ABOUT THE EPISODE:

Over the five years of doing this podcast and participating in hundreds of calls and groups in The Stream, our online community for moms, Cathy and I have seen patterns emerge and today we’re talking about a few of them. We’re sharing three things we see come up over and over which have a great impact on parents when they have a child or children who struggle with mental health and substance misuse.

The good news is that there are simple (not easy) and practical ways you can modify your behavior and thinking that can radically improve the difficult season of life you’re in. Join us as we share these three important topics that can have a major influence on your family.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Episode 174 on boundaries, with Brenda & Cathay
• Nancy Landrum episode on boundaries, #245
• Mary Crocker Cook on episode #223
• Bill Guy on episode #137

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram: @hopestreamcommunity
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.

ABOUT THE EPISODE:

From the age of 12, Dr. Judy Grisel loved every drug she tried immediately. Over the next decade of intensive use, she found herself kicked out of high school and two colleges, homeless, and contracted hepatitis C from a dirty needle. At the age of 22, she was told she would die unless she stopped drugs entirely.

Judy rejected the idea of abstinence, but she developed a plan to stop using just long enough to survive. Against all odds, her experimental period of sobriety led Judy to a career as a renowned neuroscientist studying the role of the brain in addiction. She’s been in recovery for over 38 years.

In today's episode, we discuss a wide range of topics, including the most important things parents should understand about marijuana dependence and withdrawal, the critical role of risky behavior in teens, and why so much substance use centers around our kids’ sense of meaning.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• TED Ed: How does alcohol make you drunk?
• TEDx Talk: Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction
• Judy’s Journey - Bucknell Univ. Article
• Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction (Dr. Grisel’s Book)

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram: @hopestreamcommunity
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.

ABOUT THE EPISODE:

When Steven Petrow's mother died in 2017, he decided to take up a practice that he'd heard about but never tried: gratitude journaling. As an award-winning journalist for the New York Times and Washington Post and author of several books, he was intimately familiar with writing. But finding joy amidst such an immense sense of loss seemed impossible and a gratitude practice seemed a little woo-woo.

Within a year of beginning, his father also died, his marriage was crumbling, and his sister was diagnosed with cancer.

So when the pandemic hit in 2020, Steven began intense research into the accumulated data and wisdom surrounding joy and happiness. His in-depth work has now culminated in a new book, The Joy You Make: Find the Silver Linings -- Even on Your Darkest Days.

In this episode, Steven and I discuss how everything he learned helped him through his most challenging season of life, the important difference between happiness and joy, and what happened when he decided to honestly answer a stranger who asked, "How are you?"

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Steven Petrow’s website & books
• Steven on Instagram

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram: @hopestreamcommunity
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.