiences that I have, right? I was feeling like an impostor. And at the time, I did call it impostor syndrome. This is a process. This is something that I'm learning. But in my work, and in my personal work in overcoming this and really working through it- and that doesn't mean I don't experience it. It just means that when I experienced it, I understand what coping skills to utilize to help. But a big part of that growth and a big part of overcoming that is distinguishing- there's nothing wrong with you. There's nothing wrong with you. It is a phenomenon, not a syndrome. It is an experience. It is a reaction to the messaging that you receive probably all of your life.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

That you do not belong in a certain space. That's not a you problem. That's a them problem, right? That's the people who say you don't belong problem. That's why it's a phenomenon.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Thank you, thank you. I think that that's going to light up some folks. They're gonna feel seen and heard and understood, and really kind of relate to that experience of like- I have been made to feel like I do not belong, but there's nothing wrong with me.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

That's so important. It's an important message. So we're talking about mental health, and we're recording this episode- it's this time in the season where the climate is changing, and we're going into the holiday season. And we recently- although not recent by the time that folks listen to this- but we went through the the time change. So it's a lot of transitions going on right now, and this can impact our routines. For some of us- and I'm speaking about myself right now, because I am someone who, I have to be very careful about managing my mental health. Changes like this could potentially negatively impact my mental health. I'm wondering if you could share a little bit more about managing mental health, especially during the holiday season?

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yes. So one, it's really challenging for all the reasons you listed. Also, holidays are really triggering for people, you know?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Because this means more time with certain family members who maybe trigger us in different ways themselves. They'll ask certain questions. Commonly, this is y tu novio season. Novio, novia, novie. But the term here in Spanish- where's your significant other, right?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Wait, why aren't you dating? Which, again, that's why it's a lot pressure for folks. So one, know that with this time, some things slow down, but some things speed up, depending on where you work.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

One thing is your workplace. Something's going to shift in your workplace at this time. It's either crunch time or slow downtime, depends what kind of work you do for a living, right? That's a shift, and that's hard. Anytime we go through a transition, there is an adjustment.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

For some people, they take that adjustment and it's easier. But for most people, it throws you off for a few days, right? The time change- while I'm happy to be able to sleep in another day- or sleep in in the morning a little bit through that first day. I'm having a hard time falling asleep after. I'm noticing my appetite has shifted. My energy has shifted. For those of you who maybe live in places where you- I'm in Southern California, where I do get a lot of sun. But when I lived in Oregon, there were years where it would rain 100 days in a row, where there was all of this time. I did my doctorate in the Pacific Northwest, just for context. I remember those days were really hard, because I would missed sun. I'm like, I need some vitamin D. And needing to be mindful- how do I make sure that I'm providing some happy hormones for my body to get through this?

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

So one, just normalizing- this is a hard time for all of those different reasons. And what do you do about it? Quick tip- first is reassess- what do you need? What are your immediate needs? Oftentimes, when we are raised in cultures that are more collectivistic, we're not thinking about our ourselves first. We're thinking about our families, our loved ones, everyone else in their needs. But you can't pour from an empty cup. You got to put your mask on first. All of these things, they're really, really true, especially when it comes to your mental health. I'm not asking you take a mental health day. I'm asking you to keep in mind your mental health needs.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

That might mean that you need alone time at the end of your day. Maybe that means that you give it five extra minutes before you go back into your home, so that you have five more minutes to yourself. Maybe that's a five minute longer shower. I always talked about this in five minutes, because everyone has five minutes.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

You have five minutes. You have five minutes. Again, a five minute shower. You close the door, you put on your favorite song. Or you go and you dance it out. You do a breathing exercise- five minutes. This is when this matters most. So one, know what your needs are. Two, have a coping strategy that helps you. And coping strategies include talking to anyone in your social support system. Someone who you trust. Someone who you feel safe with and saying I'm having a bad day. Then knowing maybe- oftentimes, people are like, oh, I'm nervous. If I ask someone for help, what are they going to do? What do I need? I don't want to be a burden.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

You can say, hey. I'm having a bit of hard time. If you're not ready to talk about it, you can say I'm not ready to talk about it. But what would be really helpful is if we could plan a movie night together, or do something fun. You can ask for specific things. I know when I'm having a hard time, I'll message my group of friends and say, I'm having a hard time. Memes and cute pet pictures are appreciated right now. And it's accessible. It's like, you can send your friend a meme, saying like - oh I just want to feel seen for a moment. I feel seen when I know my friends are thinking of me. So I'm going to ask for that.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Or co regulating. Co regulating is relying on another individual, usually someone- again, a trusted loved one- to just even hold you or be with you in that space as you need to reduce your stress. But my biggest recommendation for just reducing stress as a quick tip, because I have so many tips. It would just be a deep breathing exercise. And the reason for that- one of them, you can look up. It's called belly breathing, or diaphragmatic breathing. You're essentially trying to take deep breaths through your nose, and you breathe out slowly through your mouth as if you're blowing air out through a straw. You do this really slowly. And what this does, it reduces your heart rate. You're not going to feel as tense. And while you're doing that, it's also reducing the level of cortisol, which is the stress hormone in your body. So there are physiological changes happening with breathing. Our breath is really powerful. And of course, I have to recommend therapy

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

And we talk about it more. But-

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I was waiting for that one.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

I'm gonna give you tips. I need to give accessible tips. Also because therapy is not nearly as accessible to everyone.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

I get that. But if it is- if you're a student, all institutions should have some sort of support for you, even if it's a one time session with a therapist. And it should be included in your tuition. I would look into the services offered at your institution. Sometimes, maybe it's a workshop. Maybe you're like, I don't have time to do the one on ones. At the end of the semester, it's really tough. But maybe I'll make it a priority to schedule that at the beginning of semester. And for now, I'll attend one of the workshops or drop in hours that they're offering.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

But speaking with a mental health professional is really the best way you can care for your mental health, because then they will set goals that are tailored to your individual needs. And finding someone who can be aware of the different salient identities you have can also be really helpful. Someone who has awareness. If your culture is really important to you, finding a therapist who has that strong cultural understanding would be ideal, right? I'll pause there, because I have a lot I could say on this.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I mean, I would love to keep going on and on and on, because I live for this stuff. It's just as important as our physical health, as our spiritual health. It's one of many different components that affect our lives. And just like you mentioned earlier, BIPOC students, first gen students- you're the first. You're made to feel like you don't belong. If you're BIPOC, you're already maybe experiencing other kind of obstacles and forms of oppression. So if you might have a higher chance of struggling with mental health, these are the things. Thank you for sharing all of these tips.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Can I add to that? You do not have to be in crisis to talk to a therapist.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

You do not have to be in crisis.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Oh my gosh, yes. I tell people- I'm like every car needs a tune up. We need a tune up.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah, I love that. You don't have to be in crisis. You can just go. Common concerns people go to therapy for are conflict with a friend, conflict with a relationship complex, maybe adjusting to something- again, those transitions. You're moving somewhere. You started a new job. You started at a new school. You just want to learn more about yourself and your identity. There's so much you can go to. It does not have to be for those moments when you're just very, very stressed. And trust the therapist and trust the mental health professional to give you the resources that you need.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Trust me, if we meet with you, and we're like, you have everything you need. You're good. Then we will talk through to help you feel more empowered to use that. I say this because the amount of times I have people who I've met with, who say - I don't know if my problems are bad enough for me to be here. It's really common. I'm like, if you want to talk to a therapist, that's the only reason you need to go to therapy. That's it. Like- I'm curious. Then you can try it. Literally the only reason, don't need anything else

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

There's no single person that I know that doesn't have obstacles, or problems that have come up, or just transitions that they're navigating or that they're dealing with. So thank you for that message. I know we're kind of gonna get close to wrapping up- I want to be mindful of the time.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

But I wanted to ask you for your words of advice. You've been sharing so many gems. But also, if there are folks who are listening, and they know that they are currently struggling with their mental health, what advice would you give to them? Aside from what you've already shared about tips, and if it's accessible to them, about reaching out to working with a mental health professional?

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yes. I want to share an affirmation with you for this, because I have an affirmation that I really like. It's - it's not what you say out loud that determines your life. It's what you whisper to yourself that has the most power. And I want to say that, because oftentimes we forget how much of a role we can play in managing the distress we experience. I think oftentimes, because we feel so powerless- and we are made to feel powerless, just to reaffirm that. We are made to feel powerless. We forget that there are things that we can do that will help us feel better, right? And that you can feel empowered.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Taking care of your mental health is an empowering experience. It may not feel empowering initially, because you may be thinking to yourself- but why would I want to go talk to someone and admit all of my insecurities, and share all these vulnerable moments? If I share that, then does that not actually make me powerless? Because then someone knows all of my secrets. Someone knows, etc, etc. But what you don't realize is that it - or you may not realize- in those moments when you're feeling powerless, you're also feeling that you're not having your voice. In therapy, when you begin to unpack that, then you begin to find your voice.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Finding your voice means you're learning how to be a better advocate for yourself. You're learning how to ask for what you need. You're learning more how to give yourself what you need as well. That voice- remember that affirmation. It's not what I say out loud. It's what I whisper to myself. How are you talking to yourself about these things? What are you saying to yourself? What is that internal dialogue? Are you telling yourself- I should know how to do this. I should be better. Where's the self compassion?

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

So my long winded way of saying the biggest hurdle, initially, for my clients is self compassion, and really giving yourself the same grace that you would give anyone you love and care for. And saying, I'm having a hard time and that's okay. The biggest tip here is self compassion. Being kind to yourself. Listen to what kinds of things you're saying to yourself. You are not a failure. You're maybe going through a hard time. You're learning and you're growing.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Thank you for that. I really liked that affirmation. It's true. What we whisper to ourselves can say a lot. And that's why the reframe is also very important. I think a lot of what you've shared is also that. You might be thinking, I don't belong. Actually, I have not been affirmed. Or I don't do this. Actually, it's the opposite.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

We talk about first gen struggles, but then there are so many first gen strengths, you know? So thank you. Thank you for that.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Do you have anything else that maybe you didn't get to share? And if not, we'd love to have you share more about how folks can reach you

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Folks who resonated, want to be in touch, want to follow you, your work, or learn more?

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah, and thank you. Thank you so much Dra. Yvette, first of all, for creating this community and for creating this space and inviting me to be on here with you. You'll hear me say this time and time again. The biggest takeaway I want for anyone listening to this is- I want you to think about one way that you can improve your mental health today. What is 1%? What's just that 1%? Maybe that's setting an alarm to go to bed early to help you actually get the sleep you've been wanting. Maybe it's creating a meal prep plan. So that you don't get hangry and irritable - speaking from personal experience.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I was gonna say- are you talking about me?

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Oh, that's my thing. Food, malnourishment, basic needs. To do one thing. You're already doing one thing by listening to this podcast, first of all. So let me actually say, check that off for today. But moving forward, try to think about that for yourself. What's one thing- or you hear other people say 1% better. But if you're doing one thing for yourself every day, and that one thing- again, remember. it could be five minutes. It does not have to be big. It does not have to cost money. It could be saying- five minutes of looking out the window, counting how many trees are outside, or plants or whatever, so that I can have a break from the screen.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Because students, come on. Trust me, I'm sitting by a window and sometimes I'm like- look outside. Look outside, it's so imporant. And how you can connect with me, find me. I am most active on Instagram. My Instagram handle is my full name. So @Dr.LisetteSanchez. I'm sure we'll put it in the show notes.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yes, definitely.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

My website is CalatheaWellness.com. You can find that- again, we'll put that on there. I do have a Tiktok. I'm still learning how to be on TikTok.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Oh, my gosh. Same.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

I'm there ish. You know, I'm learning. Ii'm growing. I say this to normalize that. I love trying things. I love doing them. But I am in a transition right now, so I've been slowing down how much and how active I am on some of these platforms. But I do love them. Community is really important to me. So please connect with me. Send me a message if this resonated for you, any of that.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

If you're in a workplace, if you're a first gen professional, consider your employee resource groups. I am a speaker. I love coming to companies and talking about these things. Imposter phenomenon, especially. It's my favorite one to discuss. If so, your employee resource group has funds to bring speakers around. Bring Dra. Yvette as well. Bring us all into these- maybe digitally. You might not be able to fly her out. But virtually.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Again, remembering it's finding that voice, feeling empowered to do these things. It's just about asking oftentimes, if these resources are there. So you can connect with me on there. That's where you'll find all the info. But yeah, please follow me. Please connect with me. Send me a message. I may not respond to you immediately. but I do eventually. And I'm always happy to connect with people.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Thank you. And also for normalizing that it's okay to take a little time to respond to things too.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I have my firm boundaries about these things, about communication. And I think that those are other ways to protect yourself and your mental health.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Oh, yeah. We could do a whole session on just boundaries. But-

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I know. That's like a separate session on imposter phenomenon. Another one on boundaries.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

All of them, exactly.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

It's a lot. But it's all a matter of helping to take care of ourselves. I really appreciate you coming today and sharing more about your wealth of knowledge on the topic. I think that a lot of folks are going to gain some valuable information. And if anything, even just the tips of doing something today, of making it actionable, of making it easy, of making it accessible. That is really, really important. We don't always learn these things in these educational settings, especially not in academia. That's what we have to keep sharing this message. Thank you once again, Dra. Lisette, for coming on today.

Dra. Lisette Sanchez

Yeah, thank you again. Bye everyone.