Suggestions on topics for support group

[Nancy]

I belong to a parent support group and we are meeting to come up with ideas for topics for our meetings over the next few months. We've been through all normal topics like denial, acceptance, letting go, etc. There is only so much you can say about that. One topic on my list is hope, and I plan on using AG's very thought provoking write-up on hope.

What kinds of topics would you like to see discussed if you belonged to a parent support group for addiction? What topics would be most helpful to you? The members of this forum have so much knowledge and have written some very profound things that I feel our group here is better than any support group I have ever attended.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Nancy

[InsaneCdn]

Stress management might be one...

[Calamity Jane]

You've got Hope covered; how about Faith and Charity to complete the sequence? lol, ... I don't know if you're allowed to talk about faith, but it's good to discuss what faith means to people going through this. Charity, too, because sometimes we ease our own suffering by extending ourselves to help others even at our lowest point. Reaching out to others as we build our lives up again. Good for recovering gfgs too, because they always seem to be so self involved.

Also, I don't know what you'd call the topic, but I know I certainly could always use advice about dealing with a spouse who is at a different place than I am in the detachment department, and the stress that creates. Perhaps a discussion about siblings of addicts and how that affects the whole family dynamic? Just stream of consciousness here...pardon my rambling. Did you ever talk about anger and forgiveness?

Could you bring up something about the financial consequences of parenting gfgs? Maybe people can share what their boundaries were/what worked for them, which ins. companies had highest reimbursement rates, etc.?

[AmericanGirl]

I would love to know more about the physical parts of addiction and recovery. Gfg's rehab helped a lot on that. I realize this isn't something any of us are likely knowledgeable about it but...this would help.

[recoveringenabler]

Some of the topics we talk about in my codependency therapy group are: Forgiveness, our own perception of spirituality and how that helps/hinders us, Communication, Assertiveness, Anger, Boundaries, Our own self care and nutrition, relapses, family dynamics, grief, fear and worry, where to find our joy, control, how the stress of a gfg has impacted our physical health and what will we fill our lives with as the gfg era comes to an end.

[AmericanGirl]

CJ has a good idea about finances. The legal and insurance issues we must understand to protect ourselves would be helpful.

Side note....I set up a secret group on Facebook for my Al-anon group. Called it Tuesday Friends to protect members in case nosey people read over their shoulder. We typically wait a few meetings before extending invitations to newcomers just to see if they will stick around. It has been such a comfort to me. We post inspiring shares, updates on our gfgs and simple things like I won't be there this week, etc. Working on getting documents added such as our current phone list, websites we like, etc.

[Signorina]

I guess I am still stuck in the struggle of family transitions, parenting transitions, transitions transitions transitions. I struggle with accepting my new family of 4 (or is it 5?) without mourning the family I wanted/I thought we had if that makes sense. Wondering what to say when people innocently ask about my older son; "how does he like school?" "are you enjoying having him home for the summer?" simple every day pleasantries - with people expecting a nod and a smile and not a 5 minute sob story. I vacillate between the two - sometimes it's a "great and yours?" other times it's a "um, hmmm, hem haw, ummmm...well; he's doing the rebellion thing and I have no idea where he is...." or even "he decided to change his major from biology to partying/marijuana, and we are not often in touch"

Even happy times carry a bit of a rainy cloud...wishing gfg were with us, wishing gfg weren't a gfg, wondering what kind of mother can be happy when her kid is so far away...

whining again...

but that's my struggle...

[pinevalley]

AG: I really like the secret group that you set up for your Al-anon group. I would like to do something like this for my FA group, but I'm not sure if many others would be interested. Did you have problems with a Facebook group for Al-anon, since the last names of members would be shown on the Facebook page? I'm sure that Al-anon is just like FA, that no last names of members are ever used in meetings.

[AmericanGirl]

PV....We opted to not identify ourselves as an al-anon group. However when we meet in person we are one. Most of us were FB friends anyway. Our group is about 15 ppl so it is small and many have been going for several years or more.
If you wanted to be anonymous, you could set up a yahoo group and use psedonyms (sp). At least I think you could.

[exhausted]

Nancy, here are a few from FA the last few months
Turning negatives to positives
Fear to faith
Letting go-detaching as it were
New brain research on addiction
Serenity- a really good topic was last week
Healthy Coping
Parental Self-esteem