Dr. Josh King welcomes you to another episode and a new season of The Beyond Addiction Show.

 

Today, Dr. King is accompanied by Brenda Zane, a mother who decided to do something to support other fellow mothers in the difficult journey of parenting a child struggling with substance abuse. Brenda is a certified Health and Wellness Coach, and the host of Hopestream, a podcast for parents of kids who are misusing drugs or alcohol or are in treatment or early recovery.

 

Key Takeaways:

[2:53 ] Brenda talks about the feeling of being alone when you are a parent of a child that is abusing drugs or alcohol.

[4:15 ] Brenda talks about the feeling when a parent wonders how he/she will be able to balance all their responsibilities plus a child struggling with addiction.

[6:10 ] Brenda shares the journey that brought her where she is today.

[8:30 ] When doing “everything” is not enough.

[9:12 ] Brenda did not really understand addiction and she felt she just had a bad kid who was doing bad things and just needed to stop.

[11:10 ] Addiction is a way to cope, but the user might not know this.

[12:09 ] Things got worse.

[14:40 ] Brenda built a community of people that she could relate to (mostly moms).

[15:57 ] When you don’t have enough information, searching on Google is so scary.

[17:37 ] Brenda describes The Stream, an online community for mothers with children struggling with substance abuse, where they can get support and resources.

[22:01 ] Brenda shares how her life has changed as a result of what they went through together with her son and turned that into something she could use to support other people going through the same.

[26:48 ] How did Brenda pass the feelings of guilt and shame and finally reach self-care?

[29:54 ] Brenda talks about how the abnormal can become normal.

[31:13 ] Everyone’s story is a little different.

[32:25 ] Brenda talks about the first steps: Take care of yourself and get educated.

[34:18 ] Brenda explains why you should have NARCAN in your house if your daughter or son are abusing substances.

[40:40 ] Stigma prevents parents from looking for resources and moving quickly to help their children.

[42:36 ] Shame does not work, it does not motivate anyone to change.

[44:36 ] Find a therapist, you will need one on your team!

[45:09 ] What does it look like to come to The Stream for the first time?

[48:57 ] The Stream is a community meant to support parents.

 

Mentioned in this Episode:

The Beyond Addiction Show

Center for Motivation and Change

Center for Motivation and Change on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn

 

Email Dr. Josh King at beyondaddiction@motivationandchange.com or tweet him at @DocJoshKing

 

The Stream