Grief shows up in unexpected ways when you’re parenting a hypersensitive, high-needs child. And most of it goes unnamed.
In this episode of The Regulated Mother, I explore the deeper grief that lives in the nervous system—the kind of grief no one prepares us for.
We talk about:
The 5 stages of grief adapted for parenting
Ambiguous loss, ongoing loss, anticipatory grief, and loss of reciprocity
Why you might feel stuck in a shame-grief loop
How grief from the past gets reactivated in the present
And how to begin working with grief in your body, one breath at a time
If you want to read instead, the full blog is available on my website: https://www.illuminateu.ca/blog/understanding-the-grief-that-comes-with-parenting-a-high-needs-child
This episode is especially for parents navigating Autism, PDA, ADHD, trauma, and other nervous system differences—who are grieving not because they’ve given up, but because they love deeply.