After unimaginable loss, woman creates mental health movement to process resilience

A Navy veteran, mom of seven, and psychiatric nurse practitioner who has experienced more than her fair share of loss, is using what she has learned to teach emotional resilience.

She is also helping others navigate the complex process of grief. 

Over the last 20 years, Navy veteran Cristi Bundukamara, Ed.D., PMHNP, known by her patients as “Dr. B,”  has experienced unimaginable loss – losing three of her children and her husband. Her husband and two of her children all died from the same disorder, an inherited degenerative disease called DRPLA that worsens with each generation. Her third child drowned during a family vacation. 

Sharing memories of more carefree times, Dr. B recounts, “My son Reggie was like a bull in a China shop; always active. He never stopped moving. He continues to be my motor in life.” 

She also shares that her daughter Miah continues to be her “peace,” adding, “She was always an easy child. She’s that child that slept through the night on day one.” 

And she credits her son Johnny with being the glue that held the bonds of his siblings together, even during challenging times. 

Professionally, Dr. B is a psychiatric nurse practitioner. After experiencing such terrible loss and finding her way through to the other side of her grief, she decided the best path forward was using her experience to help others. That’s when she created a program called Mentally STRONG which she teaches to thousands of people – individuals, couples, families, and children.

“We are now creating our Grief Intensive, Dr. B shares, “where we are taking all the things I learned about somatic release and separating the grief from the trauma. We are bringing people in for a one week intensive where they will come in, and it will be medical, educational, and therapeutic.” 

In addition to her Colorado Springs clinical practice, Dr. B’s Mentally STRONG Academy teaches her method to people all over the world, online.

She says that separating grief and trauma is crucial for healthy and sustainable healing to take place.  “When you think about traumatic grief as something you have to let go of, and it’s someone you love, you’re not going to let go of it, ever. If we all knew how to process grief and separate it from the trauma, I don’t think so many people would be feeling so stuck with no way out, or forward.”