EP 130 Becoming a Peaceful Mom: The Deep Identity Healing No One Talks About
About this episode
Heather Ross discusses the identity injuries mothers face when parenting children with substance use or mental health issues and the healing process involved.
When you’re parenting a child who’s struggling with substance use or mental health, it changes you in ways most people will never understand. Your nervous system rewires itself around fear. Your world shrinks to monitoring, anticipating, and trying to prevent disaster. And before you even realize it, your sense of self - your identity - becomes injured by the constant crisis. In today’s episode, we’re talking about the kind of identity injury moms go through and the healing that has to happen for you to feel like yourself again. You’ll hear me explain: • what identity really is • how chronic fear reshapes your brain and sense of self • why your identity becomes wrapped up in saving your child • why healing your identity is different from “changing” it • how repetition, regulation, and community help repair identity You’ll also hear about the moment I understood that my life, my identity, and even who I thought my daughter was had been completely reshaped by crisis. And how healing began only when I accepted that I couldn’t go back… I had to integrate and rebuild. This episode isn’t just about understanding identity injury, it’s about showing you what’s possible when you begin…
People in this episode
Host: Heather Ross
Topics covered
- identity healing
- parenting
- substance use
- mental health
- nervous system
- fear
- community support
Keywords
- identity injury
- healing
- peaceful mom
- chronic fear
- nervous system
- parenting challenges
- community
- regulation
More episodes of Living While Loving Your Child Through Addiction
- EP134 Recovery Through Relationship With Pam Lanhart
- EP 132 You're Not Codependent
- EP 131 How Do You Know If Your Child Isn’t Trying - Or If They Really Can’t Do It?
- EP 129 A Human Approach to Recovery: Why Making Whole Works When Programs Fall Short With Guest Jeremy French
- EP128 When Love Replaces Fear, You See Everything Differently With Guest Meagan Skidmore
- EP 127 Why Criminalization And Tougher Penalties Aren't The Answer With Guest Susan Ousterman
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