aParently! A Conversation with Vivian Miller

About this episode

In this episode, Shawn Hopkins interviews Vivian Miller about her experiences as a single mom navigating complex parenting challenges and trauma.

aParently! A Conversation Between Parents with Vivian Miller In this episode, I sit down with Vivian Miller, a single mom to an eleven year old son who is very lucky to have her in his corner. Vivian shares honestly about navigating separation, domestic violence, supervised visits, and the long journey of repairing connection with her son. She also talks about living with complex PTSD and how that shows up in the day to day moments of parenting, especially during transitions between homes and those heavy Sunday evenings. We get into: The fight, flight, and freeze responses in parents Why feeling “stuck” or “lazy” is often a trauma response, not proof you are a bad parent Irritability, snapping at our kids, and the shame that follows Repair conversations and giving kids space to come back when they are ready Turning healthy aggression into connection through “sword play” with pool noodles The power of “special time” and giving kids the lead for a set window Listening to your kids talk about things you do not care about and staying in it anyway Asking questions until you find something you genuinely connect with Somatic tools Vivian uses, like yoga, breathwork, journaling, and…

People in this episode

Host: Shawn Hopkins

Guest: Vivian Miller

Topics covered

• parenting challenges
• domestic violence
• mental health
• parent-child connection
• trauma responses
• self-care for parents

Keywords

• single mom
• complex PTSD
• parenting
• supervised visits
• trauma response
• connection
• yoga
• breathwork
• special time

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