Parents Helping Parents Blog

This last week we had Sabrina Klele speak at our “Women Empowering Women”  group. For those that missed the time, we wanted to give you a recap  of the great takeaways we all learned from Sabrina. The most important takeaways she shared could be summed up in two words: “setting boundaries.”

Taking Time for Self Care:

Sabrina has four children, one of those has special needs. All of her children were born very close together so she had her hands full. She shared about how she taught her children from a very early age that mommy had “her time.”...

I have had mentors for many things in life, but the mentors who have been essential, were those who helped me with my son having special needs. When it came to his disabilities, I had no idea what to do or where to go. That is when I began to search for help. Here are some of the most important reasons to get a mentor.

Mentors Sit in Your Corner

I would liken being a parent of a child with special needs to the movie "Rocky." You are always entering some boxing ring to advocate or fight for something you and/or your child need. The most important relationship Rocky had was his coach. His...

One of the most important components of good mental health and living longer and happier lives is having quality relationships. As a parent of a child with special needs, I have struggled with this and have often felt unsupported and alone. That is why Pathways is beginning the “Women Empowering Women” support system. It is a place where women, who are moms and/or guardians, can join hands and hearts and begin to help each other take this journey together.

 The Need for Better Support Systems

Being a mom of a child with special needs is downright draining. Add to that, a...

Whenever you need to change something about your life, do you generally meet with internal resistance. For example, you may know you need to drink more water and less coffee. You may know you need to watch less Netflix or TikToc and get more physically active. What is the first feeling that hits you when you have to change? Excitement or dread?  Quite often,  your biggest problem sometimes can be just getting the motivation to start.

Ask yourself, "why?"

Do an inventory of how you want to feel as a result of changing something. For example, I struggle a lot with getting enough...

Sleep is essential but sometimes so elusive! The American Psychological Association reports that 20% of adults feel sleepy a few days a week and 69%of children experience sleep issues a few nights or more a week (apa.com/sleep.) Sleep is an issue for many of us. How can we not only get more sleep, but improve the sleep we get?

How can a Power Nap Help?

Getting enough sleep has always been a problem for me. When I was younger, I was a night owl. I would stay up half the night and get up later in the morning. When you don’t have children this might work, but many of us hear the...

The last few weeks we have been talking about the acronym "MEDS" and how it relates to mental health. This week we will be tackling the “D” in the acronym that stands for diet. 

There is no question that diet is related to mental health. The brain is the control center of the body and never stops working even when we sleep. As a result, the brain is in need of constant energy to function and the type of  food and fluids we put into our bodies makes a difference. The problem most of us encounter is consistently giving our brains the fuel required to allow them to...

When people hear about taking care of their mental health they often isolate it to what goes on in the brain. However, you cannot separate the brain from the body or the mental from the physical. The body is made from many different parts and there is no question that they impact each other. That is why taking a wholistic approach to mental health is critical to all of us.

Last week I talked about taking our MEDS which is an acronym that translates to M-meditation, E-Exercise, D-diet and S-sleep. We talked about meditation in our previous blog, but this week we will spend some time on...

I once heard Brendon Bruchard, a high performance coach, use the acronym “MEDS” as a simple way to help remember some of the most important elements to our mental health. The  acronym stands for : “M” -  meditation, “E”  - exercise, “D” – diet, and “S” – sleep. I could probably end the blog right now as most of us would agree our mental health would improve if we took our MEDS. What is also great about this acronym is that every element is under our control in one way or another. This week let’s...

Mental health, or the lack thereof, is a form of disability. It is one disability that probably carries the most stigma. The National Institute of Mental Health (nimh.nih.gov) reports that 1 in 5 or 21 % Americans suffer from some sort of mental health issue. Mental Health issues impact females at 25.8% and males at 15.8%. Anxiety disorders are some of the most common impacting  41 million adults annually and 25.1% of children ages 13-18. These statistics along with ones for depression are staggering. Add to that the addiction issues in this country and mental health can no longer...

It is easy to stuck in the rut of ritual and repetition. It is even easier to get stuck in our comfort zone and to lessen our expectations of ourselves and others. We stay in the same job, associate with the same people, and keep going to all the same places. We become robotic and quit waking up in the morning with the feeling of excitement and aliveness we all long for. How do we get back to the basics of rejuvenating and raising the bar in our lives? 

What Keeps You From Exploring NEW?

When was the last time you did something new? I know it is easy for me to get stuck doing the same...