683: Beth Syverson: Parenting a Child Through Addiction

Beth Syverson is a mom of an 18-year-old son, Joey, who has been struggling with addiction and mental health issues for several years. She struggles with addiction as well, though not with the same substances as her son. This experience has given her empathy for her son's struggles. She has learned to maintain firm boundaries while still nurturing a positive relationship with Joey. She is walking beside Joey as he struggles with his recovery, while she works on her own personal growth and healing. Joey and Beth started Safe Home Podcast in August 2021 in order to help other families avoid the pain they've endured. They are committed to destigmatizing addiction and mental health, and they want to help as many families as possible by sharing their stories.

This is such an incredibly important topic and conversation. I’m so grateful to Beth for sharing courageously and vulnerably. It’s also important that you know, Joey gave consent, even encouragement, for his mom to have this conversation and share parts of his journey with this audience of Shameless Moms. 

Listen in to hear Beth share:

• The impact of her son’s in utero trauma and the first 7 months of his life in Japan
• How Joey’s experimentation with vaping and nicotine led to life-threatening, full-fledged addiction
• What to look for if suspect your child might be using - and the signs Beth missed when Joey was first using
• How Joey’s first suicide attempt opened her eyes to his struggle with addiction
• How to use curiosity as a tool in talking about substance use/abuse with your child in order to open up conversations instead of shutting down conversations
• How she uses the CRAFT method: a special communication method to prioritize a relationship with someone who is on an addiction journey 
• The importance of removing shame from addiction
• The boundaries she keeps in place while prioritizing their relationship
• How she and Joey co-created a podcast, Safe Home Podcast, and why the show is so important to all parents of tweens and teens
• Her #1 piece of advice for parents of struggling teens

Links mentioned:

• Join my free workshop: How to Calm Your Chaos & Let Go of Your Crap: shamelessmom.com/calm
• Connect with Beth and find her events: safehomefamilies.com
• Listen to the Safe Home Podcast: anchor.fm/safe-home-podcast
• Safe Home Podcast on FB
• Safe Home Podcast on IG
• Safe Home Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYoW-LxFFes2EX71ENcFVCQ

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