Nicole’s Story of Hope
Nicole experienced a challenging childhood — her mother would often lose her temper and lash out at Nicole and her sisters. Nicole’s desire to escape the chaos that shaped her home life led her to engage in high-risk behaviors and ultimately, to the disease of addiction. But, motherhood motivated her to seek help. As a mother to an active, curious toddler, Nicole found herself repeating the trauma that she experienced as a child. Nicole has been in recovery for 18 months, and she is determined to give her son a better childhood than she had. This young mother set out to learn the skills she needs to be a nurturing and loving parent.
Nicole is an enthusiastic participant in our EPIC Parenting program, a 12-week program that teaches the newest, most effective parenting techniques in small groups. As a result of attending the parenting workshops, Nicole is making important connections about herself and her behavior. She is learning how to provide structure and set limits, build self-esteem in herself and her child and how to discipline her son in a loving way. She told us, “When a parent is not happy with her or his life, it affects everyone in the family. But it is under our control to change and not model the same behavior that we learned from our parents…If I can incorporate these styles of teaching, nurturing and listening to my son, I know that I will gradually succeed at being the best mother I can be. During this process, I really want to get as much information as possible because I truly enjoy being a mother and want my son to know and understand his value and importance to not just me, but to the world.”
Learning positive parenting skills is an important first step to healing generational trauma.