Do I wear my coat for pity?

How my pain provided help for so many.

People often ask me about my ‘story’, as if I wear it like a bright, heavy coat visible to all.

And I do!

Do I wear it for the attention? For the glory? For the pity?

No - never!

In fact that coat used to feel uncomfortable - painful - scratchy - like old stiff wool which refuses to warm through, or to become supple. 

This coat of mine was one numbingly cold.

But I learned how to wear my coat with understanding, and over time it warmed, it became flexible, and the fibres became strong - stronger than you could ever imagine!

Now I do wear it - everyday - I wear it because that bright coat of my story helps so many others.

I hope that one day my story will reach thousands of children, living in difficulty, living in distress, living in foster care, living with a degree of separation from the world.

To inspire them to understand that:

You can survive

You can be better than you were

You can stop feeling other peoples opinions

There is an easier way

There is strength in your pain

There is a purpose for your being

So what is this ‘story’? This coat which brightly illuminates my world, and casts a light into the shadows of those who are struggling?

It’s a tale of child survival - of how determination and instinct saved little girl from starvation, but encapsulated her mind into an acutely heightened state - and how that ‘state’ became 40 years of healing.

My tale is long, and weaves through trauma’s, as if in an everlasting search for a happy ending.

It involved 3 years of neglect - described as the worst social workers had ever seen. 

It involved 13 years of the care system - and loving foster parents

And it involved all the things that come with this deck of cards:

• Emotional trauma
• Rejection
• Loss 
• Predators
• Poor mental health
• Extreme risk taking behaviour
• Self harm
• Attempted suicide
• Teenage pregnancy

It involved 40 years of healing, growing and understanding.

It included the shocking impact of those who chosen to treat me differently

And the outstanding difference from those who loved me regardless

It is a story of a little girl who would have died if it were not for her determination to live.

And the story of a young lady finding purpose in her pain.

This was my story - this is my coat - and this is why I provide a unique solution for parents and carers to understand and manage child emotional behaviour.

To date I have helped over 1000 children, parents and families through my work.

Tomorrow will I help you?