This week, we are sharing a session with parents called "Do You Feel Lucky to be Your Child's Parent?"
It is an interesting question for many of us.
I often feel more than lucky to be my child's parent and grandchild's grandparent.
I feel very blessed!
Yet, I didn't always feel that way all of the time.
Loving someone with a serious mental health illness is challenging.
You love them and yet, sometimes, you don't really like them.
It's so hard. And painful. And sometimes, impossible.
It can feel that way for so many of us.
We struggled with these feelings with our son, Tom.
He was a beautiful soul with so many challenges.
His inner battles became our battles too.
We loved him so much, and yet, living with him was so difficult.
Until we learned DBT skills.
These skills gave us the capacity to love him with a new perspective.
We gained new insights and the ability to respond to his challenges with empathy and skills rather than react negatively with judgment and fear.
I think what I have appreciated the most is how transferable these skills are.
I am a better wife, mom, friend, colleague, and so much more.
So, do I feel lucky? I do.
If it weren't for our journey with Tom, I wouldn't have been introduced to or even been interested in learning about doing things in a new way.
I was desperate for help!
Desperation creates the opportunity to learn something new.
It helps prepare the way to be open to new ideas and new approaches.
It allows you to be willing to look inward and reflect on what you can do differently.
It helps you accept this truth:
I want to have control.
I can't control anything.
The only one I can control is myself.
When I do that, the people around me can change.
Peace is possible.
I'm so grateful that I learned the power of these skills and joined with other like-minded individuals to create SILA Skills.
Making this knowledge accessible and attainable to people who live and work in stressful environments is our goal.
We want to help you be more resilient!
Maybe you'll say that you were lucky to read this post.
Lucky to learn these skills.
Lucky to build resilience.
We will say that we were lucky to be part of your journey!
Check out our website www.SILAskills.org, sign up for our monthly newsletter, look at our upcoming workshops, and learn how SILA Skills can help you feel lucky too!