When adversity strikes, do you ever fear that you are going to experience a mental health setback? What if the opposite were true?
Dr. Chris Willard suggests that something positive can (and often does!) emerge from challenging life circumstances: post-traumatic growth. In Chris and Jamie Lynn’s candid conversation, they talk about resources we can bring to our adverse experiences (including mindfulness, self-compassion and EACH OTHER) that can help us transform something difficult into something life-promoting. Chris even suggests that post-traumatic stress can co-exist with post-traumatic growth (could this really be true!?).
Highlights from our conversation include:
Chris’s story of moving from opioid addiction to flourishing through mindfulness and connection
Tips for making mindfulness trauma sensitive (for example, stationary mindfulness can be unsettling for some, but mindfulness in motion can be more accessible)
Having a caregiver practice mindfulness may actually be more beneficial for a child more than teaching the child mindfulness (your practice matters!)
The importance of community for healing (that’s why We Are in It Together!)
Dr. Chris Willard is an instructor at the Harvard Medical School, an intergenerational mindfulness teacher, and the author of numerous books, including How We Grow Through What We Go Through, Growing Up Mindful, and numerous children’s books, including the up-and-coming Feelings Are Like Farts. His website is drchristopherwillard.com, or you can find him on social media @drchriswillard.
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For more resources to help children and caregivers grow resilience and self-compassion, including the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbook for Kids, visit https://jamielynntatera.com.
If you’d like to have a companion on your parenting journey and receive weekly tips on how to help kids (and yourself!) grow mindful self-compassion, sign up for Jamie Lynn’s We Are In it Together Substack: https://jamielynntatera.com/newsletter/.
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