“Today I am going to stop being angry and enjoy my children”...
For years Sarah struggled with her children. She constantly shouted at and criticised them. She knew that her nagging was hurting their self esteem but she didn’t know how to stop.
At the start of each day she would say “Today I am going to stop being angry and enjoy my children”... but each time she would fall back into old habits. The whole situation caused her to hate herself and take her anger out on her children, and that made her feel even more guilty. She knew she had to get some help and eventually she decided to talk to someone.
She realised that she really wasn’t angry with her children at all. She had a few past issues that were causing her to be hard on herself, causing her to strive for “perfection” which was always going to lead to failure. She was looking for acceptance from those around her that she was worthy to be a mother. She came to the conclusion that she was “good enough”. She was never going to be “the perfect mother” but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t “good enough”.
She still had those issues from her past to deal with but that was no excuse for taking her frustrations out on her children. She could choose the way she responded to every situation.
Now when she feels herself getting frustrated or angry, she “Pauses”. She doesn’t strike out or speak impulsively. She looks at the bigger picture and chooses her response.
She takes one day at a time and although it isn’t easy, when she feels things getting on top of her, she knows who to turn to.