ABOUT THE EPISODE:

When your journey with a child's substance use stretches into its second decade, you enter what we loving call "warrior mom" (or parent) territory – a place where endurance meets wisdom, and self-preservation becomes an art form. Today's conversation with Hopestream co-founder, Cathy, honors these battle-tested parents who've been navigating their adult children's challenges for ten, fifteen, even twenty years or more.

This isn't an advice-filled episode - because more advice isn't what you need. It's a raw, honest dialogue between two mothers who know the unique terrain of loving a child through active use, high-risk lifestyles, homelessness, incarceration, and the revolving door of recovery and relapse.

Cathy shares her own marathon story, including driving hundreds of miles to share picnics with her daughter – a simple act of presence that seemed insignificant (and ineffective) at the time but later proved transformative.

You'll hear:

• Why "handing over a shift" to a higher power becomes essential for sustainable parenting through decades of struggle
• How warrior parents navigate the delicate dance of support versus enabling when adult children face eviction, homelessness, or legal troubles
• The unexpected and seemingly counterintuitive renewal that comes from serving others
• Why those seemingly fruitless gestures of connection (like Cathy's picnics) create an energetic contract that transcends the immediate moment
• The liberating truth about our children's remarkable resourcefulness when stability disappears and traditional safety nets fail

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Get our free, 4-video course, Hope Starts Here, and access to our Limited Membership here
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram here
Watch the podcast on YouTube here
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.

ABOUT THE EPISODE:

When Jan Winhall landed her first job running a group for incest survivors in a psychiatric ward, she discovered something revolutionary: the young women's self-harming behaviors weren't signs of pathology – they were brilliant survival strategies orchestrated by dysregulated nervous systems. This revelation launched a 45-year journey that would transform how we understand trauma and addiction.

Today, Jan brings her Felt Sense Polyvagal Model to parents navigating the bewildering landscape of their child's substance use. Her approach flips traditional treatment on its head: rather than analyzing thoughts and willpower, she teaches us to decode the body's wisdom.

Your child's behaviors – the ones that terrify you most – might actually be their nervous system's desperate attempt to regulate between hyper-vigilance and shutdown. Jan's work reveals why true healing happens not through confrontation or consequences, but through co-regulation, physical connection, and understanding the body's protective mechanisms.

You'll learn:

• Why your child's "crazy" behaviors (cutting, bingeing, substance use) are actually sophisticated nervous system regulation strategies that shift them between states of survival

• How to become a co-regulating presence for your dysregulated child through physical touch, synchronized breathing, and embodied connection – even when they're pushing you away

• The critical difference between "bottom-up" body-based healing and traditional "top-down" cognitive approaches – and why talk therapy alone often fails with trauma and addiction

• Simple daily practices (like extending your exhale or humming) that activate your ventral vagus nerve, creating the safety your child's nervous system desperately seeks

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Janwinhall.com - Jan’s website (find a practitioner)
• Jan Winhall's YouTube channel
• Friendly Circle Berlin
• Unplugged Canada
• Arial Schwartz - Resilience Informed Therapy

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Get our free, 4-video course, Hope Starts Here, and access to our Limited Membership here
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram here
Watch the podcast on YouTube here
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.

ABOUT THE EPISODE:

When your child's struggles shatter every paradigm you've held about communication, consciousness, and connection, where do you turn? Today's guest, Betsy Hicks-Russ, found herself navigating this exact terrain as the mother of Joey, a 32-year-old non-speaking autistic man whose journey would ultimately revolutionize her understanding of human potential. Through her discovery of The Telepathy Tapes—a groundbreaking podcast documenting telepathic abilities in non-speaking individuals—Betsy's world transformed from one of perceived limitations to infinite possibilities.

Now, while you may not think this episode seems relevant to families navigating substance use challenges, the parallels are more profound than you'd imagine. Both journeys involve watching your child exist in what appears to be an unreachable state, questioning expert opinions that don't align with your intuition, and discovering that behaviors we label as "problems" might actually be sophisticated attempts at regulation and connection.

Whether your child is non-speaking or struggling with substances, the path forward often requires releasing control, working on your own healing, and trusting that beneath the visible challenges lies a soul seeking authentic connection—just perhaps through unconventional channels.

In this truly riveting conversation, Betsy shares the profound shift that occurred when she learned her son wasn't trapped in silence but was actually part of what she calls "the telepathic tribe"—individuals who communicate through frequency rather than words. Her evolution from believing experts who said Joey "wasn't there" to recognizing him as a spiritually advanced being holding space for humanity's awakening offers a radical reframe for how we perceive our children's challenges.

This isn't just about autism or telepathy—it's about the courage to question everything you've been told about your child's capabilities and to trust the deeper knowing that whispers beneath conventional wisdom. Get ready to have your mind blown.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

• Autism Odyssey - Betsy’s nonprofit organization
• The Telepathy Tapes podcast
• Betsty on: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube

This podcast is part of a nonprofit called Hopestream Community
Get our free, 4-video course, Hope Starts Here, and access to our Limited Membership here
Learn about The Stream, our private online community for moms
Find us on Instagram here
Watch the podcast on YouTube here
Download a free e-book, Worried Sick: A Compassionate Guide For Parents When Your Teen or Young Adult Child Misuses Drugs and Alcohol

Hopestream Community is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and an Amazon Associate. We may make a small commission if you purchase from our links.