Parenting a Child Struggling with Substance Abuse with Brenda Zane

The Beyond Addiction Show

Dr. Josh King welcomes you to another episode and a new season of The Beyond Addiction Show.

Today, Dr. King is accompanied by Brenda Zane, a mother who decided to do something to support other fellow mothers in the difficult journey of parenting a child struggling with substance abuse. Brenda is a certified Health and Wellness Coach, and the host of Hopestream, a podcast for parents of kids who are misusing drugs or alcohol or are in treatment or early recovery.

Key Takeaways:

[2:53] Brenda talks about the feeling of being alone when you are a parent of a child that is abusing drugs or alcohol.

[4:15] Brenda talks about the feeling when a parent wonders how he/she will be able to balance all their responsibilities plus a child struggling with addiction.

[6:10] Brenda shares the journey that brought her where she is today.

[8:30] When doing “everything” is not enough.

[9:12] Brenda did not really understand addiction and she felt she just had a bad kid who was doing bad things and just needed to stop.

[11:10] Addiction is a way to cope, but the user might not know this.

[12:09] Things got worse.

[14:40] Brenda built a community of people that she could relate to (mostly moms).

[15:57] When you don’t have enough information, searching on Google is so scary.

[17:37] Brenda describes The Stream, an online community for mothers with children struggling with substance abuse, where they can get support and resources.

[22:01] Brenda shares how her life has changed as a result of what they went through together with her son and turned that into something she could use to support other people going through the same.

[26:48] How did Brenda pass the feelings of guilt and shame and finally reach self-care?

[29:54] Brenda talks about how the abnormal can become normal.

[31:13] Everyone’s story is a little different.

[32:25] Brenda talks about the first steps: Take care of yourself and get educated.

[34:18] Brenda explains why you should have NARCAN in your house if your daughter or son are abusing substances.

[40:40] Stigma prevents parents from looking for resources and moving quickly to help their children.

[42:36] Shame does not work, it does not motivate anyone to change.

[44:36] Find a therapist, you will need one on your team!

[45:09] What does it look like to come to The Stream for the first time?

[48:57] The Stream is a community meant to support parents.

Mentioned in this Episode:

The Beyond Addiction Show

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Email Dr. Josh King at [e-mail] or tweet him at @DocJoshKing

The Stream