Episode Details

When Beth Hillman's son came home from wilderness treatment, the first crisis didn’t come from him. It came from her. Standing in the driveway, anxious and spiraling, she watched her teenage son look at her calmly and say, "Mom, look at me. I'm gonna be okay." Her first thought was not relief. It was, oh! I’m in big trouble.

Her son had come home with more access to his thinking brain than she had. He also came home to a mother who had not yet done her own work and was carrying expectations she could not even name. When he finally told her, "Mom, your expectations of how this is gonna go are going to wreck me," Beth had to get honest about what she was really asking of him.

Today Beth is a double certified life and parent coach, host of the Parenting Post-Wilderness podcast, and a familiar voice in our community, where she leads sessions and groups for parents in the fragile season after treatment.

In this conversation, we get real about the first 90 days after a child comes home, from both sides. Why kids may agree to everything just to get home, why pushback on a home plan might be the best sign you can get, and what your child is actually walking back into when they return to the house where the holes in the doors are. Beth names the piece most home plans are missing, and I think it will change how you prepare.

If your child is coming home from treatment soon, or is already home and wobbling, this episode was made for you.

YOU’LL LEARN:

• The driveway moment that convinced Beth she was the one in trouble
• Why kids check every box to get home, and why that is not manipulation
• What her son said about her expectations that stopped Beth cold
• The green flag most parents mistake for defiance
• The almost too simple practice Beth reached for when her brain went offline

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Beth’s website - www.bethhillmancoaching.com
• Beth’s podcast, Parenting Post Wilderness
• Beth on Hopestream podcast episode 279
• Information on PAWS (post-acute withdrawal syndrome)

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