1:1 Transform Programme: Everything you Need to Know
Have you been feeling like you're close to experiencing burnout as a parent carer?
It has been found that “Parents of neurodivergent children are 2.4 times more likely to have mental health issues than other parents.”
In this blog post, you'll discover how my online 1:1 Transform programme can help you support your mental wellbeing as a parent with a neurodivergent child(ren).
Preventing Burnout as a parent with a neurodivergent child
My online 1:1 programme was created to support you to reduce stress, and prevent burnout, while being in a neurodiverse family.
You’ll have experienced the ongoing challenges that you face when fighting for your child's needs in various settings. Your child might be in a mainstream school and finding it difficult to cope with the daily set structure. You might have experienced your child being classed as a ‘school refuser’ or ‘non-attender’.
This could mean you are going back and forth with trying to get the right support in place for your child and possibly even considering flexi schooling or home education.
On top of attending meetings about your child's education you might be sitting on a long waiting list for your child to receive support with CAMHS. Or you might alreadly attend various appointments with CAMHS or other professionals.
When you’re navigating support systems for your child this can cause you to feel fatigued, exhausted, highly stressed and/or anxious.
Over time, if you aren't taking actions to look after yourself, you might find yourself in a cycle of burnout. You might feel like burnout is unavoidable and just how life is for being in a neurodiverse family.
However, what would you think if I told you that it doesn't have to be?
Prioritisng your mental health
Discover the four strategies, in my Burnout Prevention Method, that can help you prioritise your mental health and create more moments of calm.
Awareness
When you become aware of what thoughts you have, many will be critical or unhelpful thoughts, you can start noticing how they impact your life.
Becoming present with yourself can help you become more intentional with how you spend your time and energy.
In my programme, you are provided with weekly wellbeing activities to help you explore becoming aware of your internal world. This includes activities such as:
Breathing techniques
Gentle yoga
Journaling
Gratitude practices
Having an awareness of your feelings and emotions can help you become kinder towards yourself.
When you observe your thoughts, and allow them to pass, you start developing a non-judgemental attitude towards them.
While working together, you'll have the opportunity to ask any questions and receive support via Telegram (free messaging app). For instance, if you have a meeting/appointment to attend that week for your child, and you would like suggestions on how to be mindful/feel grounded I can share ways that could help you. We can connect via voice messages on Telegram as well as text.
Reflection
Reflecting on experiences and situations in your life can help you become more aware of your thoughts and patterns.
When you give all, or almost 100%, of your energy towards supporting and caring for your child's needs you'll not have much time or energy to think about your own feelings.
When you actively create time to reflect you can take a step back and slow down. This provides you with a clearer mental space to reflect on any patterns or habits that you have. Some of these patterns or habits could be impacting your wellbeing and as a result contribute to you feeling like you are going to eventually burnout.
You’ll be given the opportunity to explore mindfulness themes covered in my book ‘Mindful Living: A Guide for You and Your Family’.
Over 12 weeks, you’ll start deepening the connection you have with yourself and learn ways to transform from feeling exhausted and close to burnout and instead feel calmer and more present.
We’ll have weekly check-ins where I'll share your wellbeing activity of the week, and you can share your reflections from the previous week.
Insight
When you create time to slow down and start noticing your thoughts and feelings, and how they might affect you, you get insights into what is going positively and what changes you might want to make.
Bringing mindfulness into your daily life helps you become less reactive and more present.
This means that you create a pause between a thought and an action. When practised regularly, it can become a habit that you do in challenging situations.
This could be during a difficult meeting, when your child is dysregulated, or any other time in your life.
You can use the strategies, provided in Transform, to discover new ways of regulating your emotions and feeling grounded in your daily life.
The wellbeing tools in the programme, and stories in ‘Mindful Living: A Guide for You and Your Family’, are designed to be strategies that you can repeat and practice during our time working together and beyond.
Action
The final step is taking action. When you’re part of a neurodiverse family you’ll have many actions that you take to support your child(ren).
However, taking action towards prioritising your wellbeing might not currently feel realistic or achievable.
There will never feel like a ‘right time’ to focus on yourself, as you might not think you have the time or energy to. Yet, if you don't take any action you’ll find yourself not experiencing a change in how you're feeling i.e. continue feeling stressed and tired.
The collection of techniques and activities, shared over 12 weeks, will help you take small steps towards looking after your health and wellbeing.
The length of time required for each activity will vary, for instance in week one it is a short breathing exercise which will take a few minutes.
When you focus on one aspect of your wellbeing, such as emotional, it can have a positive impact on other areas, such as physical or mental.
When you take action, to reduce the possibility of burnout, it not only benefits you but your child. The more you look after yourself the more energy you will have to best support and fight for your child.
1:1 Programme: Next Steps
Are you ready to prevent burnout and feel calmer in your everyday life?
Over the next 12 weeks, I can support you to start focusing on your wellbeing with beginner friendly techniques to help you become more mindful and relaxed.
Sign up to work with me by visiting here.