Let go of how you thought your child’s life would be Let go of how you think your day will go today Move forward with surrender, acceptance, and a new approach The video below is an example of me letting go. Nothing went as planned. I was on a time constraint, the sound and lighting …
How often do you send a text to your addicted child and breathe a sigh of relief because the text went through, or look on social media to see if they’ve been active, or do a drive by just so you can have a little peace of mind? There are so many fears parents have …
What to do when you’re paralyzed with fear that your child will overdose Read More »
When I started working with parents whose kids are struggling with addiction I knew that shame would be a hurdle for them to overcome to get help. I dealt with it myself. Shame keeps us from all the things we want and need in order to begin healing. It’s a separator but what we need …
How To Overcome Shame & Fear Of Judgement About Your Child’s Addiction Read More »
When our children are addicted to drugs and alcohol, it’s painful. We often make it worse though by beating ourselves up over it and making their addiction or actions about us instead of letting it just be what it is. When I stopped adding to the pain of my daughter’s addiction and just sat with …
May is Mental Health Awareness Month We’re only as sick as our secrets & mental health is a topic that has been shrouded in secrecy and shame for too long. That’s why it’s so misunderstood. We need to talk about it more. Share this video and use it to start the conversation. One of the …
Mental health has to be worked at like physical heath. Read More »
How comfortable are you with the unknown? How much time do you spend trying to “figure it all out”? Our need to know what’s going to happen at all times can cause us tremendous suffering. We spend so much time trying to figure out what’s going to happen in the future that we lose track …
If we want to feel the highest of high emotions, we have to be willing to feel the lowest of low emotions. It’s just how we work as humans. Whose experiencing anxiety today and frustrated about it? I’m guessing more of you than usual. I’m right there with you lately. Earlier this week I was …
If we want to feel the highest of high emotions, we have to be willing to feel the lowest of low emotions. It’s just how we work as humans. Whose experiencing anxiety today and frustrated about it? I’m guessing more of you than usual. I’m right there with you lately. Earlier this week I was …
When we experience emotional pain about our kids and their addiction an urgent panic often comes with that pain. That only intensifies our experience and makes us want to run from it even more. The other day I was sitting outside talking with my family and a wave of emotional pain came over me. I …
Enabler- it’s one of those words that evokes a lot of emotion. It’s confusing. We don’t always know what enabling is, so we feel panicked and wrong about everything we do to help our kids. No parent wants to be labeled an enabler; we’re struggling with enough guilt already. Sometimes doing anything kind for your …
In February some girlfriends and I took a weekend trip to Dallas. We stayed at a fun hotel in an area where we could walk to nearby restaurants. Our first night there we were excited that a drive only 3 hours south made such a difference in the temperature. As we walked into the courtyard, …
What’s your biggest complaint about your child that’s abusing substances? Read More »
When your child started abusing substances your life as you knew it changed. What worked before no longer works. Continuing to do the same thing expecting different results is insanity. If you want to feel better, you have to make changes. It doesn’t matter that your child’s addiction is the source of your pain. It …
Addiction Can Be A Teacher – Some Lessons I’ve Learned Read More »
I find some of the comments people write on my Facebook ads interesting. Some people are supportive and thank me, others think I shouldn’t charge anything for coaching (they don’t realize how much I give away for free), others suggest that al-anon is the only way and I’m wrong for offering an alternative or supplement …
The majority of this blog post is my interpretation of the book The Secret Language of Feelings by Calvin D. Banyan. This is part 2 of 2 blog posts. If you haven’t read part 1 yet, click here to read it. Remember from last week that primary feelings are experienced to signal you as soon …
How To Master Your Feelings So You Don’t Feel So Out Of Control Part 2 Read More »
The majority of this blog post is my interpretation of the book The Secret Language of Feelings by Calvin D. Banyan. This is part 1 of 2 blog posts. I love this book because it pairs perfectly with what I teach as a life coach. Our brains work in a think, feel, act cycle. Very simply put, …
How To Master Your Feelings So You Don’t Feel So Out Of Control! Read More »
When your child is abusing substances, it can take a toll on your confidence when you need it most. General confidence comes from knowledge and practice, so the more experience you have at something, the more confident you become. (I’m confident I can walk because I do it all day every day) Self confidence is …
How To Create Confidence When Your Child Is Abusing Substances Read More »
There is so much more power in letting go of this identity than keeping it. Think about labeling someone with the stigma of “addict” rather than referring to them as a person who suffers from addiction. The difference between the two is one defines a person and the other one refers to an aspect of …
The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) defines addiction as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. Once someone is addicted, they’re not using drugs to feel good; they’re using drugs just to feel “normal”. Behavioral changes are directly linked to the drug user’s changing brain. …
Familiarity feels good to us. Even when it’s the familiarity of worry, anger, fear, guilt, or confusion. We don’t like how those emotions feel, but we know them, so there is a sense of comfort with them. I was talking to someone the other day who feels a lot of discomfort when she tries to …
Why it’s hard to change how you feel when your child is abusing substances Read More »
There we were in the psychologist’s office. I was sitting on the love seat. My daughter was in a chair and the psychologist was in another chair next to her. I was facing both of them. My daughter was telling me and the psychologist all the ways I was a bad mom, all the reasons …
Do you feel responsible for your teen/young adult’s substance abuse? Read More »
