Stress Management for Octo-Mom?

Nadya Suleman has been in the news since she gave birth to octuplets in January. When it was discovered that Nadya was the single mother of six other children, the public’s emotion shifted from excitement and joy for the miraculous birth to anger and disdain. Though Nadya has been very vocal and open about how she became pregnant with eight babies and why she always desired to have a large family, she has been under fire from critics.

Nadya is single, unemployed and currently receiving some aid for the children from the state. The overwhelming perception is that Nadya has been irresponsible and selfish, to say the least. Her decision to become artificially inseminated several times resulted in the family of 14 that she is struggling to care for. Being dubbed “octo-mom” has only fueled the view that Nadya is a baby making machine with little regard for her children. The scrutiny she has experienced has been intense, many believing she reared such a large brood to draw attention and perhaps parlay the twisted fame into a fortune.

Nadya’s behavior of late has drawn even more attention. Firing nannies who volunteered to provide around the clock care to all of her children-at no charge-appeared to be the actions of a person who lacks the ability to make productive decisions. This act further solidifying beliefs that she is unfit to provide a healthy environment for the many children depending on her for their every need. Though Nadya has admitted to “always wanting a large family” and “feeling a void as an only child”, she appears to have made choices that have created a situation with repercussions she was unprepared to handle. She, her family and others who have reached out to her, have received death threats and most recently, her minivan was vandalized when a baby seat crashed through the back windshield.

Regardless of anyone’s personal view of Nadya, all of her children deserve an opportunity to be raised and nurtured in a loving, structured home environment, which starts with a mother who is able to successfully care for them. Under the severe criticism and lack of understanding, how is anyone expected to succeed? Ultimately, it appears the world is against her, rooting for her to fail.

The question is posed, would someone like Nadya be a suitable candidate to benefit from life coaching? Since life coaching centers on assessment of what one truly wants out of life, identifying appropriate goals and creating strategies to actualize those goals, then yes, Nadya would certainly be a candidate. A professional coach is also a support and a guide who facilitates change and continually offers motivation along the way. Nadya could certainly benefit from this type of positive interaction, which appears to be lacking these days.

However, coaching is not designed to diagnose or treat any mental or emotional ailments, thus Nadya could also benefit from seeking the assistance of a mental health professional. The good news is she can work in conjunction with both a life coach and a therapist. By doing so, she is then able to sort through issues from her past, while efficiently distributing her time and energy to achieve what’s most important to her now and in the future.

There is much more at stake than whether any opinions of Nadya are right or wrong. What should matter most is how to develop a positive impact on the lives of those children, so they are able to grow into productive members of society. Hopefully, Nadya and her children will be able to create a life where all of them can successfully thrive.

HTML Version:

Text Version:

Article Url: