Creating a Positive Outlook
Life is hard enough and emotions can weigh you down. A parent who has been there offers some advice to stay positive.
Life is hard enough and emotions can weigh you down. A parent who has been there offers some advice to stay positive.
To survive and succeed as a parent of a child with disabilities, we all need to get some support and learn some new skills. No one is born knowing how to do this job. Everything you can learn that helps you find peace of mind will also help your child and the rest of your family. Then you can build a positive family environment.
Consider your emotions and make emotional choices thoughtfully. Ask yourself, “What are the emotions that dominate my life right now?”
When you have a child with some kind of diagnosis or label, you will probably go through a process of grief for the child you expected and didn't get. You'll feel loss, sorrow, and anger. You'll search for answers, you'll sense loneliness. And the process can recur when you least expect it, such as at key turning points in your child’s life. We all do this. Both failing to acknowledge these emotions and getting stuck in them will make your parenting experience harder. Don’t be afraid to feel these emotions, but feel them and look for ways to move on.
Try these tips to help manage your emotions:
It may sound trite, but you really can create a positive outlook. You have a choice for how you react to the events of your life. Try these techniques to keep things moving in a positive direction:
By Rosemary Alexander, PhD, Texas Parent to Parent, www.txp2p.org