The immigration operation’s continuous mental strain on those targeted and beyond

KERRI MILLER: For some immigrant families and people of color in Minnesota, two months of immigration operation means it's been at least two months of feeling like they have to hide in their homes out of fear. For others, it's been two months of watching violent confrontations while scrolling on your phone or in person as an observer. Joining us to help us unpack what all of this means for our mental health is Ana Mariella Rivera. She's a licensed clinical social worker and therapist in St. Paul, and an adjunct professor of Social Work at ST Katherine University. Thanks for joining us in studio.

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: Thank you, Kerri.

KERRI MILLER: So nice to have you here. So this is the perfect ending for all of the assessment we've been getting this hour of this two month mark. So what are you hearing from people? How are people feeling as we're hitting this, not just a short-term thing, a long-term thing?

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: I think that's really important to mention is that part of what makes this situation so complex psychologically, mentally, physically is that there is this level of ongoing harm and trauma that doesn't stop and that we continue to witness and that people have to continue to, like you said, many families are hiding, and so that level of harm isn't stopping. So what I see is that there's a level of, I would say drain, really overwhelm. People are overwhelmed, it's impacting people's sleep cycles.

For parents, I see that the capacity to respond with everyday stressors and parenting responsibilities has diminished because many parents feel like, well, not only they feel like, but as a parent myself, having to constantly break news, disclose things to our children, talk about this level of injustice and harm that continues to happen, and hold your children while you're also holding your own feelings.

And as a clinician of color, also holding my own reality within this context. Some of the fears I have from potentially being profiled racially, all of that adds to that level of burden that many people are feeling right now.

KERRI MILLER: And tell me what happens in our bodies and brains when we're encountering trauma, potentially every day.

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: Every day, yes. So our nervous system really collapses in the sense that it's overloaded. And because we don't have much periods where we can rest and have respite from this, it's an ongoing stressor. And so cortisol levels rise in our bodies, which really impact our ability to cognitively let's talk.

Your ability to concentrate, your ability to make decisions, to formulate sometimes thoughts and ideas coherently, our ability to learn. Physically we hold so much stress in our bodies physically, and so that's also impacting not only our nervous system, but also our immune system. So we're less resilient to deal with bugs and viruses, and so we might be getting sick more often.

And of course, emotionally a lot of people go into despair and numbing because your nervous system is unable to really process what's happening. And so what I often talk to people about is that we need to think about, yes, bearing witness to this moment matters, but it also matters that we think about sustainability.

And what that looks like is giving our nervous system periods where we can rest, where we can release what we're holding, knowing that we're not escaping, we're not denying the reality, but what we are doing is giving our nervous system some rest.

KERRI MILLER: What does that look like?

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: So one of the things that I'm talking to people about is thinking about rituals, rituals that allow us to maybe create certain endings. At the end of our workday, for example, many people have been holding everything that you are absorbing, children are absorbing too. And so making sure that when we get home, we can think about shifts.

How are we intentional about that shift of restoring ourselves, letting go of that response mode and coming into our homes? And so what that could look like is changing your clothes, washing your face, washing your hands slowly and mindfully, de-stressing and relaxing your shoulders, your jaws, because there's so much that we are holding throughout the day.

Another thing that could really help us give that body that release is maybe what I've been doing some days because of the line of work that I'm in, is that even before I come into my home, I will take a walk around the block and that brisk of cold air--

KERRI MILLER: Especially in January and February.

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: Exactly, it's a really wonderful reset for our nervous system and I mentally go, OK, I'm releasing the day. There are all these things that I cannot resolve because that's part of what makes this situation so complex is that we cannot really resolve, and the human mind wants to find a solution. When we're stressed, when we're dealing with problems, we want to find a solution. And unfortunately, that solution at this moment doesn't seem to be concrete.

KERRI MILLER: Not much we can control.

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: Not much we can control, but controlling what we can, which is our bodies, which is trying to be intentional about that release is really important. And another ritual that has been really helping me is the idea of a container. So imagining a container where I can put all these unresolved fears that I have, feelings that are lingering because of what I'm seeing people, especially in our communities struggle with and put that into this container.

For the moment as a signal to my nervous system that for that moment I'm going to allow myself to rest. I'm going to allow myself to take some respite and put a lid to that container, knowing that we will come back. I will probably come back to some of those feelings to some of those realities.

But in that moment, that visual and that intentional practice and ritual allows me to let go. And that container can hold it all, and things that at the moment maybe I need to release and I can't hold. So those are some of the things that I'm thinking that have helped me, but that also I'm talking to people.

Now, there's a difference between watching the news and reacting and responding to what we're seeing and watching ICE agents through your window. And I want to specifically tell the Latino community that although I may not know all of their stories, I know what it's like to be holding that fear in the pit of your stomach.

And I want to tell them that they're not alone, and that there's a lot of people who are trying our best to support them, and that we need to think about what does this look like in the future? And maybe we can have more conversations about that.

KERRI MILLER: Unfortunately, I think we do have to wrap up, but that was so good. It's Anna or Anna?

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: Anna.

KERRI MILLER: Anna?

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: It doesn't really matter.

KERRI MILLER: I want to get it right. Anna Mariella Rivera is a licensed clinical social worker and therapist in St. Paul. Thank you for your wisdom.

That's all we have for Minnesota Now today. Thank you for listening. We'll be back again tomorrow.

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