We are not alone, there are many families that have and are suffering with troubled teens. We may not all live in the same community but when we have the opportunity to talk or get together it is liberating to be with those that actually have experienced an out of control teen and can relate to the experiences. I have one such friend that I occasionally get together with, her son is older and also went through the wilderness and residential treatment systems. He, as so many, is still struggling but seems to be holding his own right now.
When we get together, I am amazed listening to myself talk about the current events that have taken place in our home and how I appear so nonchalant and can have a sense of humor. If someone overheard the conversation or any other parent would be devastated or think I am crazy. I find it interesting how humans have this ability to become immune to our own reality. I never in my wildest dreams during my kids younger years thought I would be going through all of this with them, it must be a form of self-defense.
Posts
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I have just found your site and am so impressed by what you are doing. I am the Director of Education for an education nonprofit, Project Happiness, working to bring teens self-compassion, self-mastery, resilience, and social awareness with our film, our curriculum, and our blog (all at http://www.projecthappiness.com). If these resources can help any parents or teens, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Also, perhaps you might consider a guest blog on our site some time? Keep up your amazing work — it is in great part through community that we get our resilience and the strength to carry on, being compassionate to our children AND ourselves.
Yes, when our reality isn’t what we had envisioned and it persists then we must learn to accept it without succumbing to it. You are such a good mom and what you do here is so helpful to many. Keep it up.