Lifting a parent out of loneliness

💜This month we focus on self-care and self-help. Fancy a cuppa? Fancy a walk? 💜

An adoptive parent from our Co-Production Group shares how sometimes reaching out to each other with as little as three words can make a big difference:

“I just felt like I was standing in the shadows at the school where no one really got what I had to say. How could they understand what my day looked like? I would frighten them off of my children if I really told them how it was!

“I soon stopped talking to other parents and felt myself isolating. Little by little I began thinking it was only me and this then turned into my partner and I was arguing; I just wasn’t happy with anything.

“I didn’t have the confidence to walk into a group, so one night I sent an email to FASD South West where a parent emailed me back straight away. I started chatting and found that all the things I see in my child is very common, I cannot tell you how reassuring this was, I felt like a weight had been lifted from me. I then joined their Facebook group (I had never done Facebook before so joined with some made up name!) where people were welcoming and kind, where people totally got what having a bad day looked like!

“I have recently attended a family event where my children played with others where they totally got each other and they just looked so happy just being themselves. I have swapped numbers with a couple of other parents where we are in touch through WhatsApp. It’s so great to have a rant when I need to and to swap sleep tips and ideas for supporting bedwetting etc.

“So, reach out when you feel you are ready to. As for me, I cannot begin to tell you the difference it has made to me and my children”.

Find more information about Friends Groups on the FASD South West website.