Manataba Messenger

Page 23 Obituaries In Loving Memory of Vera Etholyn Mahkewa Devi October 4, 1936 - June 7, 2022 Vera Etholyn Mahkewa Devi of Parker, AZ, age 85, passed away on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Vera was born on October 4, 1936; she is the daughter of the late Donald Mahkewa and the late Beth Luke and a member of the Hopi/Tewa Tribe and came to live on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in 1947 at the age of 11 years old. She is the matriarch of the Tahbo family representing approximately 75 enrolled members of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. Throughout her life, she instilled in her family the importance of being indigenous in this country and maintaining ties to the land. Vera was preceded in death by her parents, her hus- band Ram Prasad Devi, and children Tyler Bruce Tahbo and Vinton Lawrence Tahbo. She is survived by her sons Taylor Willie Tahbo and Lorenzo Randy Tahbo Sr., her grandchildren: Vinton Tahwa Tahbo, Dennis Welsh, Fawn Honmana Tahbo, Nekiah Tahbo Torres, Tasha Rechelle Tahbo- Lockwood, Taylor Rahm Tahbo, Ryan Kaymayah Tahbo, Loren Kaysang Tahbo Sr., Tyler Bruce Tahbo Jr., Elain Tahbo Baran, Vinton Tahbo, Richard Prasad Tahbo, Josephine Tahbo, Tayla Hollie Tahbo and Lorenzo Randy “Sun” Tahbo Jr., her great-grandchil- dren and great-great grandchildren: Christopher Lawrence Tahbo, Makayla Torres, Talon Keynawing Tahbo, Nizhoni Anteya Begaye, Suetalmana Mia Begaye, Tsutimini Lana Hornbeak, Hunter Rahm Begaye, Rexford Alan Lockwood, Lake Rahmo Lockwood, William Walter Lockwood, Lila Breann James, Sophie Honmana Baran, Kobe Lee Baran, Emily Louise Tahbo, Anna Marie Tahbo, Dylan Prasad Tahbo, Elena Rae Tahbo, Daryn Lowe, Aneeya Lowe, Vinton Tahbo, Matyson Sutalmana Tahbo, Autumn Willow Tahbo, Shelby Dora Tahbo, Richard Prasad Tahbo Jr., Grace Tungiung Tahbo, Bruce Tahbo, Yoyatewa Josephine Tahbo, Zoey Tahbo, Alice Tahbo, Kaitlyn Rose Tahbo, Lucas Jojo Tahbo, Robert Tsunte Tahbo, Rayford Lorenzo Tahbo, Samuel Jax Tahbo, Wyatt Tahbo Gray, Vivian Vallor Gray, Ulysses Herbert Gray, Nathan Lowe, Taylor Ryan Tahbo, Shayla Rechelle Tahbo, Ambrie Tahbo, Seneca Kaymayah Tahbo, Brinley Tahbo, Tawnee Tahbo, Zariah Lauren Tahbo, Loren Kaysang Tahbo Jr., Renzo James Tahbo, Anthony Joseph Tahbo, Bronson Tahbo, Tyler Joseph Tahbo, Byron Matthew Tahbo, Cara Kendoll Tahbo, Kaiah Alicya Tahbo, Tahwa Rahm Tahbo, Clifton Jason Tahbo and DevonTahbo. Services were held at the Parker Funeral Home Sunday, June 12, 2022, from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Burial took place at the Parker Cemetery on Monday, June 13, 2022, at 5:30 AM. A reception and meal fol- lowed at the VFW at 1:00 PM. QUESTION: Is grief considered a mental illness? ANSWER: Prolonged grief disorder is now officially recognized as a mental health condition by the American Psychiatric Assoc. (APA). It occurs when someone experiences extensive and intense feelings of grief after experiencing loss. Prolonged Grief Disorder: Mental Health Experts Identify the Signs Prolonged grief disorder was added to a key manual used by mental health experts that includes standards for assessing and diagnosing mental health conditions. The formal recognition of the disorder will help medical professionals be properly reimbursed for providing med- ical care. The condition occurs when someone experiences extensive and intense feelings of grief after losing a loved one. In some cases, the grief can persist for more than 1 year and begin to cause disruptions to the person’s physical, mental, and spiritual health. Prolonged grief disorder was added to the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM- 5)”, a manual that includes standards for assessing and diagnosing mental health conditions. The formal recognition of the disorder will help medical professionals be properly reimbursed for providing med- ical care. It will also help researchers secure funding to research the condition. “Because many of us live in a diagnosis-centered society, the addition of prolonged grief will allow those who expe- rience it to feel more validated in their emotions. It will help therapists and mental health professionals because insur- ance claims can be more easily verified around grief-related experiences,” said Kassondra Glenn, LMSW, a licensed psychotherapist and a consultant with Prosperity Haven Treatment Center. What is prolonged grief disorder? Grief is a common, normal human emotion, and a natural reaction to loss. Grief affects everyone differently, said Christina Nolan, LSCW-R, a psychotherapist in New York City who specializes in working with adults experiencing depression, anxiety, and difficult life transitions. “It may be difficult to concentrate, perform normal activi- ties, or sleep may be impaired. There may also be intense waves of different emotions, or feeling intensely over- whelmed,” she said. Grief typically resolves within 6 to 12 months, but some people may continue to experience the symptoms of grief and develop prolonged grief disorder. Over time, they may see a decline in physical, emotional, or spiritual health, said Nolan. According to the APA, symptoms of prolonged grief disor- der include emotional numbness, intense emotional pain and loneliness, identity disruption, and disbelief about the person’s death. “Grief can completely derail functioning. It is not linear and often shows up in unexpected ways,” Glenn said. How the pandemic affected grief The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a tremendous toll with an estimated 1.02 MILLION people dead from COVID-19 in just the United States alone. More than 200,000 children in the United States lost a pri- mary caregiver to COVID-19. Many people were unable to be with their loved ones when they died or were unable to attend their funeral services due to coronavirus restrictions. In addition, social isolation broke down people’s support networks and triggered feelings of loneliness. “These pandemic-related changes may have caused a per- son’s grieving process to be interrupted or prolonged,” says Nolan. Expect more recognition and funding for grief disorders By adding prolonged grief disorder to the DSM-5, the APA has made it easier for doctors treating prolonged grief to be reimbursed for any care they provide related to it. “This would, in theory, allow people continuing to struggle with grief to receive treatment for it when otherwise they would not have been able to,” Nolan said. The addition to the DSM-5 is also expected to help researchers access funding to research the causes, risk fac- tors, and treatment methods for prolonged grief disorder. Glenn thinks the addition could help people experiencing grief, an already complicated and unpredictable emotion, feel more validated in their emotions. “It will allow people to have more accurate language around their grief, and perhaps allow grief to become a more acceptable [and] integrated experience in society,” Glenn said. https://www.healthline.com STATISTICS Mental and Behavioral Health - American Indians/Alaska Natives •In 2019, suicide was the second leading cause of death for American Indian/Alaska Natives between the ages of 10 and 34.1 •American Indian/Alaska Natives are 60 percent more likely to experience the feeling that everything is an effort, all or most of the time, as compared to non-Hispanic whites. •The overall death rate from suicide for American Indian/Alaska Native adults is about 20 percent higher as compared to the non-Hispanic white population. •In 2019, adolescent American Indian/Alaska Native females, ages 15-19, had a death rate that was five times higher than non-Hispanic white females in the same age group. •In 2018, American Indian/Alaska Native males, ages 15-24, had a death rate that was twice that of non-Hispanic white males in the same age group. •Violent deaths, unintentional injuries, homicide, and sui- cide, account for 75 percent of all mortality in the second decade of life for American Indian/Alaska Natives. www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/minority-mental-health/