TPC Journal-Vol 9- Issue 1

The Professional Counselor | Volume 9, Issue 1 73 by reports of community and state violence against African American young men. Participant 1 described feeling burned out, tired, and “just one tipping point message away from a breakdown.” Part of this exhaustion seemed to stem from a sense of proximity to the events in the news because of social media and 24-hour news cycles. Participants reported that they felt like the shootings were happening right in front of them, making them more aware of the existence of community and state violence. Some reported feeling numb to the media reports and others stopped watching the news or engaging with social media sites in an attempt to try to disconnect from reports they found overwhelming. Physical Manifestations of Stress The mothers in this study described the ways in which the exposure to community and state violence affected them physically. Some reported reactions that sounded like responses to trauma or some anxiety-provoking experience that were manifested in their physical bodies. Participant 1 felt “sick to my stomach . . . heart, you know like adrenaline pumping . . . like a tightness in my chest.” Participant 5 stated that after hearing about a recent police shooting and out of concern for the safety of her son, she “would be physically sick.” Additionally, participants reported a loss of sleep and difficulty relaxing. A response by Participant 14 illustrates the connection that the physical effects have to the psychological effects of community and state violence for these mothers: “ I cried as though this was my child that had been killed . . . I was sick to my stomach . . . I had a pit in my stomach . . . and I also . . . became overly concerned about my son .” They were psychologically affected by incidents of state and community violence and those effects manifested physically as well as in their hypervigilance regarding their sons. Parenting Behaviors The participants described how their mothering has been shaped by their exposure to community and state violence. They reported being hypervigilant and overprotective in their parenting behaviors in an effort to protect their sons. These parenting behaviors included hovering over their sons, micromanaging their sons’ lives, and attempting to limit their sons’ movements. Participant 5 stated that she wanted to put a camera in her son’s car so that she could have an eye on him when he was driving. Participants described their efforts to keep their sons insulated, such as Participant 13’s statement that “I just try to keep my son as far away from it as I possibly can.” Participant 10 expounded on this behavior in great detail, stating “If I could have, I would have locked him in my house and just kept him there.” The mothers seemed to have a keen awareness that their parenting had become overly protective, and they experienced some ambiguity about it. One mother acknowledged that she parents her son and daughter differently and lamented that she may be limiting his cognitive development. Similarly, Participant 4 expressed concern that being overprotective might affect her son’s social life, yet her concern for his safety outweighed that concern, as evidenced by her statement that, “I don’t want that for him, but at the same time I need him to be alive.” The participants also stated that they regularly have conversations with their sons about how to behave and present themselves to others. They reported increasing these conversations following incidents of community and state violence in the news. The conversations they have include how to carry themselves in a respectable way in public and how to make wise decisions when outside the home. Specifically, they have talked with their sons about what to do if stopped by the police. The participants described the conversations as ones that go beyond the typical lessons that parents teach their children in that these are conversations shaped by their experiences as African American mothers of African American sons. As Participant 5 stated “we’ve had to say things to them that their White friends don’t have to say.”